The relationship between my collection of Portraits with David Russell goes back to the first of them which was dedicated to Ely Kassner in celebration of his 80th birthday in 2004. On that occasion David generously gave the premiere of Ely's Portrait in Toronto during the ceremony celebrating Ely’s 80th birthday. I had based the piece on Ely Kassner's name by attaching the musical notes that are equivalent to the syllables of his name. From that point I came up with the idea of making a collection of Portraits that would take place over the years ahead. By happy coincidence, the second Portrait in the collection was in honor of Sandy Bolton, a guitar aficionado who lived in Tucson, Arizona and was a supporter of the University of Arizona's guitar program. He was also a great friend of David Russell and I could count on David again to premiere that work as well. The third Portrait was written for David when he was awarded the honorary Doctor degree granted by the University of Arizona in Tucson. For that particular event I composed the David’s Portrait. The fourth Portrait was a tribute to Phyllis Bolton, Sandy Bolton’s wife who, along with her husband, helped maintain Tucson's guitar program. Phyllis was an extremely generous person and a great admirer of the arts in general. Musically, her predilection revolved around the Americana style and it was with that in mind that I developed Phyllis Portrait in 7 segments that cover different genres linked to American music. The name of Phyllis keeps appearing in all segments and serve as the lick that hold the different styles together. It is a special pleasure to be able to count on David again to present this piece.
Smokin', especially the last movement. Your interpretation of Assad's awesome lyrical music is awesome! Thanks for sharing. Please come to America for a tour. 👏👏👏👏👏👌
I know you didn't intend to be disrespectful! But, many people will "get it" that way. :) David Russel is the most significant classical guitarist around. His sound is gorgeous, and I think the best in the World. The first time I heard his recordings, I knew I would need to work harder to be satisfied with playing guitar again. :) Thank you, David! Please, post more!
Well, I don’t read many articles and such,(next to mine basically) so I’m trying to figure out why you close“underrated” as a description of him. I know he’s about the best example of a performer in the genre that there is, it even can be. I do feel like he should have the same amount or more attention and, frankly it’s HYPE, as Brad, Segovia, Parkening, Williams, and Barrueco, to name a few, but I don’t think he WANTS that. (Yeah that was a run-on sentence a major problem with me) lol
Increíble. Soñaba con ver este video completo cuando mostró una parte en la lectura sobre la música de Sergio Assad. Gracias! Honestamente sueño con que algún día todos sus videos que tiene guardados salgan a la luz para que toda la comunidad de la guitarra pueda disfrutarlos por siempre.
Just wonderful! An amazing piece played by an exceptional musician. What are the marks on the fretboard either side of the 6th string on the 1st and 2nd frets?
I was looking at that and personally I feel that is a reflection from the lighting used in the video, because those marks only show up at particular angles of viewing the fret board. That is my guess.
creo que a todos los impacientes escuchantes de youtube se nos hace largo oir una obra de 10 minutos salvo que sea una excelsa, amena y variada composición interpretada por uno de los indiscutibles grandísimos guitarristas clásicos de todos los tiempos conocidos. ¡Qué precisión!
Davids playing ability is just maxed out...maxed out. Way to show the world how a scottish man does it. Declaration of Arbroath we are descended directly from the lost tribes of Israel.
Aparte de la extraordinaria interpretación, observando la guitarra, me llama la atención el primer y segundo traste a la altura de la quinta y de la sexta cuerda. Ha colocado algo ahí.
I think 'underrated' is the wrong word. Certainly guitar players revere him. But I'm often astonished that so many people,(even music lovers) don't know him, while they consider Bream, Williams , and now Milos, household names.
