Today’s post is dedicated to John William Duarte (2 October, 1919 – 23 December, 2004). 2019 was his 100th birthday year. This occasion was appropriately celebrated in 2 magazines :
Classical Guitar (USA) Fall 2019 Paul Fowles « Celebrating the Centenary of Jack Duarte » pp 42-43
Soundboard December 2019 Al Kunze « John W. Duarte : A Centennial Appreciation » pp 35-37
To my knowledge, his discography has now reached 217 recordings.
I found 5 recordings entirely devoted to the British composer’s output:
Smith, Neil (1984)
Blaha, Vladislav (2001)
Goni, Antigoni (2001)
Pesaresi, Liliana (g) / Trabucchi, Luca (g) [Duo Chitarristico Waldner] (2006)
Larson, Swede (g)/ Nordvik, Amber (soprano) (2013)
His TOP 6 most recorded pieces are the following :
English Suite No. 1, Op. 31 (1963-65) To Andrés Segovia [49 recordings found]
Variations on a Catalan Folk Song Canço Del Lladre, Op. 25 (1956) [24 recordings]
Sua Cosa, To the memory of Wes Montgomery, Op. 52 (1972) [19 recordings]
Idylle pour Ida, Op. 93 (1982) (Hommage à Ida Presti) [dedicated to Alice Artzt] [11 recordings]
Birds, Op. 66 (1977) [Written for Robert Brightmore] [9 recordings]
Five Quiet Songs, Op. 37 (1968) (originally dedicated to Julian Bream and Peter Pears) [8 recordings]
Interestingly, Al Kunze mentions the pieces by Duarte that should be recorded more or at all. Among these is the monumental Variations on a french nursery song, Op. 32 (1965-66) [To Ida Presti and Alexandre Lagoya].
I found only 5 recordings of this masterpiece (Kunze’s word) that clocks in at almost 20 minutes. So thank you for your beautiful music John Duarte and I hope many serious duos will take up Op. 32, it’s about time!
Sources :
http://www.v4m.net/classicalguitar/artists/JohnDuarte/JohnDuarte.htm
Enrique Robichaud Computerized Discography (presently at 16, 915 recordings)
Classical Guitar's Top 100 