{"id":147884,"date":"2025-05-14T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-05-14T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/?p=147884"},"modified":"2025-05-08T18:26:35","modified_gmt":"2025-05-09T01:26:35","slug":"new-releases-showcase-the-expressive-power-and-global-reach-of-the-nylon-string-guitar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/new-releases-showcase-the-expressive-power-and-global-reach-of-the-nylon-string-guitar\/","title":{"rendered":"New Releases Showcase the Expressive Power and Global Reach of the Nylon-String Guitar"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/4kdr1N8\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\" noreferrer noopener\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"900\" height=\"900\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/carlotta-segoiva.jpg?resize=900%2C900&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-147886\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/carlotta-segoiva.jpg?w=900&amp;ssl=1 900w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/carlotta-segoiva.jpg?resize=500%2C500&amp;ssl=1 500w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/carlotta-segoiva.jpg?resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/carlotta-segoiva.jpg?resize=768%2C768&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/carlotta-segoiva.jpg?resize=300%2C300&amp;ssl=1 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Carlotta Dalia<\/strong><br><em><a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/4kdr1N8\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Segovia<\/a><\/em><br>(Berlin Classics)\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Though still just in her mid-20s, Italian guitarist Carlotta Dalia has become something of an international sensation, and deservedly so. Her latest album,\u00a0<em><a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/4kdr1N8\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Segovia<\/a><\/em>, shows her interpretive range, as she confidently takes on diverse repertoire that for the most part was closely associated with the immortal Andr\u00e9s Segovia\u2014either written for him, by him, or featuring his arrangements. And she plays it all on an incredibly rich-sounding 1939 Herman Hauser I guitar that Segovia owned (one of two surviving models).\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-embed-handler wp-block-embed-embed-handler wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe title=\"Carlotta Dalia - Andr\u00e9s Segovia: 5 Anecdotas: 1. Allegretto (Offizielles Musikvideo)\" width=\"1290\" height=\"726\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/3u_yb6TbSaM?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Dalia wisely steers clear of Segovia\u2019s best-known works (except for Federico Moreno Torroba\u2019s \u201cSonatina\u201d and Joachim Turina\u2019s \u201cFantasia Sevillana\u201d), opting instead for less-played gems like the five-part Segovia-penned&nbsp;<em>An\u00e9cdotas<\/em>, and even a contemporary piece by Italian composer Enrico Melozzi that uses a piece by Baroque composer J.P. Rameau as a jumping-off point\u2014Segovia often played Rameau\u2019s \u201cMinuet\u201d from the opera&nbsp;<em>Plate\u00e9<\/em>. Another nice work that was new to me is Hans Haug\u2019s \u201cAlba,\u201d which Segovia recorded in the early \u201960s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"900\" height=\"900\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/mela-overtures.jpg?resize=900%2C900&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-147887\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/mela-overtures.jpg?w=900&amp;ssl=1 900w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/mela-overtures.jpg?resize=500%2C500&amp;ssl=1 500w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/mela-overtures.jpg?resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/mela-overtures.jpg?resize=768%2C768&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/mela-overtures.jpg?resize=300%2C300&amp;ssl=1 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>M\u0113la Guitar Quartet<\/strong><br><em><a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/4jNFiQL\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Overtures and Dances<\/a>\u00a0<\/em><br>(TRPTK)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>By turns dazzling and deeply emotional, the UK-based <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/4jNFiQL\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">M\u0113la Guitar Quartet\u2019s most recent offering<\/a> truly shows the beauty, depth and power of the underappreciated guitar quartet art form. Comprised of founders Matthew Robinson and George Tarlton, along with newer members Zahrah Hutton and Michael Butten\u2014all of whom play guitars made by veteran British luthier Michael Gee\u2014the extraordinarily nimble ensemble seems to play as one entity, with eight hands in perfect synch and sympathetic resonance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As the album title implies, the repertoire this time out is devoted to pieces that have \u201ca theatrical element in opera, ballet, or dance.\u201d So, for instance, the five-part&nbsp;<em>Ma M\u00e8re l\u2019Oye<\/em>&nbsp;(Mother Goose) began its life in 1910 as a Maurice Ravel piano duet (four hands right there!) and later was orchestrated as a popular ballet. The thrilling arrangement of \u201cSamson et Delilah\u201d comes from Camille Saint-Saens\u2019 late 19th-century opera of that name.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-embed-handler wp-block-embed-embed-handler wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe title=\"My Neighbour Totoro Suite - Joe Hisaishi | Mela guitar quartet\" width=\"1290\" height=\"726\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/-RDGzqPecx8?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The lone contemporary work, by Joe Hisaishi, is a playful suite of musical thoughts in varying styles from the 1988 anime film classic&nbsp;<em>My Neighbor Totoro<\/em>. Among the other composers represented are Debussy and Rachmaninoff. The virtuosity of all four players is on display throughout, but it\u2019s never showy, and indeed some of the album\u2019s most powerful moments are quiet, lyrical, and surprisingly spare.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/451tk1c\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\" noreferrer noopener\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"500\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Dale-Kavanagh-friends.jpg?resize=500%2C500&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-147888\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Dale-Kavanagh-friends.jpg?w=500&amp;ssl=1 500w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Dale-Kavanagh-friends.jpg?resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Dale-Kavanagh-friends.jpg?resize=300%2C300&amp;ssl=1 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Dale Kavanagh<\/strong><br><em><a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/42RvQpy\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Dale Kavanagh and Friends<\/a><\/em><br>(Naxos)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I mostly know this extraordinary Canadian guitarist and composer through her long musical association with her husband, German guitarist Thomas Kirchhoff, in the Germany-based Amadeus Guitar Duo, who seem to have no musical boundaries at all\u2014they\u2019re comfortable playing any style from any era, as their extensive discography shows. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This time around, though, Kavanagh highlights ten of her own pieces\u2014a few solo, others with help from such skilled and internationally known guitarists as Aniello Desiderio (Italy), Zoran Duki\u0107 (Croatia), Margarita Escarpa (Spain), Frank Gerstmeier (Germany), S\u00fcmeyye Erg\u00fcn (Turkey), Laura Young (Canada), Liying Zhu (China) and, yes, hubby Kirchhoff.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-embed-handler wp-block-embed-embed-handler wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe title=\"The Ghost of Peggy&#039;s Cove, Op. 14\" width=\"1290\" height=\"968\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/xl3dELvrFPU?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Kavanagh is a superb composer, adept at penning multi-layered works that move naturally through different moods and various melodic and rhythmic approaches. There is a strong traditional and contemporary folk undercurrent to many of these pieces (several have what I would call a \u201cWindham Hill\u201d feel), and though there are a few that also borrow from more modern musical lexicons, everything here is highly accessible\u2014a lovely melody is never far away. Played on her Antonio M\u00fcller guitar, every&nbsp;track feels like a journey that goes someplace interesting, making for a wonderful and compelling album from beginning to end.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/georgesakellariou.bandcamp.com\/track\/soliloquy\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\" noreferrer noopener\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"700\" height=\"700\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/George-Sakellariou-Winding-Road-.jpg?resize=700%2C700&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-147889\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/George-Sakellariou-Winding-Road-.jpg?w=700&amp;ssl=1 700w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/George-Sakellariou-Winding-Road-.jpg?resize=500%2C500&amp;ssl=1 500w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/George-Sakellariou-Winding-Road-.jpg?resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/George-Sakellariou-Winding-Road-.jpg?resize=300%2C300&amp;ssl=1 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>George Sakellariou<\/strong><br><em><a href=\"https:\/\/georgesakellariou.bandcamp.com\/track\/soliloquy\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Winding Road<\/a>\u00a0<\/em><br>(Self-released\/Bandcamp)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I confess that I was not familiar with Tennessee-based classical guitar teacher\/composer Lawrence W. Long before hearing George Sakellariou\u2019s previous album,\u00a0<em><a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3GIeR09\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Vintage Sakellariou<\/a><\/em>\u00a0(2023), on which two attractive Long pieces shared a CD with the likes of Bach, Grieg, T\u00e1rrega, Sor, and Villa-Lobos. The 80-year-old Sakellariou, originally a native of Greece, has a formidable background as guitar educator himself\u2014he was the first head of the guitar department at the esteemed San Francisco Conservatory of Music and still lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sakellariou\u2019s latest album,\u00a0<em><a href=\"https:\/\/georgesakellariou.bandcamp.com\/track\/soliloquy\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Winding Road<\/a><\/em>, finds him playing 14 short\u2014all under three minutes\u2014solo guitar works by his friend Long, who passed away at the age of 88 in 2023. The recordings were made at Guitar Salon International\u2019s main showroom during three sessions in 2021 and 2022, with Sakellariou performing each on a different guitar, ranging from historic models by Antonio Torres and Robert Bouchet to a whole bunch from the 2000s. (All are listed in the album\u2019s liner notes.)\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-embed-handler wp-block-embed-embed-handler wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe title=\"Lawrence Long&#039;s &quot;Winding Road&quot; performed by George Sakellariou on an 2022 Michel Belair\" width=\"1290\" height=\"726\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/d1nIr3kHO_w?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Long once noted that in essence he wrote pieces for his students that were \u201cdevelopmental in style difficulty as well as pleasing to the ear.\u201d Indeed, it\u2019s easy to imagine any of these pieces finding their way into a fingerstyle player\u2019s repertoire. And most are not that simple, either. Many have demanding lower-register lines that require great dexterity, and a couple feature difficult tremolo passages. There is a nice stylistic variety from track to track, from blues to Latin-flavored numbers to Spanish-influenced moments to American folk notions, all tied together by Sakellariou\u2019s exquisite guitar mastery.&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Recent albums by Carlotta Dalia, the M\u0113la Quartet, Dale Kavanagh, and George Sakellariou reveal the instrument\u2019s versatility.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":147885,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"Recent albums by Carlotta Dalia, the M\u0113la Quartet, Dale Kavanagh, and George Sakellariou reveal the instrument\u2019s versatility.","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[885],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[1539],"class_list":["post-147884","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-album-reviews"],"blocksy_meta":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/classicalroundupreview.jpg?fit=1236%2C511&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"authors":[{"term_id":1539,"user_id":7,"is_guest":0,"slug":"blairstringletter-com","display_name":"Blair Jackson","avatar_url":{"url":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/blair-jackson-headshot.png","url2x":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/blair-jackson-headshot.png"},"author_category":"","user_url":"","last_name":"Jackson","first_name":"Blair","job_title":"","description":"Blair Jackson is the author of the definitive biography <i>Garcia: An American Life<\/i> and was senior editor at <i>Acoustic Guitar<\/i> before retiring in 2023."}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/147884","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=147884"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/147884\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":147910,"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/147884\/revisions\/147910"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/147885"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=147884"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=147884"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=147884"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=147884"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}