Michael Lorimer, guitar
Katzin Concert Hall
Guest Artists Concert Series
Thursday, October 8th, 2009
7:30PM

Program
Sevillana (Fantasia), Op. 29

Joaquín Turina
(1882-1949)

Study Without Light
Prayer for the Soul of Manuel Ponce
Remembrance

Andrés Segovia
(1893-1987)

Preludio, Op. 5, Nr. 1
Romanza that Imitates a Cello
Zamba

Agustin Barrios
(1885-1944)

from Preludes and Etudes
(selections to be announced)

Heitor Villa-Lobos
(1887-1959)

from 20 Studies, Op. 50 (1998)
14. Swallows
1. The Jester
2. Dreaming
4. Children's Game
5. Mother and Son
6. The Desert
17. Father and Daughter
18. Fireflies
19. The River

Ernesto García de León
(b. 1952)

El Viejo (Rumba), Op. 15 (1983)

Ernesto García de León

from The Bells: Sonata No. 1, Op. 13 (1979-1982)
2. Song
3. Dance (Son)

Ernesto García de León

Capricho Catalan, Op. 165, No. 5 (arr. Michael Lorimer)
Sevilla, Op. 47 (arr. Miguel Llobet)

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Isaac Albéniz
(1860-1909)

Remembrance
A Tribute to Andrés Segovia and the Tradition of Guitarist-Composers
For centuries, most composers for guitar have been guitarists. The first half of tonight’s concert features three such
artists: Andrés Segovia (known more as a guitarist than as a composer), Heitor Villa-Lobos (known more as
composer than as guitarist), and Agustín Barrios (known equally as guitarist and composer). After intermission we
hear works by Ernesto García de León—a Mexican who today continues this tradition.
Our concert tonight is very much thanks to Andrés Segovia who put the guitar on the concert stage in a new way at
the start of 20th century. To do this, Segovia complemented a repertoire by guitarist-composers with two additions:
original compositions by non-guitarist composers and arrangements for guitar. Two key works were the Sevillana by
Joaquín Turina that begins tonight’s concert and Isaac Albéniz’s Sevilla which closes the program. Turina’s
Sevillana is among the very first works Segovia commissioned and—unlike the pieces Segovia knew by guitaristcomposers—it is an extended composition. Albéniz’s Sevilla—another work based on the Andalucian dance
sevillanas—stunned Segovia when he first heard it. He felt, “This is the repertoire I have so needed. With Sevilla,
now I am ready to present the guitar on important concert stages.” Segovia was always grateful to Miguel Llobett—
the guitarist who arranged Sevilla—for sharing it with Segovia. If Sevilla was very much part of the sunrise of
Segovia’s career, the penultimate piece on tonight’s program—Albéniz’s Capricho Catalan—was much part of its
sunset. In his last decade, Segovia played my arrangement of Capricho Catalan in nearly every recital.

—Michael Lorimer

"Michael Lorimer is one of the most talented guitarists of these times and is the one that I appreciate the
most… He follows the order of the heart rather than the order of the intellect. "
ANDRÉS SEGOVIA, New York, April 22, 1984

Michael Lorimer, a favorite protégé of Andrés Segovia, caught the attention of American audiences in the early
1970s through tours arranged by the great impresario Sol Hurok. His popularity soon extended beyond the shores of
America. He was the first American guitarist invited to perform in major cities of the USSR in 1975 and was
received with such enthusiasm that he was immediately re-engaged for a 1977 tour. He has appeared in Israel,
throughout Europe, on most major North American recital series, and with the orchestras of Atlanta, Baltimore,
Indianapolis, Louisville, New Orleans and San Francisco.
Lorimer's command of an extensive repertoire is unique. His concerts reflect his enthusiasm for music of many
periods and styles and often combine traditional classics, Americana, new works he has commissioned and
seventeenth- and eighteenth-century guitar music performed on a baroque guitar. In addition to concerts, he gives
master classes at North American universities and conservatories from coast to coast. He is an engaging spokesman
in demand for experimental programs in arts presentation.
In television, USA Public Broadcasting (PBS) has presented a special, "The Artistry of Michael Lorimer". In
publishing, the "Michael Lorimer Edition" now numbers over thirty volumes.
Away from music, Michael reads ardently on an expanse of subjects: from sciences to arts. In 1973, he played a
benefit concert for the Hereditary Disease Foundation and for the past twenty years he has also been involved with
the U.S.A.–Venezuela Huntington's Collaborative Research Project.

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