Download Kaleidoscope CD Full-Color Digital Booklet (PDF)

Premiere recordings of masterworks for guitar duo arranged by Gregg Nestor

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Cambria/CD-1193/1994

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The guitar duo tradition stretches back to the early nineteenth century when Fernando Sor wrote duets to perform with Dionisio Aguado. Other composer/performers of this period such as Mauro Giuliani and Fernando Carulli also published fine works for two guitars. In the twentieth century various distinguished duos established an international reputation, the most eminent being the Presti-Lagoya partnership who set new standards in both technique and interpretation.

The duo is a versatile medium capable of encompassing a more complex repertoire than a single guitar. In particular the duo lends itself to imaginative arrangements from a wide variety of sources, including the pianoforte and even orchestral scores. If, as Segovia maintained, the solo instrument is ‘a miniature orchestra in itself’, it could be argued that two guitars double the instrument’s tonal and interpretative resources. The music on this recording demonstrates the duo’s capacity to present a wide range of transcriptions with authority, sensitive musicianship, and virtuosity.

Tracks

1. March – Kaleidoscope,Op.19c – Miklós Rózsa  
2. Zingara – Kaleidoscope,Op.19c – Miklós Rózsa
3. Musette – Kaleidoscope,Op.19c – Miklós Rózsa
4. Berceuse – Kaleidoscope,Op.19c – Miklós Rózsa
5. Chinese Carillon – Kaleidoscope,Op.19c – Miklós Rózsa  
6. Burlesque – Kaleidoscope,Op.19c – Miklós Rózsa
7. Allegro moderato – Sonata (1922) – Francis Poulenc
8. Andante – Sonata (1922) – Francis Poulenc
9. Rondeau – Sonata (1922) – Francis Poulenc
10. Doctor Gradus ad Parnassum – Claude Debussy
11. Berceuse des éléphants – Claude Debussy
12. Sérénade á la poupée – Claude Debussy
13. La neige danse – Claude Debussy
14. Le petit berger – Claude Debussy
15. Golliwog’s Cake Walk – Claude Debussy  
16. Dawn – Celestial Suite,mvmt.2 – Toni Beaulieu
17. Nocturne (Clouds)- Celestial Suite, mvmt.4 – Toni Beaulieu
18. Adagio Cantabile – Introspections (1991) – Michael Deák  
19. Chorale (Cantabile) – Introspections (1991) – Michael Deák
20. Allegro assai – Introspections (1991) – Michael Deák
21. Exaltación – Danzas Fantásticas, Op. 22 (1920) – Joaquin Turina
22. Ensueño – Danzas Fantásticas, Op. 22 (1920) – Joaquin Turina
23. Orgía- Danzas Fantásticas, Op. 22 (1920) – Joaquin Turina  

Credits

Gregg Nestor and Raymond Burley, Guitars
Album Produced by Gregg Nestor
Guitar Duo Arrangements by Gregg Nestor
Recorded at Penguin Recording, Eagle Rock, CA April 5-17, 1994
Engineer: John Strother
Digitally Mastered by Jonathan Marcus, Orpharion Recordings
CD Art Direction: Mark Banning
Mr. Nestor’s Guitar by Martin Fleeson, 1981
Mr. Burley’s Guitar by Martin Fleeson, 1985
Cover Artwork by www.sandnames.com
Album Notes by Graham Wade

Download Venezuela Alegre CD Full-Color Digital Booklet (PDF)

The Music of Venezuelan Composer Carlos Atilano

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BSX Records/2010

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Tracks

Three Venezuelan Pieces
1. Aire Criollo  
2. Cancion
3. Valse

Three Pieces for Guitar
5. El Vals de Alirio
6. Lamento (Bolero)  
7. El Vals de Villaparedes

8. El Editor
9. Atardecer en Caracas

Triptico
10. En Cumana
11. Aguinaldo Caraqueno
12. El Vals de Gregorio

13. Golpe Tuyero

Suite de Antiguas Danzas
14. Prelude
15. Allemande
16. Courante  
17. Sarabande
18. Minuet
19. Gigue

20. Como Llora una Estrella

Suite del Sur
21. Calido Sur
22. Querida Soledad
23. Mi Querida Andina
24. Milonga Giocosa  

25. Entre tu Olvido

Tres Valses Venezolanos
26. Valse Ingenuo
27. Vals de Adam y Eva
28. El Vals de Vladislav

Venezuela Alegre
29. Don Alejandro
30. El Golpe de Las Muchachas
31. En tu lejania  
32. Tonada y Pajarillo

Credits

Gregg Nestor, Guitar

Download Dancing On Air CD Full-Color Digital Booklet (PDF)

Masterworks for Guitar Based on Ethnic Folksong and Dance

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BSX Records/BSXCD 8879/1991

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The guitar has long been associated with folk music and composers over the centuries have been indebted to folk songs. One only has to think of Schubert, Liszt, Tchaikovsky, Bartok, Dvorak, Vaughn Williams, Rodrigo, etc. to realise the extent of this umbilical relationship between so called “art” music and the folkloric. On this recording the two cultural streams, that of folk and the other of the concert hall, are juxtaposed, some of the pieces being straightforwardly “folk”, the rest examples of how contemporary composers have enthusiastically used the resources of their national heritage.

Tracks

HEBRAIC SUITE anon., arr. Gregg Nestor
1. The Rabbi Wants Us to be Merry  
2. A Flame Is Burning
3. A Letter to Mother
4. Hassidic Dance
5. My Yiddische Momma
6. Inconsolable
7. Chave!

SUITE IN MODO POLONICO Alexandre Tansman
8. Branle (Entrée)
9. Gaillarde
10. Kujawiak (Mazurka Lente)
11. Tempo de Polonaise
12. Kolysanka No. 1  
13. Mazurka  
14. Reverie
15. Alla Polacca
16. Kolysanka No. 2
17. Oberek (Mazurka Vive)

18. GREENSLEEVES anon., arr. John Duarte

ENGLISH SUITE, Op. 31 John Duarte
19. Prelude  
20. Folk Song
21. Round Dance

22. IRISH TUNE-THE LONDONDERRY AIR anon., arr. Gregg Nestor

SUITE PIEMONTESE, Op. 46 John Duarte
23. Pastorale
24. Canzona
25. La Danza

26. HABAÑERA Eduardo Sáinz de la Maza  

27. VARIATIONS ON A CATALAN SONG, Op. 25 John Duarte
Theme – Resoluto – Molto lirico –
Vivo e con forza – Alla Sarabanda –
Con bravura – Con delicatezza – Finale

Credits

Album Produced by Gregg Nestor
Recorded at Penguin Recording, Eagle Rock, CA
Between July and September, 1991
Engineer: John Strother
Digitally Mastered by Jonathan Marcus, Orpharion Recordings
CD Art Direction: Mark Banning
Mr. Nestor’s Guitar by Jose Ramirez, 1984
Front Cover Drawing by Gary Friedman
Page Six and CD Label Drawing by Maria Auerova-Griesova

A Collection of Songs of Five Centuries

Notes

TownHall Records/THCD-44/1996

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The richness of language–Spanish and its numerous dialects, as well as indigenous tongues–imbues Spanish and Latin American song literature with an infinite variety of melodic and rhythmic textures. This CD contains a fascinating collection of these songs.

Tracks

Four Sixteenth Century Songs
1. Porque es, dama,tanto quereros? Diego Pisador
2. Donde son estas serranas? Enrique de Valderrabano
3. Agora vienese un viento… Luis de Milán
4. Se te vas a bañar, Juanica… Diego Pisador (arr. by G.Tarrago)

No se emendera jamas
5. Aria (No se emenderá jamas) G.F.Handel**
6. Recitativo (No se emenderá jamas) G.F.Handel**
7. Aria (No se emenderá jamas) G.F.Handel**

Siete cantares
8. La indita (7 cantares) Roberto Gerhard
9. El toro (7 cantares) Roberto Gerhard
10. La auséncia (7 cantares) Roberto Gerhard
11. Un galán y su morena (7 cantares) Roberto Gerhard
12. La lobada (7 cantares) Roberto Gerhard
13. La muerte y la donzella (7 cantares) Roberto Gerhard
14. Reinas de la baraja (7 cantares) Roberto Gerhard

Seis poemas arcaicos
15. Más quiero morir… (6 poemas) Manuel M. Ponce*
16. Zagaleja del Casar… (6 poemas) Manuel M. Ponce*
17. De las sierras…(6 poemas) Manuel M. Ponce*
18. Sol,sol,gi,gi… (6 poemas) Manuel M. Ponce*
19. Desciende el valle, niña… (6 poemas) Manuel M. Ponce*
20. Tres morillas… (6 poemas) Manuel M. Ponce*
21. Estrellita Manuel M. Ponce*

Two Columbian Folksongs
22. Mis flores negras Miguel Sandoval*
23. Por un beso de tu boca Miguel Sandoval*

Cuatro canciones aztecas
24. No nantzin Salvador Moreno*
25. Ihcuac tlaneci… Salvador Moreno*
26. To ilhuicac tlahtzin Salvador Moreno*
27. To huey tlahtzin Cuauhtémoc Salvador Moreno*

* Arranged by Gregg Nestor
** Arranged by Raymond Burley

Credits

Recorded at The Place, NYC
Recording Engineer: Evan Richey
Executive Producer: Lincoln Mayorga
Produced by Gregg Nestor and Anna Bartos
Mastering: Gavin Lurssen, The Mastering Lab
Art Direction: Suzanne Hollander
Cover Design: Sean Hickey
Cover Photo: John Purick

Download Remembrances CD Full-Color Digital Booklet (PDF)

Dedicated to the memory of Andres Segovia with gratitude

Notes

BSX Records/BSXCD8878/2010

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Nowadays the classical guitar is truly international with performers and composers from around the world being involved in the development of its repertoire. Yet at the heart of the instrument’s appeal, Spanish music continues to fascinate players and public. In particular, the many pieces written for Andres Segovia by Iberian composers inspire a charismatic enchantment. Yet even beyond the orbit of Maestro Segovia’s creative presence, there is a hinterland of Spanish works equally imaginative and alluring.

Tracks

1. Sonata – Mateo Albéniz  

SUITE: PLATERO Y YO – Eduardo Sáinz de la Maza
2. Platero
3. El Loco
4. La Azotea
5. Darbon
6. Paseo
7. La Tortuga
8. La Muerte  
9. A Platero en Su Tierra

10. Nocturno – Federico Moreno Torroba
11. Fandanguillo – Joaquin Turina

HOMMAGE Á TARREGA – Joaquin Turina
12. Garrotin
13. Soleares

DOS MINIATURES – Maria Esteban da Valera
14. Nana  
15. Intermezzo

16. FANTASIA – SONATA, Op. 22 – Joan Manén
Largo • Allegro • Adagio cantabile • Allegro assai • Doppio piú lento (Andante)

17. Mallorca (Barcarola), Op. 202 – Isaac Albéniz  
18. Cordoba, Op. 232, No. 4 – Isaac Albéniz

Credits

Album produced by Gregg Nestor
Recorded at Penguin Recording, Eagle Rock, CA
between September and December, 1991
Engineer: John Strother
Digitally mastered by Jonathan Marcus, Orpharian Recordings
CD Art Direction by Mark Banning
Album Notes by Graham Wade
Mr. Nestor’s Guitar: Jose Ramirez, 1984

Magnificent Wedding Music arranged for guitar and orchestra by Dominik Hauser

Notes

WeddingMusic.com/WMCD0109/2009

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These beautiful arrangements combine the full rich sound of a symphony orchestra with the embracing warmth of a classical guitar. One of Hollywood’s top music arrangers, Dominik Hauser, has collaborated with world renowned classical guitarist Gregg Nestor to produce these Wedding Masterpieces as you have never heard them before.

Tracks

Prelude Music
1. Meditation – from ‘Thais’ (Massenet)
2. Greensleeves (Traditional)
3. O Danny Boy (Traditional)
4. Estrellita (Ponce)

Processional Music
5. Largo – standard length (Vivaldi)
6. Largo – extended length (Vivaldi)
7. Air – from ‘Water Music’ (Handel)
8. Trumpet Tune (Purcell)
9. Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring (Bach)
10. Canon in D (Pachelbel)

Bridal Entrance Music
>11. Bridal Chorus (Wagner)
12. To a Wild Rose (MacDowell)

Interlude Music
13. Ave Maria (Schubert)
14. Ave Maria (Bach/Gounod)

Recessional Music
15. Wedding March (Mendelssohn)
16. Trumpet Voluntary (Purcell)

Credits

Arranged and orchestrated by Dominik Hauser
Guitar by Gregg Nestor
Mixed and mastered by Michael Aarvold
Photography by Tim Otto Photography
Calligraphy by A Queen’s Scribe Master Calligraphy

Download You Must Remember This Too CD Full-Color Digital Booklet (PDF)

Classic Film Music by Gold, Newman, Korngold, Rozsa, Herrmann, Morley and Tiomkin Arranged for Guitar

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BSX Records/BSXCD 8856/2009

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Few things encourage artistic rediscovery so much as a change in perspective. The music represented on this disc has endured in the memory of both film-goers and music lovers; but in adapting these pieces for two guitars, in arrangements based faithfully on the composers’ original scores, guitarist and arranger Gregg Nestor encourages us to both renew and rethink some old acquaintances.

Tracks

1. It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World – Ernest Gold  
2. Overture: All About Eve – Alfred Newman
3. Wuthering Heights – Alfred Newman  
4. Down to the Sea in Ships – Alfred Newman
5. My Love and I – Erich Wolfgang Korngold (Gregg Nestor, solo guitar)

Suite in the Olden Style – Miklos Rozsa (with Jessica Pierce, flute; Francisco Castillo, oboe/English horn; Kevan Torfeh, cello)
6. Le Passepied de Vaubiessard (Madame Bovary)  
7. Bourree (Moonfleet)
8. The Duchess of Brighton (The V.I.P.S)
9. Pavanne & Gaillarde (Diane)
10. Love Song (Diane)
11. The Prince of Wales (Young Bess)
12. Suite: Psycho – Bernard Herrmann  
13. Suite: Watership Down – Angela Morley
14. Music of the Night – Dimitri Tiomkin (with Anna Bartos, soprano)
15. Friendly Persuasion – Dimitri Tiomkin  
16. Suite: A President’s Country – Dimitri Tiomkin

Musicians

Gregg Nestor and William Kanengiser, guitars
Jessica Pierce, flute
Francisco Castillo, oboe/English horn
Kevan Torfeh, cello
David McKelvey, harmonica
Anna Bartos, soprano

Credits

Executive Album Producers for BSX Records: Ford A. Thaxton and Mark Banning
Album Produced by Gregg Nestor
Guitar Arrangements by Gregg Nestor
Tracks 1-5 and 12-16 recorded at Penguin Recording, Eagle Rock, CA
Engineer: John Strother
Tracks 6-11 recorded at Villa di Fontani, Lake View Terrace, CA
Engineers: Jonathan Marcus, Benjamin Maas
Digitally Edited and Mastered by Jonathan Marcus, Orpharian Recordings
CD Art Direction: Mark Banning
Mr. Nestor’s Guitars by Martin Fleeson, 1981 and Jose Ramirez, 1984 and Sergio Abreu, 1993
Mr. Kanengiser’s Guitar by Miguel Rodriguez, 1977

Miklós Rózsa: Double Life with music for film and various instruments, including guitar

Notes

Bay Cities/BCD-1020/1990

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About

After scoring the film Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid in 1981 Miklós Rózsa decided the
time had come to end his career writing music for movies. Starting with Knight Without
Armor in 1907, he had by now written ninety film scores, a body of work that forms one
of the most important contributions to the art of film. Forty-four years is, as he points out,
a long time to be associated with any particular form of composition. It is indeed a
remarkable track record, although in his case it is made the more remarkable by the
fact that it forms only half of his musical life.

When Rózsa published his autobiography in 1982 he gave it the title Double Life,
which, he is quick to point out, refers to his professional and not his private life. To an
extent unmatched by any other composer, he has been able to divide his time and his
productivity between composition for film and composition for the recital and concert
halls. While he is acknowledged for his mastery of film scoring he is equally recognized
for his chamber, choral and concert works, almost all of which have been recorded. In
fact, few Twentieth century composers are as well represented on records as Miklós Rózsa.

Until now Rózsa has always resisted any suggestions for record albums that
combined his film scoring with his chamber and concert works, feeling that the two
sides of his musical double life should be kept apart. However, now that he has
revealed what he calls “the two-faced nature of my professional life” in his
autobiography, he feels it might not be amiss to let the two Rózsas sit side by side on a
disc.

Tracks

1. Suite from the film “The Private Lives of J. Edgar Hoover”
2. Sonata for Harp – Susann McDonald, Harp
3. Sonata for Oboe – Allan Vogel, Oboe
4. Three Waltzes for Guitar – arranged and played by Gregg Nestor, Guitar
5. Introduction and Allegro for Solo Viola – Maria Newman, Viola

Credits

Produced by Tony Thomas
Executive Producers: Bruce Kimmel, Alain Silver, Michael Rosen
Projects Director: Nick Redman
Digital Mastering: Daniel Hersch, DigiPrep
Cover Design: Debby Lenny
Graphic Artist: Karen Stone

Download Rozsa Collection CD Full-Color Digital Booklet (PDF)

The Miklós Rózsa Collection: Music for Guitar by Miklós Rózsa arranged by Gregg Nestor

Notes

BSX Records/BSX8845/2008

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Few things encourage artistic rediscovery so
much as a change in perspective. The music of
Miklós Rózsa represented on this disc has
endured in the memory of both film-goers and music
lovers, its popularity confirmed by time; but in
adapting these pieces for two guitars, in arrangements
based faithfully on the composer’s original scores,
guitarist and arranger Gregg Nestor encourages us to
both renew and rethink some old acquaintances.

“Andres Segovia used to say that one is able to capture
all the different fragrances of the orchestra on guitar,
but viewed in a bottle, in miniaturized form,” observes
Nestor. “A guitarist can produce tone-color changes
on the strings; he can imitate qualities of a particular
instrument. The challenge of these arrangements was
to bring forward the most important elements from
their orchestral guise. The guitar, being a plucked
instrument, can expose individual voices, voices you
might not have heard before, and make them very
clear and distinct. It focuses the basic substance and
can highlight the structure of the music.”

According to Gregg Nestor, the music of Hungarian-born
composer Miklós Rózsa (1907-1995) is
especially suited for guitar adaptation, “because you
hear someone who is always thinking orchestrally. His
musical lines are not static; the canonic imitation and
contrapuntal voices lie very well for guitar.”

Tracks

Kaleidoscope, Op.19c (1946)

1. March
2. Zingara
3. Musette
4. Berceuse
5. Chinese Carillon
6. Burlesque

Sonata for Guitar, Op.42 (1986)

7. Moderato
8. Molto Moderato, quasi Canzone
9. Allegro Frenetico

El Cid (1961)

10. Overture
11. Love Theme
12. That Hamilton Woman (1941) – Lady Hamilton Love Theme
13. Young Bess (1953) – The King’s Diary and Finances
14. Madame Bovary (1949) – Le Passepied de Vaubiessard
15. A Woman’s Vengeance (1948) – The Boat House Waltz
16. Providence (1977) – Valse Crepusculaire
17. Blood on the Sun (1945) – The Tokyo Tea Room Waltz
18. Green Fire (1954) – Theme
19. Moonfleet (1955) – Bourree
20. Tip on a Dead Jockey (1957) – The Happy Idiot Waltz
21. Lydia (1941) – Suite
22. Crisis (1950) – Suite

Musicians

William Kanengiser, Raymond Burley, Gregg Nestor, Guitars
Francisco Castillo, Oboe
Carole Kleister-Castillo, Violin

Credits

Executive Producers for BSX Records: Ford A. Thaxton and Mark Banning
Produced by Gregg Nestor
Guitar arrangements by Gregg Nestor
Recorded at Penguin Recording, Eagle Rock, CA
Engineer: John Strother
Digitally Edited and Mastered by James Nelson at Digital Outland
CD Art Direction: Mark Banning
Mr. Nestor’s Guitars by Martin Fleeson, 1981 and Jose Ramirez, 1984
Mr. Kanengiser’s Guitar by Miguel Rodriguez, 1977

Download Mediterranean Impressions CD Full-Color Digital Booklet (PDF)

Music of Tedesco, Debussy, Ravel, Levitch, de Falla and Boccherini

Notes

Cambria Records/CD-1049/1990

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Tracks

Quintet for Guitar and Strings, Op. 143, (1950) by Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco (1895-1968)
1. Allegro, vivo e schietto  
2. Andante mesto
3. Scherzo – Allegro con spirito, alla Marcia
4. Finale, Allegro con fuoco
—
5. Ricordo di Mario for solo guitar (1978) by Leon Levitch (b. 1927)
—
Petite Suite (1889) by Claude Debussy (1862-1918) (flute, oboe, clarinet, violin, guitar, bass)
6. En Bateau  
7. Cortege
8. Menuet
9. Ballet
—
10. Hommage Pour Le Tombeau de Debussy (1920) by Manuel de Falla (1876-1946) (solo guitar)  
—
Le Tombeau de Couperin (1917) by Maurice Ravel (1875-1937) (flute, oboe, clarinet, violin, guitar, bass)
11. Prelude  
12. Forlane
13. Menuet
14. Rigaudon
—
15. Introduction and Fandango by Luigi Boccherini (1743-1805) (guitar and harpsichord)  

Musicians

Gregg Nestor, guitar
Francisco J. Castillo, oboe
Beth Folsom, violin
Jordan Dardov, violin
Gary Gray, clarinet
Karl Vincent, bass
Janet Lakatos, viola,
Masatoshi Mitsumoto, cello
Bonnie Janofsky, harpsichord

Credits

Produced by Lance Bowling and Gregg Nestor
Recorded at Penguin Recording, Eagle Rock, CA
Tel Star Recording, Burbank, CA
Recorded and Mixed by John Strother
Digital Preparation by CMS Digital
Engineer: Robert A. Vosgien