Mauro Giuliani began his music studies with the cello but soon discovered the guitar and mastered it. Unfortunately, it wasn’t very popular in his native Italy where opera was all the rage. So he toured throughout Europe and eventually settled in Vienna in his early 20s and through his performances, composing and teaching, became part of that city’s musical elite. Nearly alone he raised the esteem and popularity of the guitar. Giuliani’s Guitar Concerto No. 1, which he premiered in Vienna in 1808 when he was 26, is today’s Midday Masterpiece at 2:00 pm featuring Sacramento State professor of guitar Richard Savino as the soloist with the Portland Baroque Orchestra performing on period instruments.
Classical Music Playlist, July 22, 2022
July 22, 2022