Having been invited several times onto the jury of the prestigious Certamen Tárrega in Benicasim, I thought I would involve a few composers in a gift to the father of the modern guitar. So I asked the composers to write a Prelude of the kind that Tárrega wrote and which count among his most significant compositions.
These Preludes “for” Tárrega, all written between August and November 2015, are very different from each other. The common feature, however, between these and the Preludes “by” Tárrega is their brevity, an average level of performance difficulty and guaranteed “easy listening”, even when written in a non-tonal language (like the meditative and melancholy piece by Emilio Calandin and the one by Marco Smaili, with its Impressionistic feel reminding one of Tárrega’s most famous pupil, Miguel Llobet).
In some Preludes (the ones by Paolo Ugoletti, Roberto Tagliamacco, Claudia Montero) the reference to Lagrima, one of Tárrega’s most famous Preludes, is evident in form, title and some citations. Ugoletti and Tagliamacco work well and expressively on harmony and counterpoint, while the Argentinian Claudia Montero links Tárrega to a heartbreaking Buenos Aires…
In Alessandro Spazzoli there is rather more a connection with Tárrega’s sense of melody and deep “simplicity”, while Marco Reghezza remembers ironically what was “brewing” in European music when Tárrega was alive: in fact, his Como Preludio goes across the 24 keys – and even a reference to Wagner’s Tristan raises its head…
I am delighted for this volume to come out at the time of the fiftieth edition of the Certamen Tárrega.
(P. Bonaguri)

Homenajes a Rodrigo y Tárrega
Guitar: Piero Bonaguri

Ed.: dotGuitar.it

Piero Bonaguri Collection
Contemporary Music for Guitar

Piero Bonaguri graduated “cum laude” at the Parma Conservatory. “Diploma di Merito” at the Accademia Chigiana in Siena, he also studied with Enrico Tagliavini, Alirio Díaz, Oscar Ghiglia and Andrès Segovia, who wrote about him: “He will soon be a famous name among the best guitarists of our time”.
His performing career takes him to more than fifty countries in all five continents, working with prestigious Institutes and Festivals.
He has premiered, recorded and edited many pieces for guitar written for him (almost 400 new compositions have been dedicated to him by well-known composers such as Cappelli, Guarnieri, Ugoletti, Solbiati, Molino, Paccagnini, Benati, Carluccio, Anzaghi, Tagliamacco).
He is general editor of a collection of contemporary guitar works published by Ut Orpheus.
He teaches guitar at the Conservatory “G.B. Martini” in Bologna.

www.bonaguri.com