Wulfin Lieske: a Gourmet Guitarist

Torres Guitar La Leona – Rumores De La Caleta (1) Albeniz, Wulfin Lieske GOURMET GUITARS

The writing of classical music is considered the most important element of the music- in fact, listen to a classical performance on YouTube and you will be hard pressed to see the Artist name ahead of the composers..

In fact, sometimes you might not even see the artist (guitarists) name at all…

as if this piece just plays itself!!!

Well, just love the piece here, but Wulfin Lieske doesn’t an outstanding rendition. Got to give the credit to Wulfin…. sorry. I’m sure he can play many other classical pieces with equal tone, power, dynamic and feeling.

“GOURMET GUITARS presents one of the most famous pieces in classical guitar history: Rumores De La Calete by Isaac Albeniz. Wulfin Lieske performs on the long lost “La Leona” of Antonio de Torres 1856. Due to the length of the Rumores we had to break it down in two pieces. We apologize for this inconveniece. GOURMET GUITARS filmed and recorded that historical concert at the St. Michael Chapel in Bad Godesberg on June 18, 2005. Please rate and comment, 😉 Thank You!”

“Wulfin Lieske approaches his listeners with a boundless capacity for making music come to life. His phrasing is always beautiful; he has convincingly logical agogic and dynamics, and an exceptionally immediate tone. He is able to give this music everything it needs as regards emotion, lightness of touch

and virtuosity. Warmly delineated melodies of breathtaking lyrical beauty combine with sometimes dizzying arpeggios and runs. A strong instinct for timing and rhythmic articulation allows the music’s pulse to be clearly evident at all times.” (Gitarre Konkret)

Born in Linz, Austria, Lieske made his concert debut at 14 in the famous abbey on the Scottish island of Iona. Works by Bach and Villa-Lobos figured in the program together with improvisations and compositions by himself.

Wulfin Lieske went on to study at the state music school in Cologne, playing electronic guitar alongside classical, and amassed his early performing experience in very contrasting fields, which demanded great stylistic versatility on the one hand and on the other hand stimulated in him the curiosity which has influenced his work ever since. Today, as guitarist and

composer, he is among the leading international musical personalities in his field. His conception of music-making opens up completely new insights into traditional guitar music. Lieske’s playing is full of sensitivity, with finely chiseled detail and a vast spectrum of dynamics and coloring, combined with complete mastery of his instrument. The guitar as conveyor of the Mediterranean love of life, regularly combined with a well-chosen Latin- American repertoire perfectly within the instrument’s tradition, appears again and again in his programs. In addition Wulfin Lieske likes to give the “old

masters” their due. He therefore took an intensive interest in the legendary guitar maker Antonio de Torres and made a crucially important contribution to the rediscovery of the old Spanish guitar. The closest possible identification between performer and instrument, music and physical context, is created, going beyond stylistic boundaries and epochs and awakening a unique emotional need for the sound of the guitar and its chameleon-like ability to draw on all styles. This becomes apparent in his many CD recordings.

To date he has worked with outstanding artists such as Gidon Kremer, Astor Piazzolla, Juan José Mosalini and the Hilliard Ensemble. In 1994 he founded the quartet “Bronsky Ritual”, with which he has performed contemporary chamber music and thematic program cycles, sometimes enhanced by imaginative lighting. His repertoire covers a span from Bach to free improvisation. In his solo recitals he likes to highlight the contrast between popular music in the border area between classicism and the folk traditions of

Latin America and Spain on the one hand and the pioneering works of old and new music on the other.” go to website