NEW RELEASE: DON ANDRES AND PAQUITA: The Life of Segovia in Montevideo (in English)

This heartbreaking tale uncovers a mystery in the life of one of the most important personalities of the twentieth century, guitarist Andrés Segovia (1893-1987). He married the widowed Paquita Madriguera (1900-1965), famous child prodigy pianist and prized student of Enrique Granados, in 1935 as his international career was blossoming. They fled their native Spain under death threats when the Spanish Civil War erupted in 1936 and began an odyssey that landed them in the Uruguayan capital.

Segovia's support for the fascist Franco resulted in his banishment from the lucrative American concert scene, while the travel dangers of World War II further isolated him from the rest of the world. During this time, Segovia greatly enriched the guitar repertoire through numerous arrangements and collaborations with major composers via correspondence. It was also an era of happy family life with Paquita. The couple collaborated on two of the most important contemporary guitar concertos and traveled throughout Latin America to perform.

Then tragedy struck as the guitarist became entangled with a beautiful Brazilian singer in an affair that ruined his marriage and brought tragic consequences to his family life. In writing his autobiography, Segovia could never face this period. With the help of tenacious research and Paquita's two surviving daughters, Alfredo Escande diligently lifts the veil of secrecy and reveals a magical age of music history framed around the couple's decade together.

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CONTEMPORARY ANTHOLOGY OF SOLO

GUITAR MUSIC FOR FIVE FINGERS OF THE RIGHT HAND        

(Mel Bay Publications, MB21290.156 pages, Released: 2009).

This is the first compilation of guitar music specifically

composed for a right hand technique that includes the little finger. The 57 compositions include original pieces in the Easy-Intermediate to Advanced-Intermediate levels contributed by renowned guitarist/composers from Europe, North America, South America and the Caribbean. Music by Ernesto Cordero, Carlos Dorado, Jim Ferguson, David Flynn, Gerald Garcia, John Hall, Ricardo Iznaola, James Lentini, John Oliver, Charles Postlewate, Mirko Schrader, Burkhard “Buck” Wolters and Luis Zea show the advantages of a five-finger technique in the playing of scales, chords, arpeggios, tremolos and harmonics. They also show the advantages of using the little finger for speed, accuracy, strength and balance. All of these compositions are edited and fingered by Postlewate, pioneer in the use of a five-finger technique. This book is a companion to Anthology of Nineteenth Century Guitar Studies for Five Fingers of the Right Hand (MB21153), compiled and fingered by Leonhard Beck and edited by Charles Postlewate.
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ANTHOLOGY OF 19TH CENTURY STUDIES FOR FIVE FINGERS OF THE RIGHT HAND (Mel Bay Publications, MB21153.55 pages, Released: 2009).

This is an anthology of beautiful easy-to-moderate level pieces  

by 19^th century masters of the guitar Dionisio Aguado, Antonio

Cano, Federico Cano, Mateo Carcassi, Fernando Sor and

Francisco Tárrega, adapted for a modern right hand technique

 that includes the little finger. German Professor of Guitar Leonhard Beck has compiled this collection with the assistance of Charles Postlewate, pioneer of the use of the right hand little finger. It shows the advantage of using the little finger in the playing of scales, chords, arpeggios, tremolos and harmonics for speed, accuracy, strength and balance. These studies make good repertoire pieces for the beginning guitarist or for the advanced guitarist who wishes to add the little finger to an already-developed right hand technique. They are graded in three levels of Easy (7 studies), Easy Intermediate (9 studies) and Intermediate (11 studies) for the progressive development of the right hand. This book makes a good companion to MB 98710 – RIGHT HAND STUDIES FOR FIVE FINGERS using Chords, Arpeggios, Tremolos and Harmonics, by Charles Postlewate.

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RIGHT HAND STUDIES FOR FIVE FINGERS, Using Chords, Arpeggios, Tremolos and Harmonics (Mel Bay Publications, MB98710). 56 pages, Released: 2001.                                                            

With over 350 studies designed to thoroughly train the right hand of classical guitarists, this set builds a five-finger technique beginning with the thumb-and-one-finger combinations and increasing in complexity to the thumb and

four fingers. The studies are played over easy, yet interesting, left hand progressions up and down the fingerboard. Postlewate also demonstrates how to develop your own right hand studies by including examples from standard classical guitar repertoire pieces by Sor, Torroba and Villa-Lobos recorded on the HOMAGE TO VILLA-LOBOS CD and published, in total or in excerpts, in its companion book listed below.

HOMAGE TO VILLA-LOBOS, Guitar Music for Five Fingers (Mel Bay Publications, MB98711). 96 pages, Released: 2001.

This book contains all of the compositions recorded by Postlewate on the companion 58-minute CD, HOMAGE TO VILLA-LOBOS (MB 98711CD), except Sonatina by Torroba and Prelude #2 by Villa-Lobos, which are under copyright restrictions; however, excerpts of both have been included to show the use of the little finger. All of these compositions demonstrate new five-finger right hand techniques for the playing of scales, chords, arpeggios, tremolos and harmonics. For a complete listing of the compositions in this book, go to the description of the companion recording under CD RECORDINGS BY CHARLES POSTLEWATE on this website.

SOLO GUITAR, 6 Outstanding Guitar Solos (Mel Bay Publications MB94078). 36 pages, Released: 1986 (Out of print, but a limited quantity available through this website).

This collection of arrangements by Charles Postlewate contains six of the solos from the DUAL IMAGES CD: Variations on Greensleeves, Londonderry Aire, Variations on a Christmas Song (Deck the Halls) and three compositions by the legendary jazz guitarist Johnny Smith - Satan's Doll, Lullaby and Waltz. The Introduction by Postlewate is a six-page essay entitled Arranging for Solo Guitar, with his ideas on how to make interesting arrangements for classical guitar. This treatise demonstrates the use of Harmony Techniques (Counterpoint, Chromaticism, Extended Harmonies, etc.), Rhythmic Techniques (Density, Meter, etc.) and Special Effects (Harmonics, Tremolo, etc.) by referring to different sections of the six solos in this book.

PRELUDES AND MEDITATIONS, for Acoustic Guitar (Mel Bay Publications MB94856). 88 pages, Released: 1993 (Out of print, but a limited quantity available through this website).

This book is a reissue of SOLO GUITAR (listed above) in combination with 20 preludes for solo guitar by renowned jazz, recording artist Al Viola. All of the solos in this book are printed in tablature as well as staff notation (SOLO GUITAR, above, is in staff notation only).

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