In compiling this landmark sourcebook, Finnish guitarists Hannu Annala and Heiki Matlik consulted more than 70 music texts as well as dozens of composer resumes acquired from the musical information centers of several countries. During the writing process, which lasted for more than three years, they received additional information from many modern composers, including Leo Brouwer and Reginald Smith Brindle among others. In addition, several internationally renowned performing guitarists provided valuable information; these include Magnus Andersson (Sweden), Remi Boucher (Canada), Margarita Escarpa (Spain), Aleksander Frauchi (Russia) and David Tanenbaum (USA) among others.The authors' aim was to write a well-structured book with separate chapters for each instrument, such as the Renaissance and Baroque guitar, the Renaissance and Baroque lute, the vihuela, etc. This unique structure enables the reader to easily discover which composers wrote for a certain instrument during any given period.In addition to the composers one would expect to find in such a comprehensive listing, the book documents several historical and modern composers for whom little previous information has been available. the book's list of more than 400 guitar and lute concertos dating from the Baroque era to the present day is a totally unprecedented.Short introductions regarding guitar and lute-like instruments as well as their basic histories are provided at the beginning of the book. the authors hope that the Handbook of Guitar and Lute Composers will serve as a practical guide for both amateurs and professionals, encouraging further study of the history of these instruments and expanding the repertoire heard on today's concert stage.

Frederic Chopin was one of the most original and influential composers in history. Although he only lived 39 years, he wrote music that has thoroughly embedded itself in our culture. His melodies are often instantly familiar to us and show a profound lyric sense. Many qualities of Chopin's music are ideal for guitar transcription. He wrote pieces that are short with a manageable range. The textures are mostly single melody lines with harmonic accompaniment without the complex counterpoint that can be so difficult on the guitar. His music is often soft, intimate, subtle, and full of naunces of articulation, dynamics, and phrasing. These qualities transfer quite naturally to the guitar. While remaining as faithful as possible to the composer's musical intentions, these pieces experienced some modification that is noted in the provided performance notes. Intermediate in difficulty, this book assumes the player has basic knowledge of the guitar and familiarity with either standard music notation or guitar tablature. Selections include: Prelude Op. 28, No. 7; Prelude Op. 28, No. 20; Prelude Op. 28, No. 4; Cantabile; Mazurka Op. 6, No. 2; Prelude Op. 28, No , 15; Nocturne Op. 9, No. 2; Nocturne Op. 15, No. 3; Nocturne Op. 37, No 1; and Nocturne Op. 55, No. 1. Includes online access to the audio recording of all these beautiful pieces.