Press Release

May 23, 2024

For Immediate Release

"Leisner is among the finest guitarists performing" – American Record Guide

Over 45 years, the guitarist David Leisner has recorded 20 albums, from The Viennese Guitar in 1979 to Charms to Soothe, released on May 24, 2024 on Azica Records. This latest album includes early 19th century music by Mertz, Sor, Guiliani, Schulz and Regondi.

"Some of these gems are not played often, and I hope that this recording might call attention to them. In addition, it is my hope that these lovely compositions may offer some solace during a very challenging period in history – 'charms to soothe the savage breast'," writes Leisner in the liner notes.

One of the composers represented on the album is the Vienna-born Leonard Schulz, who spent most of his career in London. Only a few of his compositions were published in his lifetime. Leisner speculates the reason may have been due to "a lessening of interest in guitar music in England in his generation. Or perhaps because, as reported by his contemporary, Makaroff, he was reputed to be 'the worst drunkard in 'London'." Among the extant compositions are the 12 Studies, L’indispensable, op. 40, a beautifully inventive and harmonically rich collection, three of which are included on this album.

Mauro Giuliani’s Giulianate, op. 148, is a collection of some of his finest pieces. First in the set is La Risoluzione, a stand-alone sonata allegro movement. "I always felt it was a shame that Giuliani didn’t follow through with writing more movements to form a Sonata. So, to appease that personal desire of mine, I chose three other pieces from the same opus to go with it, to make an unofficial Sonata – a scherzo, a slow movement and a rondo."

"David Leisner is a triple-threat performer...The delicacy of his artistry was ingratiating" – The New York Times

DAVID LEISNER, guitar

Charms to Soothe

19th Century Music for Guitar

Digital release: May 31, 2024

Azica Records (ACD-71368)

TRACK LISTING

Johann Kasper Mertz

Nocturne, op. 4, no. 2

[01] Andantino - Allegro con brio (4:24)

Leonard Schulz

Three Etudes (from op. 40)

[02] No. 6, in G major (3:22)

[03] No. 8, in D major (1:54)

[04] No. 9, in A major (1:38)

Fernando Sor

Two Etudes

[05] op. 31, no. 23, in E major (2:13)

[06] op. 6, no. 11, in e minor (3:58)

Mauro Giuliani

Four Pieces (from op. 148) [in the form of a Sonata]

[07] La Risoluzione, no. 1 (6:54)

[08] Scherzo, no. 4 (4:30)

[09] La Melanconia, no. 7 (4:12)

[10] Il Sentimentale, no. 6 (3:48)

Giulio Regondi

Two Etudes

[11] No. 6, in d minor (6:04)

[12] No. 8, in G major (5:40)

Johann Kaspar Mertz

Two Pieces (from Bardenklänge, op. 13)

[13] Lied ohne Worte, vol. 11, no. 1 (4:17)

[14] Mazurka, vol. 11, no. 2 (3:15)

Artist Biography

David Leisner is an extraordinarily versatile musician with a multi-faceted career as performing artist, composer and teacher. “Among the finest guitarists of all time” according to American Record Guide, he has an extensive discography on the Azica, Naxos, Telarc, Bright Shiny Things, Koch and Mel Bay labels. David Leisner has performed as a soloist throughout North America, Australasia and Europe. He is also a frequent guest at important chamber music festivals around the country.

Celebrated for expanding the guitar repertoire, David Leisner has premiered works by David Del Tredici, Virgil Thomson, Ned Rorem, Philip Glass, Richard Rodney Bennett, Peter Sculthorpe, Osvaldo Golijov and others. He was a pioneer in the rediscovery of 19^th-century guitar composers, Johann Kaspar Mertz and Wenzeslaus Matiegka.

Mr. Leisner is a highly respected composer, whose music Fanfare magazine described as “rich in invention and melody, emotionally direct and beautiful”. His works are performed, recorded and published worldwide. In 2023, the legendary guitarist Pepe Romero commissioned and premiered Wayfaring, a concerto for guitar and orchestra, at the Hamptons Festival in New York.

A distinguished teacher, Leisner has served on the faculty of the New England Conservatory, is on the faculty of the Manhattan School of Music, teaches master classes around the world, and is a frequent adjudicator of international guitar competitions. His popular book, Playing with Ease, is published by Oxford University Press.