Hey!

Flamenco in October is almost as good as a timeless album by Pavel Steidl, or the pleasure of indulging not only in a coffee and an étude, but also in an entire interview with Leon Albert. To increase the feel-good factor a hundredfold, we've found something enchantingly casual for this week's feel-good melody: Tash Sultana.

Get yourself a cup of tea or coffee and/or just sit back, wherever you are, and enjoy a great selection of wonderful music.

We hope you enjoy reading, listening, watching, and… a golden start to October!

Stefan and Willi

YOUTUBE FIND OF THE WEEK
with Noa Drezner

In our video of the week, we bring you a dash of flamenco. We recommend Noa Drezner! The Israeli guitarist plays a Granaina, a calm, almost melancholic form of flamenco from Granada. The music thrives on long, vocal lines, clear arpeggios, and bordóns that gently carry the melody.

It’s beautiful how every phrase is given space to breathe in her playing: rasgueados, arpeggios, and bass strings combine to create a flowing impression that feels light and lively. You immediately notice how much joy and precision Noa puts into every note.

For anyone who likes the flamenco guitar or is simply curious about how the quieter side of flamenco sounds, we highly recommend this video, especially as the weather gets colder (at least here in Berlin). Tune in, listen, and let yourself be carried away by the Granaina.

ALBUM OF THE WEEK
with Pavel Steidl

It should be well known that guitarist Pavel Steidl is the embodiment of “feeling.” No matter what he interprets, he does it in his own unique, exceptionally tasteful way. In doing so, he repeatedly elicits sounds from the guitar that you feel like you have never heard before. Inventive down to the smallest detail!

That's exactly what we had in mind when we took his album ...a Ty Taky Jdi Do Ithaky... off the shelf.

It starts with a bang from Carlo Domeniconi that is totally worth a dive. The following preludes by Pavel's compatriot Jana Obrovskà transport you to other worlds – sometimes dreamy and searching, sometimes playfully exuberant. Listen to them in order, one after the other. Otherwise, it would be a shame to lose the well-crafted overarching narrative.

And then there's another must-listen: “Lístek Odvanutý” (A Leaf Blown Away) by Leoš Janáček. A loving musical sketch of the golden autumn evening sky.

And the best for last: “...a Ty Taky Jdi Do Ithaky...” by the maestro himself. No words needed. Pavel Steidl at its best.

Highly recommended!

MORNING-ROUTINE
A coffee with Leon Albert

Hi Leon, what’s the routine for this week?

Hang out with my old acquaintances and enjoy some nice moments.

Editors’ note:
This time, we are breaking out of our routine and introducing one of Leon's Präludien für den erweiterten Bekanntenkreis (Preludes for the Extended Circle of Acquaintances).
With his 24 preludes, Leon Albert has created an extraordinary project for the classical guitar: new concert music that takes the instrument through all major and minor keys. In doing so, he opens up soundscapes that are often neglected in guitar literature. Between quiet ballads and virtuoso showpieces, the result is music that works equally well on stage and in the living room, for professionals as well as for anyone who would like to delve deeper. Each piece tells its own little story, and yet everything belongs to a larger whole.

Courtesy of Acoustic Music Books.

KNOW-HOW
with Leon Albert

Leon Albert regularly writes short études for our “Morning Routine” section – original pieces that combine technical inspiration and musical ideas in just a few bars. Reason enough to introduce him to you in more detail.

In our conversation, Leon explains why he finds the miniature format so appealing, how it has become a kind of creative training between composition and instrumental technique, and how his larger projects, such as the 24 Präludien für den erweiterten Bekanntenkreis (24 Preludes for the Extended Circle of Acquaintances), are related to this work. He also discusses the relationship between technique and inspiration, the courage to improvise… and, of course, the sentence he would most like to see printed on every festival poster.

Hi Leon, you've already written a whole bunch of short pieces for our “Morning Routine” section. What appeals to you about regularly developing short pieces that are straightforward and at the same time little pieces of art in their own right?
Yes, exactly, and I should mention that it is a great honor for me and also gives me great pleasure. The appeal is basically already explained in the question. When composing, I am often overwhelmed by too many possibilities and therefore love to set myself restrictive guidelines. The task for the newsletter is therefore perfect for me. Short pieces are also perhaps more in line with the zeitgeist of (unfortunately) dwindling attention spans and are therefore important training for composers. Added to this is the incentive of practicing for oneself. Writing music for challenges on my own instrument stimulates my flow and helps me enormously.

How does writing these “miniature études” differ for you from larger projects such as your Preludes for the Extended Circle of Acquaintances? Is there a different focus or approach when composing?
Well, although my 24 preludes are also rather short pieces lasting between one and three minutes, the whole project is still very different from the études. Here, I set myself the challenge of writing a piece for every major and minor key, because classical guitar often tends to stick to certain favorite keys. It is an album that I planned and worked on for years, which I have released on CD, digitally for listening, but also on YouTube and in the form of a music book. There is an overarching musical form, the pieces relate to each other (major and minor always belong together in pairs, for example, as do the titles) and flow into each other in sequence, with ideas being constantly developed.

When you think of études, are you more concerned with technical aspects (e.g., certain movements, positions, sounds) or with small musical ideas that you play through compositionally?
Definitely both. They are études for me as a guitarist, but also as a composer. I don't just want to practice playing, but also writing. And ideally, I want to make music at the same time, so I don't get bogged down in pure technique. That's probably the biggest (and most enjoyable) challenge.

What should guitarists ideally take away from these études – a solid technical tool, a bit of musical inspiration, or perhaps both?
It’s both again. I think, or hope, that in some of the études it is easy to see how I develop and expand on ideas, so that listeners can draw inspiration not only for their own playing technique, but also for their own composing. Or – and this would make me particularly happy – for their own improvisation. More courage to improvise would certainly be good for classical music. It doesn't have to be on stage – many of my best ideas for pieces come from improvising at home in the quiet of my own room. On rare occasions, on particularly good days, entire pieces happen in this way.

Imagine you could have one sentence printed on a poster to be put up in huge numbers at all the (classical) music festivals in the world. What sentence would that be? 

Barefaced advertising, but also a message to the more conservatively inclined: “Play something new – buy my sheet music!”

FEEL-GOOD TUNE OF THE WEEK
with Tash Sultana

An upbeat and positive melody! It makes you want to jump out of bed in the morning. Or take a look at the sky in the middle of the day. Stress? Bad news? Put on your headphones, let your hair blow in the wind and jump on the good mood train!

Our feel-good tune of the week!

OUTRO

Thank you for reading! Please feel free to send us your suggestions and comments directly in response to this email.

As always, you can find new music discoveries, including tracks by the artists we wrote about in today's issue, in our Spotify playlist for the newsletter, which we have linked below.

Be kind to one another.

Stay tuned!

Stefan & Willi

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New Classical Guitar is a newsletter by Willi Leinen and Stefan Degel from TMBM. You can find our music and more information about our journey at http://t-m-b-m.com/.

On Spotify, we curate a playlist with our favorite pieces. Feel free to follow our New Classical Guitar Playlist at https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3ZwxJRAsW9Zs2JiS2eLy6a?si=9b2a737f01c043a4 and recommend new additions.