Here’s a piece guaranteed to bring a smile to your face: It’s the “Prelude” from English Suite, Op. 31 by British composer/guitarist John W. Duarte (1919–2004). It was most famously played by Andrés Segovia on his 1967 Segovia On Stage album; here it’s played by German guitarist Hanna Link, whom I first encountered (musically) as a member of the fantastic Weimar Guitar Quartet. In past Video Picks and other showcases, we’ve posted performances from Hanna’s mates in the WGQ—Stephanie Jones, Karmen Štendler, and Jakob Schmidt (as well as the entire group together), but I believe this is the first time we have featured Hanna alone. Her first solo album, Serenade, came out last year, and the Weimar Guitar Quartet’s self-titled debut was released this past March (and I will be writing about it here soon). —Blair Jackson
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