Stephen Goss

composer

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The Alchemist

2024 | 17 mins | for solo guitar

El sueño de Santiago
Tangier
Lead Crystal
Al-Fayoum Oasis
Alchemy
Simum
Tesoro

The Alchemist is a large-scale solo guitar piece loosely based on the novel The Alchemist by Paolo Coelho. The piece also explores the art and symbolism of Alchemy and how it might relate to Coelho’s story. It was commissioned by Hanson Yao and Altamira for Tengyue Zhang. Details of the first performances will be announced soon.

Pierrot, or Harlequin?

2023 | 12 mins | for solo guitar

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Columbina has a choice of partner – Pierrot, or Harlequin? Or maybe she will select neither of them. In this set of triple variations, Pierrot and Harlequin compete for Columbina’s attention and favour. How will the story end?

Pierrot, or Harlequin? was commissioned by the Festival Homenaje, Padua, for Giacomo Susani. The first performance took place at the Barco Teatro, Padova, Italy, on 10th November 2023, with Giacomo Susani as soloist. Published by Doberman-Yppan DO 1555 ©2024. Recorded on Landscape and Memory, Deux-Elles (DXL 1202© 2024).

Miami Beach

2023 | 6 mins | for solo guitar

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Miami Beach was commissioned for Jianhao Zhou by The Musicians’ Company after Jianhao won the ‘Ivor Mairants Guitar Award’ in 2021. The first performance took place on 13th February 2024 at the Royal Academy of Music in London as part of the ‘Stephen Goss at 60’ concert.

Miami Beach is based on two simple ideas. A Miami Beach cypher and the number 724. The cypher is a musical figure comprising the notes B, E, A, C, H (B nat.), and its right hand fingering m, i, a, m, i. 724 is a special number for Jianhao, so I used intervals of 7ths, 2nds, and 4ths to generate all the musical material in the piece.

The piece lasts 5’45”, but it is possible to perform it in a 4’00” abridged version. It is published by Doberman-Yppan.

Winterbourne Preludes

2022 | 30 mins | for solo guitar

Xanadu
Reverie
The Somerset Wyvern
Chitter-Chatter
Serenity
The Blackpool Lights
The Fox and the Magpie
Infinity Mirror
Despite the falling snow
Perritos
Scorhill Stone Circle
Bambuco

Listen Watch Score CD CD

Stephen Goss was commissioned to write the Winterbourne Preludes for Colombian guitarist Francisco Correa, who funded the project through an innovative #AdoptAPrelude campaign. The Preludes will be performed and recorded in 2023. Some of the Preludes are already on YouTube.
Prelude No. 2 – Reverie
Prelude No. 4 – Chitter-Chatter
Prelude No. 5 – Serenity

Verismo

2020 | 14 mins | for solo guitar

Intermezzo, Manon Lescaut (Puccini)
Intermezzo, Cavalleria Rusticana (Mascagni)
Quando me’n vo’, La Bohème (Puccini)
Brindisi, La Traviata (Verdi) & Valser, Il Tabarro (Puccini)
Che gelida manina, La Bohème (Puccini)
Figlia, Rigoletto (Verdi)
Largo al factotum, Barber of Seville (Rossini)

Listen Watch Score CD CD

Verismo is a concert fantasy for solo guitar based on themes from operas by Puccini, Verdi, Mascagni, and Rossini. The piece was commissioned by Aniello Desiderio who gave the premiere on YouTube on 15th November 2022. The production was by Dot Guitar Studio Recording. The score is now available from Doberman. Recorded on Landscape and Memory, Deux-Elles (DXL 1202© 2024).

Hiraeth

2020 | 7 mins | for solo guitar

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Hiraeth was commissioned by Ken Murray as part of a project funded by The University of Melbourne to mark the centenary of Manuel de Falla’s Homenaje: Le Tombeau de Claude Debussy. The film of the premiere and the printed edition were released on March 8th 2021, the 100th anniversary of the official premiere of Falla’s Homenaje at the Teatro de la Comedia in Madrid.

Hiraeth is a Welsh word suggesting a deep longing for home; a home that is no longer or perhaps never was. A yearning and grief for people and things long gone. The piece imagines Falla’s hiraeth for an ideal Granada, while spending his final years in self-imposed exile in Argentina. Hiraeth is a meditation or commentary on Falla’s Homenaje. In performance, Hiraeth segues into Homenaje, making a concert item of 10 minutes in total. Published by Doberman-Yppan DO1374 ©2021

Perpetual Motion Machine

2020 | 6 mins | for solo guitar

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Perpetual Motion Machine was commissioned by Petar Čulić for the 2020 Omiš Guitar Festival in Croatia. The music can last anything from a few seconds to several hours, depending on the routes that the performer takes through the musical material. The performer can begin and end anywhere during the piece. Petar gave the first performance on 22nd August 2020.

Bagatelles with Fantasies

2020 | 6 mins | for solo guitar

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Bagatelles with Fantasies was commissioned by Xuefei Yang as the test piece for the 2020 Changsha International Guitar Competition. The piece is a homage to Beethoven to mark the 250th anniversary of his birth. The piece comprises fragments of Beethoven’s piano Bagatelles and string quartets interspersed with new material inspired by the quoted sources. Published by Doberman-Yppan DO 1362 © 2020

Happy Sad

2020 | 5 mins | for solo guitar

Happy Sad was commissioned by Kevin Cahill who will give the premiere and make the first recording in 2023.
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Threnody

2019 | 5 mins | for solo guitar

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Threnody was commissioned as the set piece for the 52nd Pittaluga International Guitar Competition, Alessandria, Italy. The competition took place from 23 to 28th September 2019. The first performance was given on the eve of the competition by Marco Tamayo, Conservatorio Vivaldi, Alessandria, Italy, 23rd September 2019. Recorded on Landscape and Memory, Deux-Elles (DXL 1202© 2024).

Time

2018 | 5 mins | for solo guitar

Score

The effect of time on memory is a constant source of fascination: how unreliable it can be and how we tend to fill the gaps with a nostalgic recreation of the ‘facts’. As Marcel Proust observed: remembrance of things past is not necessarily the remembrance of things as they were. This is the theme of Stephen Goss’s Time.

As his starting point Goss takes two pieces by Mahler: the Adagietto from the 5th Symphony and Der Abschied from Das Lied von der Erde. The Adagietto has been allowed to decay in the composer’s memory so that only an impression remains – certain kinds of chords, a sense of character, longing and nostalgia. But new connections are made, and when the original Adagietto seems to come to the surface for a moment, it suddenly reminds us of Der Abschied and this is the springboard which triggers a more extended and detailed memory of the song. Eventually this dissolves back into the Adagietto again as its ending is recalled – an eloquent evocation of the beauty of faded memory.

Time was commissioned by Christoph Denoth for the TIME Unwrapped season at Kings Place in London. Christoph gave the first performance on 10th October 2018.

Cinema Paradiso

2017 | 14 mins | for solo guitar

Paris, Texas
Modern Times
Noir
Mandalay
451
Tarantino

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Cinema Paradiso was commissioned by Guitar CoOp for Zoran Dukić, who gave the first performance at the Koblenz International Guitar Festival on 3rd June 2017. The piece is based on films by Quentin Tarantino, Wim Wenders, Lars von Trier, Francois Truffaut, and Charlie Chaplin.

Labyrinth

2016 | 5 mins | for solo guitar

Score Notes

Labyrinth was commissioned by the Guitar Foundation of America as the test piece for their 2016 International Concert Artists’ Competition. The competition took place in Denver in June 2016.

Sound of Iona

2016 | 4 mins | for solo guitar

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Sound of Iona was commissioned by Rui Mourinho for his forthcoming CD of Stephen Goss’s solo guitar music. The first performance took place on 11th June 2016 at Casa Manuel Teixeira Gomes, Portimão, Algarve, Portugal.

Watts Chapel

2015 | 6 mins | for solo guitar

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Watts Chapel is named after a memorial chapel built by Mary Watts in commemoration of her husband, the artist GF Watts. The piece draws on the music of Mahler written around the time the chapel was built. It was commissioned by Michael Partington who gave the first performances in February and March 2016 in the US and the UK. Published by Doberman © 2016. Click here to see the film of the piece made by Luca Sage on location at Watts Chapel. Recorded on Landscape and Memory, Deux-Elles (DXL 1202© 2024).

Sonata Capriccioso

2015 | 11 mins | for solo guitar

Allegro Scherzando
Idyll
Moto Perpetuo

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Cantigas de Santiago

2014 | 20 mins | for solo guitar

Quen a Virgen ben servirá
Ondas do mare de Vigo
Como póden per sas culpas
Kyrie Trope
A madre de Deus
Ay ondas que eu vin veer
Non é gran cousa se sabe

“The work was very much enjoyed by the audience, with its delicate, soft and evocative passage work, dancing across the strings like the waves of the sea.” Le Soleil, Quebec City

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Commissioned by David Russell. First performance, Milton Court, Barbican Centre, London, UK, 31st January 2015. Published by Doberman-Yppan © 2015. Recorded by David Russell on the Azica label ‘Cantigas de Santiago’ Azica 71335 © 2021

Illustrations to The Book of Songs

2014 | 12 mins | for solo guitar

Separation
Mountain Song
Lamentation
Flowers and Youth
Pastoral
Wan Dance

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Sonatina

2013 | 17 mins | for solo guitar

Circle Line
Marylebone Elegy
Canary Wharf

“Goss’s Sonatina is very successful in what it tries to achieve, and many people will love this work.” Classical Guitar Magazine, Fall 2017

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Commissioned by the International Guitar Foundation, the Belgrade Guitar Art Festival and Guitars International. First performance Cleveland Institute of Music, OH, USA, 24th May 2013. Published by Doberman © 2015.

Marylebone Elegy

2012 | 7 mins | for solo guitar

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Recorded by John Williams on Stepping Stones (JCW2 © 2013). Commissioned by the International Guitar Foundation for the first London International Guitar Competition. First performances 9th and 10th March 2012 at King’s Place, London. Published by Doberman-Yppan © 2014 ISBN : 978-2-89503-641-8.

The Chinese Garden

2007 | 12 mins | for solo guitar

Jasmine Flower (Mo Li Hua)
Red flowers blooming all over the mountain
Blue Orchid (Lan Hua Hua)
Waterfall Music

“Stephen Goss’s superb Chinese Garden is fragrantly evocative.” Editor’s Choice, Gramophone

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Commissioned by Xuefei Yang for China Now 2008. First performance 16th April 2008, Wigmore Hall, London. Recorded on 40 Degrees North, EMI Classics, 5099920632229 © 2008. This CD won Best Instrumental Album in the 2008 Guangdong Radio Awards in China. Published by Doberman-Yppan© 2014.

El Llanto de los Sueños

2007 | 11 mins | for solo guitar

Cantiga
Madrugada
Alborada

“Stephen Goss’s finely crafted El Llanto de los Sueños is especially delicate and evocative” Editor’s Choice, Gramophone

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Commissioned by David Russell. First performance, 30th October 2008, King’s Place, London. Recorded on For David (Telarc 80707-25 © 2009). Published by Doberman-Yppan © 2014 ISBN : 978-2-89503-640-1.

Sonata

2006 | 15 mins | for solo guitar

Pastorale
Toccata
Adagio sostenuto

“Goss’s Sonata for solo guitar (2006) finds him well and truly on home ground. Each of the three movements of the work takes as its starting-point a work from a different composer: Debussy for the Pastorale, Scarlatti for the Toccata and Beethoven for the Adagio sostenuto . Michael Partington, for whom the work was written, honours it with a supremely fluent performance, bringing out the harp-like qualities of the first, the rapid repeated notes and ringing, campanella effects in the second, and the poignancy of the double variations in the third.” International Record Review

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Commissioned by Michael Partington. First performance 30th September 2006 for the Denver Classical Guitar Society as part of Stephen Goss’ residency at the University of Denver, Colorado, USA. Recorded on Frozen Music (CACD0711© 2007) and Resonance (Rosewood Recordings, Seattle, USA, Rose 1013-CD © 2009). Published by Doberman-Yppan© 2014.

Raise the Red Lantern

2004 | 16 mins | for solo guitar

The Blue Kite
Life on a String
Raise the Red Lantern
Yellow Earth
Farewell my Concubine

“The techniques used include stunning tremolos, lush and beautifully shaped melodic textures, microtonal string bends, twisted string drum rolls, dual tuning, and many more effects that will definitely open your ears to this vital and compelling music.” Guitart Magazine

Score Notes CD

Commissioned by Xuefei Yang and GSP Records, San Francisco. First performance given at the Wigmore Hall, London, 19th April 2004, subsequent performances given in the Far East, USA and Europe. Recorded by Xuefei Yang on Si Ji (GSP1028CD © 2005). Published by Doberman-Yppan© 2014.

Oxen of the Sun

2003 | 18 mins | for ten-string and six-string guitar

Sirens
Pan
Aeolus
Orpheus
Arethusa
Circe
Narcissus

“Nothing can quite prepare one for the experience that is Stephen Goss’ Oxen of the Sun. This was written for Leathwood to play on 10-string and 6-string guitars. The normal guitar rests on its back on two piano stools in front of the performer, who holds the 10-string in the normal way. The 6-string is played rather in the manner of a lap-guitar, with harmonics and tapping, and two different capos.” Classical Guitar Magazine

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Commissioned by Jonathan Leathwood. First performed at the Bolivar Hall, Grafton Way, London on 21st March 2003. First US performance for the Denver Classical Guitar Society, South Broadway Christian Church, 23 Lincoln Street at Ellsworth, Denver, Colorado, USA 8th November 2003.

Looking Glass Ties

2001 | 12 mins | for solo guitar

invisible starfall
Some Like It Hot
Sonata K25
In this Style 10/6
Late Music

“Stephen Goss’s Looking Glass Ties is a wonderful piece produced by one of the top scholar/performer/composers on the scene today.” Classical Guitar Magazine

Score Notes CD

Commissioned by Allan Neave with funds from the Dundee Guitar Festival. First complete performance 25th July 2002, West Park Centre, Dundee. Piece selected as a set piece for the First Scottish International Guitar Competition, July 2004. The fully revised 2016 edition is published by Doberman © 2016.

E

1996 | 2 mins | for solo guitar

Written for the 80th birthday of Lord Menuhin. First performed at the Yehudi Menuhin School, May 1996. Unpublished.

Three Miniatures for Guitar

1986 | 7 mins | for solo guitar

Commissioned by Michael Corley. First performed at The Old Malthouse Music Society, 16th January 1988. Unpublished.