Verismo was commissioned by Aniello Desiderio, who was due to give the first performance on 21st October 2022 at Kings Place, London. Unfortunately, Aniello tested positive for covid, so had to cancel the London concert. He has subsequently filmed the piece and it is now available on YouTube. Verismo is a fantasy for guitar based on themes from 19th and 20th Century Italian operas by Puccini, Verdi, Rossini, and Mascagni. Aniello will record the piece on his next album.

Zoran Dukić has recorded Cinema Paradiso for the Guitar CoOp label. The EP will be released on 25th November, with the full album Black Bile being launched on December 2nd 2022. Films of all six movements have been launched to coincide with the release of the CD (links below). Cinema Paradiso is based on films by Quentin Tarantino, Wim Wenders, Lars von Trier, Francois Truffaut, and Charlie Chaplin.
1, Paris, Texas
2, Modern Times
3, Noir
4, Mandalay
5, 451
6, Tarantino

Cocktail List is a set of 12 miniatures, each based on a particular cocktail. The piece was commissioned by Zoran Dukić and Aniello Desiderio. The first performance took place at the Kurfürstliches Schloss, Koblenz, Germany, on 2nd June 2022, as part of the 30th Koblenz Guitar Festival. The duo are now touring the piece throughout Europe. In September they recorded and filmed the piece in Italy, sponsored by D’Addario. The films will be released in November.

The most recent performance of A Concerto of Colours took place in Glasgow on 4th November 2022. Nicholas Goluses was the soloist with the RCS Wind Ensemble.

Wynwood Walls was commissioned by Mesut Özgen for the 2023 Miami GuitART Festival. The concerto is scored for guitar, strings, and percussion and will receive its premiere in February 2023. It is based on 20th and 21st century artworks, which give their titles to the eleven sections.

Joni was commissioned by Guitar Trek who will record the piece in November 2022 as part of a project celebrating popular song from the last 100 years. The premiere took place near Canberra, New South Wales, on 6th November. Joni is based on the music of Joni Mitchell.

Sheila Arnold and Alexander-Sergei Ramirez gave the premiere of Intermezzi at the Celle Sommerkonzerte, Germany, on 19th August 2022. The piece is based on Schubert Leider, there are 6 movements and the whole collection lasts about 15 minutes. Intermezzi will be published by Doberman Yppan in the Autumn.

The most recent performance of the Koblenz Concerto took place on 3rd June 2022 as part of the Koblenz International Guitar Festival. The soloists were SoloDuo (Lorenzo Micheli and Matteo Mela) with the Staatsorchester Rheinische Philharmonie conducted by Pavel Baleff

Steve Cowan and Adam Cicchillitti were the soloists with the Thirteen Strings Chamber Orchestra for the premiere of Landscape and Memory for two guitars and strings. The concert took place on 19th March 2022 as part of the Guitare Alla Grande festival in Ottawa-Gatineau, Canada. Further performances and a recording release are planned for 2023.

Steve’s cello and guitar piece Still Life has been nominated for a prestigious Ivor Novello Award in the chamber music composition category.

#TheIvorsComposerAwards
@PRSforMusic

Grammy winner David Russell’s recording of Cantigas de Santiago is now available on all platforms on the Azica label. In April David released a film of the piece through the Omni Foundation. The film was made in the 12th century church of Santa María la Blanca, Villalcázar de Sirga, Spain. Cantigas de Santiago is a modern reworking of medieval music associated with the Camino. This ancient pilgrimage route leads to the shrine of St. James in the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela.

Steve has been commissioned to write 12 Preludes for Colombian guitarist Francisco Correa, who funded the project through an innovative #AdoptAPrelude campaign. The first three preludes have been published on YouTube and the others will follow as they are written. Francisco’s idea was to have a set of Preludes that could be played by intermediate level guitarists.
Prelude No. 1
Prelude No. 2
Prelude No. 3