Agatino Scuderi, guitar

Italian guitarist Agatino Scuderi was born in Catania, where he now teaches at the Conservatorio Vincenzo Bellini. He studied under Linda Calsolaro and the legendary Alirio Díaz, graduated from the Conservatorio Niccolò Piccinni in Bari, and went on to refine his skills at numerous masterclasses in Italy and Spain. As a soloist he has performed all over the world, from Carnegie Hall in New York to the Sorbonne in Paris, and has collaborated with various orchestras in Europe and the United States. He devotes particular attention to Iberian and Latin American music, a focus reflected in his many recordings for the GuitArt label. He plays classical guitars made by the Italian luthier Luciano Maggi, who has dedicated a special model to him. His recital brings together the diverse musical worlds of the Spanish and Latin American traditions. It opens with the intimate Romantic miniatures of Francisco Tárrega, who laid the foundations for the modern classical guitar at the beginning of the last century. This is followed by Manuel de Falla’s only original composition for solo guitar, dedicated to Claude Debussy. The first half concludes with a neoclassical sonatina by Federico Moreno Torroba. The second half of the recital moves towards the Caribbean and South America: first with a piece by Leo Brouwer that blends the composer’s Cuban roots with contemporary musical currents, and then with the dance-inspired and lyrical works of Agustín Barrios Mangoré and a neo-expressionist sonata by Alberto Ginastera.