Meisinger Tarrega

Krzysztof Meisinger was born in 1984. In the opinion of many critics and music lovers from around the world, Krzysztof is one of the most fascinating and charismatic classical guitar players.

Krzysztof Meisinger is one of the most fascinating and charismatic classical guitar players of our time. Born in 1984, he has seen his artistic development benefit from the immense influence of such teachers and music authorities as Aniello Desiderio (Italy) and Christopher Parkening (USA), his talent compared to that of the pianist Piotr Anderszewski and fellow guitarist Pepe Romero. He has performed all over the world – from Tokyo to Los Angeles and Buenos Aires – in such halls as the Wiener Musikverein, Berliner Philharmonie, Wigmore Hall, London, and Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris.

For this, Krzysztof Meisinger's Chandos debut, he has selected a diverse programme of Spanish, Italian, and Argentine works that demonstrate both his technical mastery and his innate musicianship. Rodrigo’s Invocación y danza and Elogio de la guitarra were composed a decade apart, and written for the guitarists Regino Sainz de la Maza and Angelo Gilardino, respectively. Miguel Llobet Solés was a pupil of Tárrega and the teacher of Segovia, thus playing an important role in the Spanish guitar tradition.

Krzysztof Meisinger was born in 1984. In the opinion of many critics and music lovers from around the world, Krzysztof is one of the most fascinating and charismatic classical guitar players.

Before a phrase from the Gran vals by Francisco Tárrega unexpectedly shot to international fame as the Nokia ringtone, his most celebrated pieces included the Capricho árabe, composed in 1892. The piece is inspired by the mixture of Muslim Castilian and Christian cultures which had always been a feature of the Valencia region where Tárrega grew up. Tárrega’s friend and near-contemporary Isaac Albéniz was a virtuoso pianist who also played the guitar. Even though he evoked the guitar brilliantly on the piano, he never composed any music for the instrument. ‘Malagueña’ was first published in the collection España. Published in 1892 as ‘Prélude’, the piece widely known as ‘Asturias’ is also imbued with the spirit of southern Spain. Federico Mompou’s Suite compostelana was commissioned by Andrés Segovia and was published in 1964, the same year as Segovia’s first recording of the piece. The Italian guitarist and composer Carlo Domeniconi has drawn on several national traditions for his works, but has a particular interest in Turkish music which he has studied in depth. The Variationen über ein anatolisches Volkslied (Variations on an Anatolian Folksong) were composed in 1982 and are based on the song (türkü) ‘Uzun ince bir yoldayim’. Koyunbaba is a four-movement suite for guitar which started as an improvisation, and was then notated soon afterwards. The composer describes the score as ‘no more than a sketch’ and insists that players improvise in their performance – which Krzysztof Meisinger does to great effect with his additional ‘Invocazione’ at the start of the work.

Before a phrase from the Gran vals by Francisco Tarrega unexpectedly shot to international fame as the Nokia ringtone, his most celebrated pieces included the Capricho arabe, composed in 1892.