Musicology Commons^™

The Catalan Guitar, Part 1: Four New E-Books By Brian Jeffery And Josep María Mangado, Richard M. Long

Soundboard Scholar

A review of four new biographical studies of Fernando Sor:

• Brian Jeffery, Fernando Sor: Composer and Guitarist, 3rd edition (N.p.: Tecla, 2020), PDF or ePub
• Josep María Mangado Artigas, Fernando Sor (1778–1839), vol. 1, Aportaciones biográficas (Sant Feliu de Llobregat, Barcelona: Self-published, Tecla, 2020), PDF
• Josep María Mangado Artigas, Fernando Sor (1778–1839), vol. 2, Documentos inéditos: Reflexiones e hypótesis (Sant Feliu de Llobregat, Barcelona: Self-published, Tecla, 2018), PDF
• Josep María Mangado Artigas, Fernando Sor (1778–1839), vol. 3, La actividad guitarrística en París (1825–1839) (Sant Feliu de Llobregat, Barcelona: Self-published, Tecla, 2010), PDF

The Life And Times Of Josef Kaspar Mertz: New Biographical Insights, Andreas Stevens

Soundboard Scholar

Stevens examines the biographical information about the German Romantic-era guitarist Josef Kaspar Mertz.The first one, authored in Russian by Nicolai Makaroff, became the best known because it has been available in English. By today's standards, Makaroff's recollections of the guitar's situation in the middle of the nineteenth century seem deeply subjective. Ever on the lookout for active exponents of the art of guitar playing, he met Mertz twice in Vienna and witnessed several private performances by Mertz. For better or for worse, his less-than-enthusiastic assessment of Mertz's playing has been taken at face value for perhaps too long, especially since …