Who is the composer you feel is underrated in the guitar world?
Every guitarist has that one composer—the one who writes beautifully for the instrument but doesn’t get nearly enough recognition. Maybe their works are hidden gems that rarely make it onto concert programs, or maybe they wrote just one brilliant piece that deserves more time in the spotlight.
💬 Which composer do YOU believe is criminally underrated in the classical guitar community?
What makes their music special to you?
Is there a particular piece you'd recommend others to try?
Why do you think they’ve been overlooked?
Whether it’s a forgotten Romantic, an overlooked contemporary voice, or a regional treasure, we’d love to hear your pick and why they deserve more love! Let’s build a list of hidden gems together 💎🎶
👉 Bonus: Share a short recording or video if you’ve played something by them!
28 replies
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I want to share not one, but TWO composers that I admire and who's pieces I have recorded. They might not be per se underrated, but I don't hear their pieces played that often!
Simona Ianarelli - Alma
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCAgfiukPzc
I just love the otherworldy sound of the dissonances and harmonics! I imagine this to be the soundtrack of me looking at the night sky in awe!
Carlos Fariñas - Canción triste
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4Vvjra9Iig
This piece has that deep melancholy that is so unique to Cuban composers!
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If Martin can share two composers, I will do the same! 🙂
I am going to go with Catharina Josepha Pratten (aka Madame Sidney Pratten) and her student Ernest Shand.
Pratten, to me, just exemplifies the era of the Romantic guitar. Her writing is simple, but I find it very expressive. Below is one of her lesser-known works, Sehnsucht ("Longing").
Shand is such an underplayed guitar composer. I think his compositions are on a par with his much more celebrated contemporary from Spain, Francisco Tarrega. I particularly love his rich harmonies that always seem very modern to me. Below is his Andante Religioso, one of my favorites.
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These are very fine, Eric! I seem to remember having bought a collection of Shand pieces--if memory serves (it often doesn't these days) edited by Professor Yates. At the time it looked well beyond me--I should try and find it and give it another go.
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I've always been surprised to hear so little by Alfredo Franco. He writes in a modern language, but it's still very accessible. The only player I know who plays his music regularly is Cristiano Porqueddu, who released a CD of over three hours of his music for guitar. Here are two of his pieces played by Porqueddu, "A Short Elegy" and "Memories from the Black Lodge: Homage to David Lynch."
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Steve Price
I love both of these, Steve! The intervals he uses are so beautiful. Totally new to me, so thanks. I’d love to try playing his music
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Steve Price I was able to find the score to the first piece you shared with us. It reminds me a lot of Gulli Bjornsson's Landslog VI.
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Eric Phillips Very nice, Eric. I love this piece. I commented on Porqueddu's forum, and he ended up emailing me and Alfredo Franco, and there is supposed to be a lot more of his music published, most likely on Les Productions d'Oz, so that's good news. He seemed to focus on publishing his bigger-scale works, but he's supposedly prepping the pieces for more for mortals like me now.
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Steve Price Not sure if you're on Facebook but I saw Alfredo Franco posted this on his page this morning. Very cool.
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Eric Phillips Oops. Tagged the wrong person.
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Eric Phillips So beautiful!
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Steve Price Thank you for letting me know. I don’t have Facebook, but I was able to follow your link and read his post in Italian (which I read well enough to get the gist). A couple days ago, he left me a comment in YT, so I knew that he had seen my video. I just hope he liked the way I played it!
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martin Thank you, Martin! I appreciate Steve Price introducing us to the music.
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I would like to share a composer who has written extensively for guitar you may not know about. He is my old teacher Brian Wright. He was born in 1941, is a Savarez Artist https://www.savarez.com/brian-wright and has many scores for guitar available to purchase online. He told me once, he has an unreleased guitar concerto on his shelf!
Here is a of a recent recording of a composition of his in tribute to the late Julian Bream. Enjoy!
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I believe Dr. José Antonio López is such a composer. Presently he is a music and art appreciation professor at the University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez campus . He is not only an accomplished composer, but also a gifted classical guitarist. His last composition Nocturno is just amazing. He has a website aunasolaguitarra.com check it out. By the way, he plays popular music as well, and transcribed to score all of the Juan Neri and the "Tres Ases" music. This year he organized a guitar festival in Mayagüez with competitions, conferences, luthiers, etc. I believe the Orfeo magazine is going to publish something. José Vélez
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Brahms (intermezi) .... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C11RO05OdgY ... say no more
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Julio Sagreras.
I think he gets overlooked because of his pedagogy but even many of those little exercises/studies that he created are so lyrical and lovely.
