Concerto by Mauro Giuliani on Rare Historic Guitar on Fretworks

On Fretworks this Saturday evening, I'll have a fine recording of the popular Guitar Concerto No. 1 in A by the early 19th century guitarist composer Mauro Giuliani.  John Williams will play a rare Gaetano Guadagnini guitar made in Turin in 1814. This is the same type of instrument that Giuliani himself played, so the sound will be much closer to what audiences of his time would have heard.  John Williams has recorded this concerto before on a standard classical guitar, and guitar aficionados will notice the difference in sound.  The historic instrument has a somewhat smaller and thinner body than the the Spanish classical guitar as it evolved in the later 19th century and that we are familiar with today.  Williams will be accompanied by the Australian Chamber Orchestra in this 1998 recording. Above is a documentary profile on Australian born guitarist John Williams. Speaking of different sounds, I'll also have a mandolin concerto from perhaps a little earlier by Giovanni Paisiello (1740-1816).  The recording from the mid 1980s features Ugo Orlandi with I Solisti Veneti conducted by Claudio Scimone.  Music of another Italian composer, Domenico Scarlatti, will be played by Stephen Marchionda.  We'll hear one of the many keyboard sonatas Scarlatti wrote in a transcription for solo guitar. A popular Paraguayan air by Agustin Barrios, considered by some to be the greatest of all guitarist-composers, will be performed by Canadian guitarist Jeffrey McFadden.  Join me Saturday at 7pm here on Classical 101 for Fretworks.