A few weeks ago in this space we shared a piece by Rodrigo played by Karmen Štendler of the Weimar Guitar Quartet. Well, this one comes from another member of that fine group of young virtuosos, Stephanie Jones. Currently pursuing a Master’s in Classical Guitar Performance with Thomas Müller-Pering at the University of Music Franz Liszt in Weimar (central Germany), she received her earlier guitar training in her native Australia, where she studied with Tim Kain and Minh Le Hoang (both of whom play in Australia’s fine Guitar Trek guitar quartet). Her most recent album was the 2015 release Colours of Spain, which contains pieces spanning five centuries, from Luis de Narváez and Gaspar Sanz to Francisco Tárrega and Joaquín Turina.
Advertisement
William Walton (1902–1983) was one of the most productive British composers of the 20th century, turning out a couple of symphonies, a major opera, film soundtracks, ballet scores, concertos and other orchestral works, chamber pieces, incidental music, vocal pieces in various instrumental settings, keyboard works… and a solitary work for solo guitar, 5 Bagatelles, written in 1971–72 for Julian Bream; it seems to have become increasingly popular in recent years, especially “No. 1.” Here, Jones play the beautifully lyrical “No. 2.” —Blair Jackson