Gabriel BiancoHaving performed concerts regularly for the last five years, Gabriel Bianco haswon first prize in a number of international competitions in Austria (Vienna),Germany (Koblenz), France (Ile de R and Barbezieux), Poland (Tychy) andPortugal (Sernancelhe). His most recent triumph at the 2008 Guitar Foundationof America Competition brought him the coveted fifty-concert tour of the UnitedStates, Mexico, and Canada, with additional concerts in China, Colombia, andBrazil. No stranger to the spotlight, he has already performed in over thirty musicfestivals across the world, in France, Germany, the Czech Republic, Poland,Austria, Spain, Italy, Hungary, Romania, Portugal, Slovakia, and Thailand. At theage of twelve he performed for French television (Mezzo), and later appeared onRomanian television (TVR Cultura). Born into a family of musicians, GabrielBianco made an early start on the guitar, receiving lessons at the age of five fromhis father. A few years later, he began his studies in Paris with Ramon de Herreraat the Conservatoire National de Rgion, Conservatoire Suprieur de Paris andlater at the Conservatoire National Suprieur de Musique et de Danse of Paris,where he received the highest performance distinction under the teaching ofOlivier Chassain. Since 2005 he has studied with French virtuoso Judical Perroy.Gabriel Bianco plays on Savarez strings. www.gabrielbianco.com

8.572306 4

The Sonatas three movements represent the threemain elements of the form in terms of exposition,development and recapitulation. Thus the first movementopens Allegro energico, with distinctive melodic andrhythmic patterns evolving into more complex figurations.Further thematic elements emerge until an episode, Tempoprimo, reminds us of the opening motif though withincreasing intricacy. Then comes an extended Agitatosection of great intensity, leading to a finale marked byrepeated pedal notes in the treble with the theme in thebass, as heard at the outset of the piece. A tranquil lentocoda concludes. A theme high up on the fingerboard,with answering chords begins the extended slowmovement, Adagio molto. This develops into a melodicstatement on the lower strings responded to by dissonanttwo-part chords. These aspects are then modified inepisodes marked Pi mosso, agitato, reflecting theopening of the movement, and Andantino, another motif

played against bass quavers. The momentum developssteadily, Con moto, to arrive at vivid chords, reminiscentof the Agitato of the first movement. A slightly alteredrecapitulation of the Adagios opening theme then pointsus towards familiar territory.

The final movement, Presto, risoluto energico, is asynthesis of previous melodic and rhythmic elements bothexpressed and implied. A central section exploits thetraditional concept of treble melody and bassaccompaniment, though here the technique deploys anentirely contemporary vocabulary. This is followed byrepeated pedal notes reminiscent of the first movementbut now with a very different effect. The Sonata endswith a recapitulation of various characteristics of thePresto opening, re-constituted and explored in depth,culminating in a triumphantly virtuosic finale.

Graham Wade

Pho

to:

Phi

lipp

e Si

sban

e

Gabriel Bianco2008 WinnerGuitar Foundation ofAmerica Competition

GUITAR RECITAL

J. K. MERTZLob der Trnen ElegyCapriccio TarantellaHungarian Fantasy

J. S. BACHSonata No. 3 in C major

N. KOSHKINSonata for Guitar K

Y

M

C

Laureate Series Guitar

572306bk Bianco:570034bk Hasse 5/3/09 11:47 AM Page 4

8.57230638.572306 2

Gabriel Bianco: Guitar RecitalJohann Kaspar Mertz (18061856): Lob der Trnen (Praise of Tears) CapriccioTarantelle Elegy Hungarian Fantasy, Op. 65, No. 1Johann Sebastian Bach (16851750): Sonata No. 3 in C major, BWV 1005Nikita Koshkin (b. 1956): Sonata for Guitar

Johann Kaspar Mertz, a virtuoso performer on both guitarand flute, was born in Pressburg (now Bratislava,Slovakia). He moved to Vienna in 1840 and made hisconcert debut at the Court Theatre of the EmpressCarolina Augusta. In subsequent years, Mertz touredMoravia, Poland and Russia, gave concerts in Berlin andDresden, and also played at the court of Ludwig ofBavaria. Shortly after his death from a heart ailment atthe age of fifty, Mertz was posthumously awarded thefirst prize for his composition Concertino at the BrusselsCompetition of 1856. Mertz performed on various typesof guitar, including eight- and ten-stringed instruments,from the 1840s onwards. His prolific compositionsinclude didactic and easy pieces, concert works,arrangements of Schubert, pieces for two guitars or guitarand piano, and fantasies based on famous operatic themes.Nikolai Makaroff (1810-1890), the eminent Russianguitarist, described his playing as marked by force,sweep, sensitivity, precision, expression and assuranceand praised his skill with every secret and effect of theguitar. Despite his output of over one hundred com-positions, Mertz was neglected by guitarists for manydecades, a revival of interest in his creative activities beingachieved with Simon Wynbergs ten volume edition ofhis works (Chanterelle, 1985). Since that time his musichas become a significant feature of the concert repertoire.

Lob der Trnen (Praise of Tears), is a fairly freearrangement of Schuberts setting of a poem by Schlegel,published 1822. The poem begins:

Laue Lfte,Blumendfte,Alle Lenz- und Jugendlust,Frischer LippenKsse nippen,

Sanft gewiegt an zarter Brust;Dann der TraubenNektar rauben,Reihentanz und Spiel und Scherz,Was die SinnenNur gewinnen:Ach, erfllt es je das Herz?Gentle breezes,scents of flowers,full of spring and young desire,stealing kisses from fresh lips,snuggling up to a soft breast;then stealing the nectar from grapes;dances and games and jokes;can the heart ever be fulfilledwith what the senses have gained?(Translated by David Stevens)

Mertzs guitar arrangement brings together bothSchuberts song and the essential elements of the originalpiano accompaniment in an artistically satisfying union.

Capriccio is from Book 3 of Mertzs Bardenklnge(Bardic Sounds), a collection of impressionistic pieces,possibly inspired to some extent by the romantic novelsof Sir Walter Scott. This Caprice has many characteristicsof guitar styles of the epoch, delighting in arpeggios,snatches of tremolo, melodic sequences, and sonorouschords.

Tarantelle, from Bardenklnge, Book 6, is anexploration of this lively dance in six-eight time whichoriginated in Taranto in southern Italy. The piece beginswith a short introduction before the theme, marked Prestoallegramente, makes its first appearance. The rondo-likenature of the form enables the composer to present variouscontrasting episodes, the mood intensifying throughout

until a vivid Prestissimo coda brings matters to a thrillingclimax.

Elegy, one of Mertzs expressive masterpieces,exemplifies the spirit of romanticism in its melodicinventiveness. From the first exposition of its plaintivetheme, the work develops in complexity. Following theplain chordal opening, Elegy proceeds to deeper intensity,contrasting slower sections of harmonic intricacy withsparkling arpeggios. This continues to a poignant quietending endowed with an almost pianistic richness ofsonorities.

Finally, Hungarian Fantasy, Op. 65, No. 1, representsthe virtuosic aspects of Mertzs instrumental mastery. Thefirst section consists of stately melodic passagesprogressing to a memorable Adagio maestoso withsyncopated descending chords, and a deceptively calmepisode marked lugubre (gloomy). This leads to one of themost remarkable examples of nineteenth-century guitarwriting, an Allegro vivace section of extraordinaryexuberance.

The tradition of performing J.S. Bachs music on guitarwas first established by Francisco Trrega (1852-1909),continued by Andrs Segovia, and developed by latergenerations. Nowadays Bachs genius is an integral aspectof the guitarists landscape, incorporating transcriptionsfrom works for violin, cello, and keyboard.

Jaap Schrder, the distinguished violinist, has pointedout that Sonata No. 3 in C major, BWV 1005, is distinctfrom Bachs other two violin sonatas as the first twomovements do not have an Italianate character. Theopening Adagio serves the purpose of a Prelude to thefugue, while the Fuga itself, a long chorale melody, ischaracteristic of the German Reformation. The Largo andAllegro assai, however, follow the inspiration of previoussonatas being influenced by the Italian sonate da chiesawith its slow-fast-slow-fast order of movements.

The serene Adagio, preparing the mood for the Fuga,is well suited for transcription to plucked strings becauseof its chordal nature. The predominant feature is the useof dotted rhythms and the development in places of fourpart harmony, very convenient for guitar or lute. The

Fugas opening is based on an ancient sequence ofPentecost for which the text, Veni, Sancte Spiritus, wasestablished by Pope Innocent III during the twelfthcentury. The German version, Komm, heiliger Geist,Herre Gott, was adapted four hundred years later byMartin Luther. Bach used this theme in his Pentecostcantatas (BWV 59 and 175), and in the motet, BWV 226.From this noble motif emerges a massive fugalexploration comprising four separate sections of thematicentries, the second in stretto (where subject andcountersubject are brought close together), the third withthe main theme inverted, and a climax of close-packedpolyphonic intensity. Largo, in F major, serves to releasefugal tension. Against the gently flowing semiquavers ofthe melody, Bach added a bass line, again ideal forplucked string interpretation. Allegro assai, in binaryform, has been described by Schrder as fast, very openin sound, and whirls around like a spinning top. In Bachsscore there are no accompanying notes but only a singlebrilliant line providing a vigorous finale to a majesticSonata.

Nikita Koshkin, guitarist, composer and teacher, beganto study music at the age of fourteen when his grandfatherpresented him with a guitar and a recording of AndrsSegovia. Soon afterwards he decided this would be hisfuture career. Koshkin studied guitar under GeorgeEmanov at the Moscow Conservatory and with AlexanderFrauchi at the Russian Academy of Music, and was acomposition student of Victor Egorov. He achievedinternational fame as a composer with The Princes Toys(1980) and Usher Waltz (1984) and is now acclaimed asone of the major creative artists of the contemporaryguitar.

The twentieth century witnessed a profoundconsolidation of guitar sonata traditions with composerssuch as Torroba, Ponce, Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Berkeley,Bennett, Tippett, and Brouwer contributing to the genre.Koshkins Sonata for guitar solo (1997), dedicated toElena Papandreou, is a further landmark in the repertoire.This challenging work provides a major contribution tothe guitars significant development within modern music.

572306bk Bianco:570034bk Hasse 5/3/09 11:48 AM Page 2

8.57230638.572306 2

Gabriel Bianco: Guitar RecitalJohann Kaspar Mertz (18061856): Lob der Trnen (Praise of Tears) CapriccioTarantelle Elegy Hungarian Fantasy, Op. 65, No. 1Johann Sebastian Bach (16851750): Sonata No. 3 in C major, BWV 1005Nikita Koshkin (b. 1956): Sonata for Guitar

Johann Kaspar Mertz, a virtuoso performer on both guitarand flute, was born in Pressburg (now Bratislava,Slovakia). He moved to Vienna in 1840 and made hisconcert debut at the Court Theatre of the EmpressCarolina Augusta. In subsequent years, Mertz touredMoravia, Poland and Russia, gave concerts in Berlin andDresden, and also played at the court of Ludwig ofBavaria. Shortly after his death from a heart ailment atthe age of fifty, Mertz was posthumously awarded thefirst prize for his composition Concertino at the BrusselsCompetition of 1856. Mertz performed on various typesof guitar, including eight- and ten-stringed instruments,from the 1840s onwards. His prolific compositionsinclude didactic and easy pieces, concert works,arrangements of Schubert, pieces for two guitars or guitarand piano, and fantasies based on famous operatic themes.Nikolai Makaroff (1810-1890), the eminent Russianguitarist, described his playing as marked by force,sweep, sensitivity, precision, expression and assuranceand praised his skill with every secret and effect of theguitar. Despite his output of over one hundred com-positions, Mertz was neglected by guitarists for manydecades, a revival of interest in his creative activities beingachieved with Simon Wynbergs ten volume edition ofhis works (Chanterelle, 1985). Since that time his musichas become a significant feature of the concert repertoire.

Lob der Trnen (Praise of Tears), is a fairly freearrangement of Schuberts setting of a poem by Schlegel,published 1822. The poem begins:

Laue Lfte,Blumendfte,Alle Lenz- und Jugendlust,Frischer LippenKsse nippen,

Sanft gewiegt an zarter Brust;Dann der TraubenNektar rauben,Reihentanz und Spiel und Scherz,Was die SinnenNur gewinnen:Ach, erfllt es je das Herz?Gentle breezes,scents of flowers,full of spring and young desire,stealing kisses from fresh lips,snuggling up to a soft breast;then stealing the nectar from grapes;dances and games and jokes;can the heart ever be fulfilledwith what the senses have gained?(Translated by David Stevens)

Mertzs guitar arrangement brings together bothSchuberts song and the essential elements of the originalpiano accompaniment in an artistically satisfying union.

Capriccio is from Book 3 of Mertzs Bardenklnge(Bardic Sounds), a collection of impressionistic pieces,possibly inspired to some extent by the romantic novelsof Sir Walter Scott. This Caprice has many characteristicsof guitar styles of the epoch, delighting in arpeggios,snatches of tremolo, melodic sequences, and sonorouschords.

Tarantelle, from Bardenklnge, Book 6, is anexploration of this lively dance in six-eight time whichoriginated in Taranto in southern Italy. The piece beginswith a short introduction before the theme, marked Prestoallegramente, makes its first appearance. The rondo-likenature of the form enables the composer to present variouscontrasting episodes, the mood intensifying throughout

until a vivid Prestissimo coda brings matters to a thrillingclimax.

Elegy, one of Mertzs expressive masterpieces,exemplifies the spirit of romanticism in its melodicinventiveness. From the first exposition of its plaintivetheme, the work develops in complexity. Following theplain chordal opening, Elegy proceeds to deeper intensity,contrasting slower sections of harmonic intricacy withsparkling arpeggios. This continues to a poignant quietending endowed with an almost pianistic richness ofsonorities.

Finally, Hungarian Fantasy, Op. 65, No. 1, representsthe virtuosic aspects of Mertzs instrumental mastery. Thefirst section consists of stately melodic passagesprogressing to a memorable Adagio maestoso withsyncopated descending chords, and a deceptively calmepisode marked lugubre (gloomy). This leads to one of themost remarkable examples of nineteenth-century guitarwriting, an Allegro vivace section of extraordinaryexuberance.

The tradition of performing J.S. Bachs music on guitarwas first established by Francisco Trrega (1852-1909),continued by Andrs Segovia, and developed by latergenerations. Nowadays Bachs genius is an integral aspectof the guitarists landscape, incorporating transcriptionsfrom works for violin, cello, and keyboard.

Jaap Schrder, the distinguished violinist, has pointedout that Sonata No. 3 in C major, BWV 1005, is distinctfrom Bachs other two violin sonatas as the first twomovements do not have an Italianate character. Theopening Adagio serves the purpose of a Prelude to thefugue, while the Fuga itself, a long chorale melody, ischaracteristic of the German Reformation. The Largo andAllegro assai, however, follow the inspiration of previoussonatas being influenced by the Italian sonate da chiesawith its slow-fast-slow-fast order of movements.

The serene Adagio, preparing the mood for the Fuga,is well suited for transcription to plucked strings becauseof its chordal nature. The predominant feature is the useof dotted rhythms and the development in places of fourpart harmony, very convenient for guitar or lute. The

Fugas opening is based on an ancient sequence ofPentecost for which the text, Veni, Sancte Spiritus, wasestablished by Pope Innocent III during the twelfthcentury. The German version, Komm, heiliger Geist,Herre Gott, was adapted four hundred years later byMartin Luther. Bach used this theme in his Pentecostcantatas (BWV 59 and 175), and in the motet, BWV 226.From this noble motif emerges a massive fugalexploration comprising four separate sections of thematicentries, the second in stretto (where subject andcountersubject are brought close together), the third withthe main theme inverted, and a climax of close-packedpolyphonic intensity. Largo, in F major, serves to releasefugal tension. Against the gently flowing semiquavers ofthe melody, Bach added a bass line, again ideal forplucked string interpretation. Allegro assai, in binaryform, has been described by Schrder as fast, very openin sound, and whirls around like a spinning top. In Bachsscore there are no accompanying notes but only a singlebrilliant line providing a vigorous finale to a majesticSonata.

Nikita Koshkin, guitarist, composer and teacher, beganto study music at the age of fourteen when his grandfatherpresented him with a guitar and a recording of AndrsSegovia. Soon afterwards he decided this would be hisfuture career. Koshkin studied guitar under GeorgeEmanov at the Moscow Conservatory and with AlexanderFrauchi at the Russian Academy of Music, and was acomposition student of Victor Egorov. He achievedinternational fame as a composer with The Princes Toys(1980) and Usher Waltz (1984) and is now acclaimed asone of the major creative artists of the contemporaryguitar.

The twentieth century witnessed a profoundconsolidation of guitar sonata traditions with composerssuch as Torroba, Ponce, Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Berkeley,Bennett, Tippett, and Brouwer contributing to the genre.Koshkins Sonata for guitar solo (1997), dedicated toElena Papandreou, is a further landmark in the repertoire.This challenging work provides a major contribution tothe guitars significant development within modern music.

572306bk Bianco:570034bk Hasse 5/3/09 11:48 AM Page 2

Gabriel BiancoHaving performed concerts regularly for the last five years, Gabriel Bianco haswon first prize in a number of international competitions in Austria (Vienna),Germany (Koblenz), France (Ile de R and Barbezieux), Poland (Tychy) andPortugal (Sernancelhe). His most recent triumph at the 2008 Guitar Foundationof America Competition brought him the coveted fifty-concert tour of the UnitedStates, Mexico, and Canada, with additional concerts in China, Colombia, andBrazil. No stranger to the spotlight, he has already performed in over thirty musicfestivals across the world, in France, Germany, the Czech Republic, Poland,Austria, Spain, Italy, Hungary, Romania, Portugal, Slovakia, and Thailand. At theage of twelve he performed for French television (Mezzo), and later appeared onRomanian television (TVR Cultura). Born into a family of musicians, GabrielBianco made an early start on the guitar, receiving lessons at the age of five fromhis father. A few years later, he began his studies in Paris with Ramon de Herreraat the Conservatoire National de Rgion, Conservatoire Suprieur de Paris andlater at the Conservatoire National Suprieur de Musique et de Danse of Paris,where he received the highest performance distinction under the teaching ofOlivier Chassain. Since 2005 he has studied with French virtuoso Judical Perroy.Gabriel Bianco plays on Savarez strings. www.gabrielbianco.com

8.572306 4

The Sonatas three movements represent the threemain elements of the form in terms of exposition,development and recapitulation. Thus the first movementopens Allegro energico, with distinctive melodic andrhythmic patterns evolving into more complex figurations.Further thematic elements emerge until an episode, Tempoprimo, reminds us of the opening motif though withincreasing intricacy. Then comes an extended Agitatosection of great intensity, leading to a finale marked byrepeated pedal notes in the treble with the theme in thebass, as heard at the outset of the piece. A tranquil lentocoda concludes. A theme high up on the fingerboard,with answering chords begins the extended slowmovement, Adagio molto. This develops into a melodicstatement on the lower strings responded to by dissonanttwo-part chords. These aspects are then modified inepisodes marked Pi mosso, agitato, reflecting theopening of the movement, and Andantino, another motif

played against bass quavers. The momentum developssteadily, Con moto, to arrive at vivid chords, reminiscentof the Agitato of the first movement. A slightly alteredrecapitulation of the Adagios opening theme then pointsus towards familiar territory.

The final movement, Presto, risoluto energico, is asynthesis of previous melodic and rhythmic elements bothexpressed and implied. A central section exploits thetraditional concept of treble melody and bassaccompaniment, though here the technique deploys anentirely contemporary vocabulary. This is followed byrepeated pedal notes reminiscent of the first movementbut now with a very different effect. The Sonata endswith a recapitulation of various characteristics of thePresto opening, re-constituted and explored in depth,culminating in a triumphantly virtuosic finale.

Graham Wade

Pho

to:

Phi

lipp

e Si

sban

e

Gabriel Bianco2008 WinnerGuitar Foundation ofAmerica Competition

GUITAR RECITAL

J. K. MERTZLob der Trnen ElegyCapriccio TarantellaHungarian Fantasy

J. S. BACHSonata No. 3 in C major

N. KOSHKINSonata for Guitar K

Y

M

C

Laureate Series Guitar

572306bk Bianco:570034bk Hasse 5/3/09 11:47 AM Page 4

Gabriel Bianco2008 WinnerGuitar Foundation ofAmerica Competition

GUITAR RECITAL

J. K. MERTZLob der Trnen ElegyCapriccio TarantellaHungarian Fantasy

J. S. BACHSonata No. 3 in C major

N. KOSHKINSonata for Guitar

The young French guitarist Gabriel Bianco adds First Prize in the 2008 GFA InternationalSolo Competition to an impressive list of previous awards from international competitions.He started playing guitar at the age of five, and graduated at the age of twenty with firstprize from the Conservatoire National de Rgion de Paris. The same year, he received thehighest mark and ranking in the entrance competition to the Conservatoire NationalSuprieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris. Gabriel Bianco gave his first concert in Pariswhen he was fifteen, and is now invited to play throughout the world. His teachers haveincluded Ramon de Herrera, Oliver Chassain and Judical Perroy.

DDD

8.572306

&

2009

Naxos R

ights International Ltd.

Booklet notes in E

nglish D

isc Made in C

anadaP

rinted & A

ssembled in U

SA

ww

w.naxos.com

GABRIEL BIANCOGuitar Recital

Recorded at St John Chrysostom Church, Newmarket, Ontario, Canada, 2931 January 2009Producers: Norbert Kraft & Bonnie Silver Engineer & Editor: Norbert Kraft Booklet notes: Graham Wade

Guitar: G. Smallman, Australia Strings: Savarez Publishers: Chanterelle (Mertz); public domain (Bach);Musical Editions Papagrigoriou-Nakas (Koshkin) Cover photo of Gabriel Bianco: Laurence Danire

Playing Time74:16

GA

BR

IEL

BIA

NC

O:

Guitar R

ecitalNAXOS

GA

BR

IEL

BIA

NC

O:

Guitar R

ecitalNAXOS

8.572306

8.572306

JOHANN KASPAR MERTZ (18061856)1 Lob der Trnen (Praise of Tears) 3:232 Capriccio (from Bardenklnge, Book 3, No. 3) 1:363 Tarantelle (from Bardenklnge, Book 6, No. 1) 3:534 Elegy 8:315 Hungarian Fantasy, Op. 65, No. 1 7:29

JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH (16851750)Sonata No. 3 in C major, BWV 1005 21:45

6 Adagio 4:217 Fuga 8:388 Largo 3:069 Allegro assai 5:38

NIKITA KOSHKIN (b. 1956) Sonata for Guitar (1997) 27:29

0 I. Allegro energico 9:18! II. Adagio molto 9:23@ III. Presto, risoluto energico 8:42

Remove frame.

GW ok

GB ok

NK/BS ok

KA ok

PB ok

KH ok

K&A Timings ok

K

Y

M

C

K

Y

M

C

Laureate Series Guitar