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Paul Galbraith (born 18 March 1964) is a Scottish classical guitarist known for his unique style of playing.


Biography

Paul Galbraith had his first guitar lessons with Graham Wade, continuing his studies with Gordon Crosskey at the Chethams School for Young Musicians. In 1980, he was a finalist in the BBC Young Musician of the Year competition. At the age of 17, Galbraith won the Silver Medal at the Segovia International Guitar Competition.
Andrés Segovia Andrés Segovia Torres, 1st Marquis of Salobreña (21 February 1893 – 2 June 1987), was a Spanish virtuoso classical guitarist. Many professional classical guitarists were either students of Segovia or students of Segovia's students. Segovia ...
, who was present, called his playing "magnificent." This award helped launch an international career including engagements with some of the finest orchestras in Britain and Europe (
Royal Philharmonic The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London, England. The RPO was established by Thomas Beecham in 1946. In its early days, the orchestra secured profitable recording contracts and important engagemen ...
, Chamber Orchestra of Europe,
BBC Philharmonic The BBC Philharmonic is a national British broadcasting symphony orchestra and is one of five radio orchestras maintained by the British Broadcasting Corporation. The Philharmonic is a department of the BBC North Group division based at Media ...
, Scottish Symphony Orchestra,
English Chamber Orchestra The English Chamber Orchestra (ECO) is a British chamber orchestra based in London. The full orchestra regularly plays concerts at Cadogan Hall, and their ensemble performs at Wigmore Hall. With a limited performance size, the orchestra spe ...
, BBC Scottish Orchestra, Scottish Baroque Orchestra,
Ulster Orchestra The Ulster Orchestra is a full-time professional orchestra in Northern Ireland. Based in Belfast, the orchestra plays the majority of its concerts in Belfast's Ulster Hall and Waterfront Hall. It also gives concerts across the United Kingdom ...
, Hallé Orchestra and Scottish Chamber Orchestra among them). He toured the U.S. as soloist with the Moscow Chamber Orchestra, and performed in Prague's Dvorák Hall with the National Chamber Orchestra of Chile. His international touring has also brought him to Canada, Spain, Italy, Greece, Norway, Hungary, Brazil, China, India and Iceland. Galbraith's unique playing position was first revealed at the
Edinburgh Festival __NOTOC__ This is a list of Arts festival, arts and cultural festivals regularly taking place in Edinburgh, Scotland. The city has become known for its festivals since the establishment in 1947 of the Edinburgh International Festival and the ...
in 1989. His guitar (designed in collaboration with the late luthier
David Rubio David Rubio (born David Joseph Spinks; 17 September 1934 – 21 October 2000) was an English maker of stringed musical instruments. Biography David Rubio was born on 17 September 1934 in London, England. He acquired his new surname in his t ...
) is supported by a metal endpin, similar to that of a cello, that rests on a wooden resonance box. The instrument has two extra strings, in addition to those of a normal six-string guitar, one high (A string) and one low (A string). Galbraith's CDs on the
Delos Delos (; ; ''Dêlos'', ''Dâlos''), is a small Greek island near Mykonos, close to the centre of the Cyclades archipelago. Though only in area, it is one of the most important mythological, historical, and archaeological sites in Greece. ...
label are the Bach Lute Suites, Paul Galbraith Plays Haydn (featuring Galbraith's arrangements of four keyboard sonatas), and "In Every Lake the Moon Shines Full"-folk tunes from many countries. Most recently, a CD of arrangements of piano music by
Debussy Achille Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionism in music, Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influe ...
and
Ravel Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism in music, Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composer ...
. Paul Galbraith's double CD of the Complete Solo Bach Violin Sonatas and Partitas (DE 3232) was nominated for a 1998
Grammy The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...
Award in the category of Best Solo Instrumental Album. This recording was also chosen as one of the two best CDs of 1998 by Gramophone Magazine, which called it "a landmark in the history of guitar recordings." This recording received a four star rating in Stereo Review, and reached the top 10 on the classical charts in Billboard Magazine. Galbraith has been featured twice on
National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...
's "All Things Considered" and numerous times on "Performance Today." He made his New York début at the Frick Collection, receiving a rave review in ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
''; a subsequent NYC engagement on
Lincoln Center Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5  ...
's "Great Performances" series was sold out. Recent and forthcoming North American recitals include NYC, Boston, Washington DC, Los Angeles, San Diego, Atlanta, St. Louis, Albuquerque, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Portland, Eugene, Seattle, Miami, Baltimore, Buffalo, Amherst, Milwaukee, San Antonio, San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Cuernavaca, Mexico. In addition, tours of Great Britain, Spain, Portugal, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Hungary, and the Netherlands are among Mr. Galbraith's international activities. During the Bach Year (2000) he was featured artist at the Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Denver and Carmel Bach Festivals. Recent orchestral engagements in the U.S. include concertos with the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra, Knoxville Symphony, Santa Rosa Symphony and ProMusica Chamber Orchestra, among others. Galbraith and the St. Petersburg String Quartet gave the World Premiere in March 2003 at Stanford University of a new work, "Rhapsody for Guitar and String Quartet," that they co-commissioned from the acclaimed Georgian composer Zurab Nadarejshvili. Galbraith has lived in Malawi, Greece, London, and, for the last ten years, Brazil. He was a founding member of the Brazilian Guitar Quartet, playing with them until summer of 2003. His principal teacher, since 1983, has been the Greek conductor, pianist and philosopher George Hadjinikos. Galbraith has lived in Brazil with his lutenist wife Celia, and their daughter Luiza since 1996.


Discography

* 1998 ''Bach: The Sonatas and Partitas for unaccompanied violin COMPLETE'' * 1999 ''Haydn Sonatas arr. for 8-String guitar'' * 2000 ''Bach: Lute Suites'' * 2001 ''In Every Lake the Moon Shines Full: Folk tunes from around the world'' * 2006 ''French Impressions: Music of Debussy & Ravel'' * 2010 ''Paul Galbraith Performs Mozart, Bach & Britten'' * 2017 ''Allemande: Paul Galbraith Plays Bach and Mozart''


See also

* Brahms guitar


References


External links

*
Official website for 2010 CD/DVD project

A Conversation with Paul Galbraith

Google Video Master Class
{{DEFAULTSORT:Galbraith, Paul 1964 births Living people People educated at St Mary's Music School Scottish classical guitarists