Detlev Bork (born 9 April 1967) is a German guitarist specializing in both classical and flamenco music. On the basis of his large collection of historical scores and recordings he has contributed to musicological projects researching classical guitar music.

Life and career

The grandson of a concert pianist, Bork was born in

Kiel Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 246,243 (2021). Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the Jutland ...

where he became a member of the Kieler Knabenchor, a boys choir with which he went on international concert tours. He learned the guitar from age 11 and studied at the Musikhochschule Köln (Aachen campus) with Tadashi Sasaki (1988–93) and operatic singing with Margarethe van den Eynden and Klaus Jürgen Küper. During 1992–3 he also studied the guitar in London with

Carlos Bonell Carlos Antonio Bonell (born 23 July 1949) is an English classical guitarist of Spanish origin. He has been described by ''Classical Guitar'' magazine as "one of the great communicators of the guitar world". Career Born in London, Bonell started ...

. He took part in master classes with

Abel Carlevaro Abel Carlevaro (16 December 1916 – 17 July 2001) was a classical guitar composer and teacher born in Montevideo, Uruguay. He established a new school of instrumental technique, incorporating a fresh approach to seating and playing the guitar, ...

, Eduardo Fernández, Alberto Ponce,

José Tomás José Tomás Pérez Sellés (26 August 1934, in Alicante – 7 August 2001) was a Spanish classical guitarist and teacher. Considered a major influence on the evolution of classical guitar technique in the second half of the 20th century, he train ...

Luise Walker Luise Walker (9 September 1910 – 30 January 1998) was an Austrian classical guitarist and guitar composer – one of the most prominent female guitarists of her time. Life and career Walker was born in Vienna and began studying guitar at the age ...

, and others. Further studies during the 1990s took him to Spain, extending his knowledge of the

flamenco Flamenco (), in its strictest sense, is an art form based on the various folkloric music traditions of southern Spain, developed within the gitano subculture of the region of Andalusia, and also having historical presence in Extremadura and ...

style with Andrés Batista, Félix de Utrera, Luis Maravilla and José Luis Postigo. During this time he also worked with dancers including Lelita de Cadiz, Antonio Romero and José de la Vega. He has performed as soloist, chamber musician and with orchestra throughout Europe, Israel, USA, Canada, and Mexico, and adjudicated at international guitar competitions. His CD ''The Other Spanish Guitar'' was elected ‘Classical Recording of the Month’ in March 2000 (Diamond Multimedia, CA, USA).Wassily Saba (2002), see 'Bibliography'. Bork's strong interest in contemporary music has led to a number of commissions from living composers which he first performed (see below). Bork now lives and works in

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...

, Germany. Apart from his artistic and pedagogical work, he is also active as a musicologist. He has been a contributor to journals such as "Stereoplay", "Classical Guitar" or "Ensemble". With almost 8,000 items, he owns one of the largest private collections of recorded classical guitar music in the world and is consulted regularly by various international archives and institutions. He has contributed, with Jörg Jewanski, to numerous biographies of guitarists in the German encyclopedia ''

Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart ''Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart: Allgemeine Enzyklopädie der Musik (MGG)'' is one of the world's most comprehensive encyclopedias of music history and musicology, on account of its scope, content, wealth of research areas, and reference t ...

'' (MGG) (Kassel: Bärenreiter, 1996–2008). Bork has contributed research papers to guitar symposiums and festivals including the Lake Konstanz Guitar Research Meeting, the El Paso String Series, etc. Since 2013, he is a guest lecturer at

Pepperdine University Pepperdine University () is a private research university affiliated with the Churches of Christ with its main campus in Los Angeles County, California. Pepperdine's main campus consists of 830 acres (340 ha) overlooking the Pacific Ocean and th ...

, Malibu.

Compositions written for Detlev Bork

Recent works written for Detlev Bork include: * Jan Martin Lang: ''Take Ten'' (2000) * Andrés Batista: ''Generalife y Tartaneras'' (2004) * Jens Joneleit: ''Spur'' (2008) * Roland Chadwick: ''Variations on a Theme of Benjamin Britten'' (2013) * Vincent Lindsey-Clark: ''Centenary Overture'' (2013) * Jaume Torrent: ''Hommage an Benjamin Britten'' (2013) * Frank Wallace: ''A Heavy Sleep'' (2013) * Siegfried Steinkogler: ''Sea Fantasy'' (2014) *

Sergio Blardony Sergio Blardony (born 13 July 1965), is a Spanish composer. He studied at the Real Conservatorio Superior de Música de Madrid and, privately, with the Argentine composer Roberto J. Vittorio. Later, during four years, he was a disciple of José ...

: ''Todo proximo y intocable'' (2015) * Jorge Fernández Guerra: ''Kedem'' (2015) *

José María Gallardo Del Rey José María Gallardo del Rey (born 18 May 1961) is a Spanish musician, guitarist and composer. He has received international awards, both as a performer and for his compositions. Career Born in Seville, Spain, Gallardo del Rey started his caree ...

: ''Feria de Abril'' (2015)

Recordings

* ''Cuerpo y Luz'' (MAX 894, 1994; re-issued 2014), with flamenco compositions by Detlev Bork * ''The Other Spanish Guitar'' (Innovative Strings Records 0300, 2000; re-issued 2015). Works by

José Brocá José Brocá y Codina (in Catalan: Antoni Josep Mateu Brocà i Codina) (21 September 1805 – 3 February 1882) was a Spanish guitarist and composer of the Romantic period. Life and music Brocá was born in Reus, province of Tarragona. Mainly s ...

(1805–1882), Juan Parga (1843–1899),

Daniel Fortea Daniel Fortea i Guimerà (28 April 1878 in Benlloc, Spain – 5 March 1953 in Castellón de la Plana, Spain) was a Spanish guitarist, composer, and music educator. Biography In his childhood, Fortea learned the clarinette, guitar and bandurria ...

(1878–1953),

Joaquín Nin-Culmell Joaquín María Nin-Culmell (5 September 190814 January 2004) was a Cuban-Spanish composer, internationally known concert pianist, and emeritus professor of music at the University of California, Berkeley. Early life Joaquín Nin-Culmell was born ...

(1908–2004), Jaume Torrent (born 1953) * ''Reflejos'' (Signum SIG-X 128-00, 2005) * ''Contemporary Guitar Music from Iceland'' (no label, 2006) * ''Between Classical and Flamenco'' (Christophorus CHE 0145–2, 2009). Works by

José Viñas José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced differently in each language: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , is an old vernacu ...

(1823–1888), Luis Soria (1851–1935),

Joaquín Turina Joaquín Turina Pérez (9 December 188214 January 1949) was a Spanish composer of classical music.''Encyclopædia Britannica'' online (2014)"Joaquín Turina"/ref> Biography Turina was born in Seville. He studied in Seville as well as in Mad ...

(1882–1949), Pedro Sanjuán (1886–1976),

Regino Sainz de la Maza Regino Sainz de la Maza y Ruiz (7 September 1896 – 26 November 1981) was a Spanish classical guitarist and composer. Biography Sainz de la Maza was born in Burgos. At ten, he got his first guitar and started his musical studies with Santiago ...

(1896–1981), Andrés Batista (born 1937). * ''Música contemporània espanyola per a guitarra / Spanish Contemporary Music for Guitar'' (La Mà de Guido LMG 2146, 2016). Works by

(born 1961), Jaume Torrent (born 1953), Andrés Batista (born 1937), Jorge Fernández Guerra (born 1952), Agustín Castilla-Ávila (born 1974). * ''Roland Chadwick: The Beast of Many Colours'' (NEOS 11916, 2019). Works by Roland Chadwick (born 1957): ''The Study of pi''; ''Variations on a Theme of Benjamin Britten''; ''Partita No. 2''; ''The Beast of Many Colours''; ''Partita No. 1''; ''Four Abbreviations''; ''Aigburth Variations''.

Musicological publications

*"Die Gitarre in der Ära der Schellackplatte", in: Ansorge, Peter & Richter, Helmut (eds.): ''Die klassische Gitarre im 20. Jahrhundert. Beiträge zu ihrer Entwicklung im deutschsprachigen Raum'' (Oberhausen: European Guitar Teachers Association Deutschland e.V., 2010), pp. 81–110 *contributions about guitar composers in ''

'' (MGG) (Kassel: Bärenreiter, 1996–2008) *discography a
Austrian Guitar Archive

Bibliography

*Thérèse Wassily Saba: "Young Guitarists Series", in: ''Classical Guitar'' vol. 20, no 7 (March 2002), pp. 24–26 *"'Es gab so viele gute Spieler vor dem Zweiten Weltkrieg, aber alle reden nur von Segovia und Llobet'", in: ''Gitarre Aktuell'' no. 89 (II/2005), pp. 52–55 *"Die rechte Hand des Gitarristen", in: ''¡Anda!'' no. 65 (April–May 2006), p. 15 *"Britten in Mind", in: ''Gitarre Aktuell'' no. 123 (IV/2013), pp. 12–14

References

External links

*Officia
website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bork, Detlev 1967 births German classical guitarists German music educators Living people German male guitarists