Manuel Barrueco

This recording features three imaginative and dynamic works by GRAMMY® Award-winning composer Michael Daugherty. The Dayton Philharmonic gives exciting performances under the baton of long-time music director Neal Gittleman, joined by classical guitarist Manuel Barrueco, electric guitarist D. J. Sparr, and narrator Michael Lippert. Bay of Pigs for Classical Guitar and Strings evokes the bittersweet and turbulent events of past and present Cuba. Gee’s Bend for Electric Guitar and Orchestra is a tapestry of syncopated grooves, slow blues and spirituals inspired by the quilts and African- American women quilters of Gee’s Bend, Alabama. TROYJAM for Narrator and Orchestra, with a poetic libretto by Anne Carson, retells the story of the Trojan War from Homer’s Iliad, but with a twist: the Greeks, led by the “lyre-strumming” Achilles against the Trojans led by Hector, decide to play the instruments of the orchestra in a wild jam session to make music, not war.

Astor Piazzolla’s introduction of new rhythms and harmonies into the tango won him worldwide fame. Tango Suite, for two guitars, is one of the finest duo works in the repertoire, offering fire- works and percussive effects as well as exquisite melancholy.

On this latest release in the Guitar Laureate series, Georgi Dimitrov-Jojo, winner of the 2022 European Bach Guitar Award, presents a selection of works transcribed for guitar from the rich repertoire of Johann Sebastian Bach. Dimitrov-Jojo’s beautiful sound and poetic interpretations bring an intimate connection to Bach’s boundless imagination, crowned in this substantial programme by the famous Ciaconna, BWV 1004.