This year\u2019s New York Guitar Festival marked the legacy of the late, great British classical guitarist and lutenist Julian Bream<\/a> with three online concerts per day between July 14\u201320. David Spelman is the artistic director of the festival titled \u201cRemembering Julian Bream,\u201d which showcased three generations of top performers presenting renditions of music championed by Bream ranging from the Renaissance to the 20th Century as well as premieres of 21st Century works. Many of the players offered memories of their first introduction to the artistry of Bream, including Sharon Isbin (above) recalling the impact of taking a lesson with Bream at 14, and Pepe Romero, Thomas Thomas Kirchhoff (of the Amadeus Guitar Duo) and Eliot Fisk each speaking warmly of their personal interactions through the years with the British maestro. The 21 pre-recorded videos were shot in variety of settings ranging from the performers\u2019 homes to ornate church or theater settings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Among the players were Pepe Romero (\u201cPreludes 3 and 4,\u201d Villa Lobos), Sharon Isbin (\u201cCapricho \u00c1rabe,\u201d T\u00e1rrega), Jason Vieaux (\u201cEtude 8,\u201d Villa Lobos), Bill Kanengiser (\u201cImpromptus,\u201d Richard Rodney Bennett), David Leisner (an unidentified work from the classical period), T.Y. Zhang (\u201cFancy no. 3,\u201d Dowland), Amadeus Guitar Duo (transcription of a movement from a Borodin string quartet), Eliot Fisk (four Scarlatti sonatas), and Alberta Khoury (title unavailable). Pablo Sainz Villegas and Marija Temos both offered renditions of \u201cDanza Espanola no. 5\u201d by Granados. Dutch lutenist Jozef Van Wissem played his original work \u201cFancy a Nose Cap\u201d and Derek Gripper rendered his piece for tape recorder and guitar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lutenists Paul O\u2019Dette and Hopkinson Smith each acknowledged their debt to Bream for introducing them to Renaissance music for the lute and performed Francis Cutting\u2019s setting of \u201cPavana Bray\u201d (O\u2019Dette) and Anthony Holborne\u2019s \u201cFare Thee Well\u201d (Smith).<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the time of this posting, the six pieces to be premiered are yet to be aired. On July 19 and 20 the final concerts will include new works played by their composers Benjamin Verdery, Adam del Monte, Ryan Riley, Jiji, Laura Snowden. The Newman & Oltman Guitar Duo will premiere \u201cThrough the Looking Glass\u201d by Leo Brouwer. All concerts can be viewed for free at https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/guitarfestival<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n