Julian Bream
Encyclopedia
Julian Bream, CBE is an English classical guitar
ist and lute
nist and is one of the most distinguished classical guitarists of the 20th century. He has also been successful in renewing popular interest in the Renaissance lute.
and the young Bream was impressed by hearing the playing of Django Reinhardt
.
Bream began his life-long association with the guitar by strumming along on a small gut-string Spanish guitar at a very young age to dance music on the radio. The president of the Philharmonic Society of Guitars, Dr Boris Perott, gave Bream lessons, while Bream's father became the society librarian, giving Bream access to a large collection of rare music.
On his 11th birthday, Bream was given a guitar by his father. He became something of a child prodigy, at 12 winning a junior exhibition award for his piano playing, enabling him to study piano and cello at the Royal College of Music
. He made his debut guitar recital at Cheltenham
in 1947, aged 13.
He left the Royal College of Music in 1952 and was called up into the army for national service
. He was originally drafted into the Pay Corps, but managed to sign up for the Royal Artillery Band after six months. This required him to be stationed in Woolwich
, which allowed him to moonlight regularly with the guitar in London.
After three and a half years in the army, he took any musical jobs that came his way, including background music for radio plays and films. Commercial film, recording session and work for the BBC were important to Bream throughout the 50s and the early 60s.
In the years after national service, Bream pursued a busy career playing around the world, including annual tours in the U.S. and Europe for several years. He played part of a recital
at the Wigmore Hall on the lute in 1952 and since has done much to bring music written for the instrument to light.
1960 saw the formation of the Julian Bream Consort, a period-instrument ensemble with Bream as lutenist. The consort led a great revival of interest in the music of the Elizabethan era
.
His first European tours took place in 1954 and 1955, and were followed by extensive touring in North America (beginning in 1958), the Far East
, India, Australia, the Pacific Islands
and other parts of the world. Bream performed for the Peabody Mason Concert series in Boston, first solo in 1959, and later with the US debut of the Julian Bream Consort.
In addition to master-classes given in Canada and the USA, Bream has also conducted an international summer school in Wiltshire, England.
and EMI Classics
. These recordings have won him several awards, including four Grammy Awards, two for Best Chamber Music Performance
and two for Best Classical Performance. RCA also released The Ultimate Guitar Collection, a multi-CD set commemorating his birthday in 1993.
From the beginning of the 1990s Julian Bream continued his recording career with EMI Classics, featuring music by J.S. Bach, a Concerto album (with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and Sir Simon Rattle), and discs devoted to contemporary works and guitar sonatas.
Despite his importance as a classical guitarist, however, many of his RCA
recordings (including the series of 20th century guitar music) were out of print for several years. In 2011 RCA/Sony Classical released "My Favorite Albums", a 10 CD set of albums chosen by Julian Bream himself.
In 1991, BBC Radio and TV broadcast Bream's BBC Prom performance of Malcolm Arnold's Guitar Concerto. He also participated in a recital and concerto performances of works by Tōru Takemitsu
at the Japan Festival in London with the London Symphony Orchestra.
During the 1992-1993 season he performed on two separate occasions at the Wigmore Hall - at their Gala Re-opening Festival, and at a special concert celebrating his 60th birthday. In the same period, he toured the Far East, visiting Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea and Japan, and performed the premiere of Leo Brouwer's arrangement for guitar and orchestra of Albéniz's Iberia at the Proms. In 1994 he made debuts in both Turkey and Israel to great acclaim, and the following year played for the soundtrack to the Hollywood film Don Juan de Marcos.
In 1997, in celebration if the 50th anniversary of his debut, he performed a recital at Cheltenham Town Hall. A few weeks later the BBC dedicated a special television tribute "This Is Your Life" programme to Julian Bream, filmed after a commemorative concert at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, London.
In recent years, his engagements have included a Gala solo performance at the Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool, a Kosovo Aid concert at St. John's Smith Square, London, with the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields recitals at the Snape Proms, Aldeburgh, and at the Norfolk and Norwich Festival and a tour of UK National Trust properties in summer and autumn 2000.
In November 2001 he gave an anniversary recital at Wigmore Hall, celebrating 50 years since his debut there in 1951.
The 2003 DVD video profile Julian Bream: My Life In Music contains three hours of interview and performance. It has been declared by Graham Wade "the finest film contribution ever to the classic guitar." It became 'GRAMOPHONE DVD of the year'. His series Guitarra! was made for British television and charts a journey across Spain.
arranged for guitar, popular Spanish
pieces, and contemporary music, much for which he was the inspiration. He has stated that he has been influenced by the styles of Andrés Segovia
and Francisco Tárrega
.
Bream's playing can be characterised as virtuosic and highly expressive, with an eye for details, and with strong use of contrasting timbre
s.
, Richard Rodney Bennett
, Benjamin Britten
, Leo Brouwer
, Peter Racine Fricker
, Hans Werner Henze
, Humphrey Searle
, Tōru Takemitsu
, Michael Tippett
and William Walton
. Britten's Nocturnal is one of the most famous pieces in the classical guitar repertoire and was written with Bream specifically in mind. It is an unusual set of variations on John Dowland
's Come Heavy Sleep (which is played in its original form at the close of the piece).
Bream has also taken part in many collaborations, including work with Peter Pears
on Elizabethan music for lute and voice, and three records of guitar duets with John Williams
.
Bream has stated that even though he had some 'sessions' with Segovia, he never really studied with him — Bream also does not exclusively hold his right-hand fingers at right angles to the strings, but has stated that he uses a less rigid hand position for reasons of tonal variety.
Bream lived for over 40 years in a Georgian farmhouse at Semley in Wiltshire. In 2008 he moved to a smaller house in Donhead St Andrew, Wiltshire.
Classical guitar
The classical guitar is a 6-stringed plucked string instrument from the family of instruments called chordophones...
ist and lute
Lute
Lute can refer generally to any plucked string instrument with a neck and a deep round back, or more specifically to an instrument from the family of European lutes....
nist and is one of the most distinguished classical guitarists of the 20th century. He has also been successful in renewing popular interest in the Renaissance lute.
Early years
Bream was born in London and brought up in a musical environment. His father played jazz guitarJazz guitar
The term jazz guitar may refer to either a type of guitar or to the variety of guitar playing styles used in the various genres which are commonly termed "jazz"...
and the young Bream was impressed by hearing the playing of Django Reinhardt
Django Reinhardt
Django Reinhardt was a pioneering virtuoso jazz guitarist and composer who invented an entirely new style of jazz guitar technique that has since become a living musical tradition within French gypsy culture...
.
Bream began his life-long association with the guitar by strumming along on a small gut-string Spanish guitar at a very young age to dance music on the radio. The president of the Philharmonic Society of Guitars, Dr Boris Perott, gave Bream lessons, while Bream's father became the society librarian, giving Bream access to a large collection of rare music.
On his 11th birthday, Bream was given a guitar by his father. He became something of a child prodigy, at 12 winning a junior exhibition award for his piano playing, enabling him to study piano and cello at the Royal College of Music
Royal College of Music
The Royal College of Music is a conservatoire founded by Royal Charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, England.-Background:The first director was Sir George Grove and he was followed by Sir Hubert Parry...
. He made his debut guitar recital at Cheltenham
Cheltenham
Cheltenham , also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a large spa town and borough in Gloucestershire, on the edge of the Cotswolds in the South-West region of England. It is the home of the flagship race of British steeplechase horse racing, the Gold Cup, the main event of the Cheltenham Festival held...
in 1947, aged 13.
He left the Royal College of Music in 1952 and was called up into the army for national service
National service
National service is a common name for mandatory government service programmes . The term became common British usage during and for some years following the Second World War. Many young people spent one or more years in such programmes...
. He was originally drafted into the Pay Corps, but managed to sign up for the Royal Artillery Band after six months. This required him to be stationed in Woolwich
Woolwich
Woolwich is a district in south London, England, located in the London Borough of Greenwich. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.Woolwich formed part of Kent until 1889 when the County of London was created...
, which allowed him to moonlight regularly with the guitar in London.
After three and a half years in the army, he took any musical jobs that came his way, including background music for radio plays and films. Commercial film, recording session and work for the BBC were important to Bream throughout the 50s and the early 60s.
In the years after national service, Bream pursued a busy career playing around the world, including annual tours in the U.S. and Europe for several years. He played part of a recital
Recital
A recital is a musical performance. It can highlight a single performer, sometimes accompanied by piano, or a performance of the works of a single composer.The invention of the solo piano recital has been attributed to Franz Liszt....
at the Wigmore Hall on the lute in 1952 and since has done much to bring music written for the instrument to light.
1960 saw the formation of the Julian Bream Consort, a period-instrument ensemble with Bream as lutenist. The consort led a great revival of interest in the music of the Elizabethan era
Elizabethan era
The Elizabethan era was the epoch in English history of Queen Elizabeth I's reign . Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history...
.
His first European tours took place in 1954 and 1955, and were followed by extensive touring in North America (beginning in 1958), the Far East
Far East
The Far East is an English term mostly describing East Asia and Southeast Asia, with South Asia sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons.The term came into use in European geopolitical discourse in the 19th century,...
, India, Australia, the Pacific Islands
Pacific Islands
The Pacific Islands comprise 20,000 to 30,000 islands in the Pacific Ocean. The islands are also sometimes collectively called Oceania, although Oceania is sometimes defined as also including Australasia and the Malay Archipelago....
and other parts of the world. Bream performed for the Peabody Mason Concert series in Boston, first solo in 1959, and later with the US debut of the Julian Bream Consort.
In addition to master-classes given in Canada and the USA, Bream has also conducted an international summer school in Wiltshire, England.
Recordings
Bream has recorded extensively for RCARCA
RCA Corporation, founded as the Radio Corporation of America, was an American electronics company in existence from 1919 to 1986. The RCA trademark is currently owned by the French conglomerate Technicolor SA through RCA Trademark Management S.A., a company owned by Technicolor...
and EMI Classics
EMI Classics
EMI Classics is a record label of EMI, formed in 1990 in order to reduce the need to create country-specific packaging and catalogs for internationally distributed classical music releases....
. These recordings have won him several awards, including four Grammy Awards, two for Best Chamber Music Performance
Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance
The Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance has been awarded since 1959. The award has had several minor name changes:*From 1959 to 1960 the award was known as Best Classical Performance - Chamber Music ...
and two for Best Classical Performance. RCA also released The Ultimate Guitar Collection, a multi-CD set commemorating his birthday in 1993.
From the beginning of the 1990s Julian Bream continued his recording career with EMI Classics, featuring music by J.S. Bach, a Concerto album (with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and Sir Simon Rattle), and discs devoted to contemporary works and guitar sonatas.
Despite his importance as a classical guitarist, however, many of his RCA
RCA Records
RCA Records is one of the flagship labels of Sony Music Entertainment. The RCA initials stand for Radio Corporation of America , which was the parent corporation from 1929 to 1985 and a partner from 1985 to 1986.RCA's Canadian unit is Sony's oldest label...
recordings (including the series of 20th century guitar music) were out of print for several years. In 2011 RCA/Sony Classical released "My Favorite Albums", a 10 CD set of albums chosen by Julian Bream himself.
Later career
A highly successful biographical film, "A Life in the Country", was first shown on BBC TV in 1976. Bream also presented a series of four master-classes guitarists on BBC TV. BBC TV has presented a programme about Julian Bream's life as a concert guitarist. In 1984 he made eight films on location in Spain for Channel 4 exploring historical perspectives of Spanish guitar music.In 1991, BBC Radio and TV broadcast Bream's BBC Prom performance of Malcolm Arnold's Guitar Concerto. He also participated in a recital and concerto performances of works by Tōru Takemitsu
Toru Takemitsu
was a Japanese composer and writer on aesthetics and music theory. Largely self-taught, Takemitsu possessed consummate skill in the subtle manipulation of instrumental and orchestral timbre...
at the Japan Festival in London with the London Symphony Orchestra.
During the 1992-1993 season he performed on two separate occasions at the Wigmore Hall - at their Gala Re-opening Festival, and at a special concert celebrating his 60th birthday. In the same period, he toured the Far East, visiting Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea and Japan, and performed the premiere of Leo Brouwer's arrangement for guitar and orchestra of Albéniz's Iberia at the Proms. In 1994 he made debuts in both Turkey and Israel to great acclaim, and the following year played for the soundtrack to the Hollywood film Don Juan de Marcos.
In 1997, in celebration if the 50th anniversary of his debut, he performed a recital at Cheltenham Town Hall. A few weeks later the BBC dedicated a special television tribute "This Is Your Life" programme to Julian Bream, filmed after a commemorative concert at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, London.
In recent years, his engagements have included a Gala solo performance at the Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool, a Kosovo Aid concert at St. John's Smith Square, London, with the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields recitals at the Snape Proms, Aldeburgh, and at the Norfolk and Norwich Festival and a tour of UK National Trust properties in summer and autumn 2000.
In November 2001 he gave an anniversary recital at Wigmore Hall, celebrating 50 years since his debut there in 1951.
The 2003 DVD video profile Julian Bream: My Life In Music contains three hours of interview and performance. It has been declared by Graham Wade "the finest film contribution ever to the classic guitar." It became 'GRAMOPHONE DVD of the year'. His series Guitarra! was made for British television and charts a journey across Spain.
Style and influences
Bream's recitals are wide-ranging, including transcriptions from the 17th century, many pieces by BachBạch
Bạch is a Vietnamese surname. The name is transliterated as Bai in Chinese and Baek, in Korean.Bach is the anglicized variation of the surname Bạch.-Notable people with the surname Bạch:* Bạch Liêu...
arranged for guitar, popular Spanish
Music of Spain
The Music of Spain has a long history and has played an important part in the development of western music. It has had a particularly strong influence upon Latin American music. The music of Spain is often associated abroad with traditions like flamenco and the classical guitar but Spanish music...
pieces, and contemporary music, much for which he was the inspiration. He has stated that he has been influenced by the styles of Andrés Segovia
Andrés Segovia
Andrés Torres Segovia, 1st Marquis of Salobreña , known as Andrés Segovia, was a virtuoso Spanish classical guitarist from Linares, Jaén, Andalucia, Spain...
and Francisco Tárrega
Francisco Tárrega
Francisco de Asís Tárrega y Eixea was an influential Spanish composer and guitarist of the Romantic period.-Biography:Tárrega was born on 21 November 1852, in Vila-real, Castelló, Spain...
.
Bream's playing can be characterised as virtuosic and highly expressive, with an eye for details, and with strong use of contrasting timbre
Timbre
In music, timbre is the quality of a musical note or sound or tone that distinguishes different types of sound production, such as voices and musical instruments, such as string instruments, wind instruments, and percussion instruments. The physical characteristics of sound that determine the...
s.
Dedications and collaborations
Many composers have worked with Bream, and among those who dedicated pieces to him are Malcolm ArnoldMalcolm Arnold
Sir Malcolm Henry Arnold, CBE was an English composer and symphonist.Malcolm Arnold began his career playing trumpet professionally, but by age thirty his life was devoted to composition. He was ranked with Benjamin Britten as one of the most sought-after composers in Britain...
, Richard Rodney Bennett
Richard Rodney Bennett
Sir Richard Rodney Bennett, CBE is an English composer renowned for his film scores and his jazz performance as much as for his challenging concert works...
, Benjamin Britten
Benjamin Britten
Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten, OM CH was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He showed talent from an early age, and first came to public attention with the a cappella choral work A Boy Was Born in 1934. With the premiere of his opera Peter Grimes in 1945, he leapt to...
, Leo Brouwer
Leo Brouwer
Juan Leovigildo Brouwer Mezquida is a Cuban composer, conductor and guitarist. He is the grandson of Cuban composer Ernestina Lecuona Casado.-Biography:...
, Peter Racine Fricker
Peter Racine Fricker
Peter Racine Fricker was an English composer who lived in the United States for the last thirty years of his life....
, Hans Werner Henze
Hans Werner Henze
Hans Werner Henze is a German composer of prodigious output best known for "his consistent cultivation of music for the theatre throughout his life"...
, Humphrey Searle
Humphrey Searle
Humphrey Searle was a British composer.-Biography:He was born in Oxford where he was a classics scholar before studying — somewhat hesitantly — with John Ireland at the Royal College of Music in London, after which he went to Vienna on a six month scholarship to become a private pupil of Anton...
, Tōru Takemitsu
Toru Takemitsu
was a Japanese composer and writer on aesthetics and music theory. Largely self-taught, Takemitsu possessed consummate skill in the subtle manipulation of instrumental and orchestral timbre...
, Michael Tippett
Michael Tippett
Sir Michael Kemp Tippett OM CH CBE was an English composer.In his long career he produced a large body of work, including five operas, three large-scale choral works, four symphonies, five string quartets, four piano sonatas, concertos and concertante works, song cycles and incidental music...
and William Walton
William Walton
Sir William Turner Walton OM was an English composer. During a sixty-year career, he wrote music in several classical genres and styles, from film scores to opera...
. Britten's Nocturnal is one of the most famous pieces in the classical guitar repertoire and was written with Bream specifically in mind. It is an unusual set of variations on John Dowland
John Dowland
John Dowland was an English Renaissance composer, singer, and lutenist. He is best known today for his melancholy songs such as "Come, heavy sleep" , "Come again", "Flow my tears", "I saw my Lady weepe" and "In darkness let me dwell", but his instrumental music has undergone a major revival, and has...
's Come Heavy Sleep (which is played in its original form at the close of the piece).
Bream has also taken part in many collaborations, including work with Peter Pears
Peter Pears
Sir Peter Neville Luard Pears CBE was an English tenor who was knighted in 1978. His career was closely associated with the composer Edward Benjamin Britten....
on Elizabethan music for lute and voice, and three records of guitar duets with John Williams
John Williams (guitarist)
John Christopher Williams is an Australian classical guitarist, and a long-term resident of the United Kingdom. In 1973, he shared a Grammy Award win in the 'Best Chamber Music Performance' category with Julian Bream for Julian and John .-Biography:John Williams was born on 24 April 1941 in...
.
Honours and awards
Bream was awarded an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1964 for services to music, and in the Queen's Birthday Honours List of 1985 he was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire. He has received Honorary Doctorates from the Universities of Surrey (1968), and Leeds (1984). In 1976 he was personally presented with the Villa-Lobos Gold Medal by the composer's widow. He was elected an Honorary Member of the Royal Academy of Music (1966), and has been honoured with Fellowships of the Royal College of Music (1981) and the Royal Northern College of Music (1983). In 1988 he became an Honorary Member of the Royal Philharmonic Society, and was also presented with the Royal Philharmonic Society Instrumentalist's Award in 1996.Other details
In 1984 Bream’s arm was seriously injured in a car accident. It cost him great effort to regain his previous technical ability.Bream has stated that even though he had some 'sessions' with Segovia, he never really studied with him — Bream also does not exclusively hold his right-hand fingers at right angles to the strings, but has stated that he uses a less rigid hand position for reasons of tonal variety.
Bream lived for over 40 years in a Georgian farmhouse at Semley in Wiltshire. In 2008 he moved to a smaller house in Donhead St Andrew, Wiltshire.
Pieces written for Julian Bream (in chronological order)
- Reginald Smith BrindleReginald Smith BrindleReginald Smith Brindle was a British composer and writer.Smith Brindle began learning the piano at the age of six, and later took up the clarinet, saxophone and guitar . Under pressure from his parents, he began to study architecture...
Nocturne for Guitar Solo (1946) - Reginald Smith BrindleReginald Smith BrindleReginald Smith Brindle was a British composer and writer.Smith Brindle began learning the piano at the age of six, and later took up the clarinet, saxophone and guitar . Under pressure from his parents, he began to study architecture...
El Polifemo de Oro (1956) - Lennox BerkeleyLennox BerkeleySir Lennox Randal Francis Berkeley was an English composer.- Biography :He was born in Oxford, England, and educated at the Dragon School, Gresham's School and Merton College, Oxford...
Sonatina, op. 52, no. 1 (1957) - Tristram CaryTristram CaryTristram Ogilvie Cary, OAM was a pioneering English-Australian composer.-Early life:Cary was born in Oxford, England, and educated at the Dragon School in Oxford and Westminster School in London. He was the son of a pianist and the novelist, Joyce Cary, author of Mister Johnson...
Sonata (1959) - Malcolm ArnoldMalcolm ArnoldSir Malcolm Henry Arnold, CBE was an English composer and symphonist.Malcolm Arnold began his career playing trumpet professionally, but by age thirty his life was devoted to composition. He was ranked with Benjamin Britten as one of the most sought-after composers in Britain...
Concerto for Guitar and Chamber Orchestra, op. 67 (1959) - Benjamin BrittenBenjamin BrittenEdward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten, OM CH was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He showed talent from an early age, and first came to public attention with the a cappella choral work A Boy Was Born in 1934. With the premiere of his opera Peter Grimes in 1945, he leapt to...
Nocturnal after John Dowland, op. 70 (1963) - Richard Rodney BennettRichard Rodney BennettSir Richard Rodney Bennett, CBE is an English composer renowned for his film scores and his jazz performance as much as for his challenging concert works...
Impromptus (1968) - Tom EastwoodTom EastwoodTom Eastwood was an English composer.He is the son of General Sir Thomas Ralph Eastwood and Lady Mabel Vivian Temperley Eastwood.Tom Eastwood was educated at Eton and Trinity College, Cambridge University...
Ballade-Phantasy (1968) - Peter Racine FrickerPeter Racine FrickerPeter Racine Fricker was an English composer who lived in the United States for the last thirty years of his life....
Paseo (1969) - Reginald Smith BrindleReginald Smith BrindleReginald Smith Brindle was a British composer and writer.Smith Brindle began learning the piano at the age of six, and later took up the clarinet, saxophone and guitar . Under pressure from his parents, he began to study architecture...
Variants on two themes of J. S. Bach (1970) - Richard Rodney BennettRichard Rodney BennettSir Richard Rodney Bennett, CBE is an English composer renowned for his film scores and his jazz performance as much as for his challenging concert works...
Guitar Concerto (1970) - Malcolm ArnoldMalcolm ArnoldSir Malcolm Henry Arnold, CBE was an English composer and symphonist.Malcolm Arnold began his career playing trumpet professionally, but by age thirty his life was devoted to composition. He was ranked with Benjamin Britten as one of the most sought-after composers in Britain...
Fantasy, op. 107 (1971) - Alan RawsthorneAlan RawsthorneAlan Rawsthorne was a British composer. He was born in Haslingden, Lancashire, and is buried in Thaxted churchyard in Essex.-Career:...
Elegy (1971) - William WaltonWilliam WaltonSir William Turner Walton OM was an English composer. During a sixty-year career, he wrote music in several classical genres and styles, from film scores to opera...
Five Bagatelles (1972) - Humphrey SearleHumphrey SearleHumphrey Searle was a British composer.-Biography:He was born in Oxford where he was a classics scholar before studying — somewhat hesitantly — with John Ireland at the Royal College of Music in London, after which he went to Vienna on a six month scholarship to become a private pupil of Anton...
Five (1974) - Lennox BerkeleyLennox BerkeleySir Lennox Randal Francis Berkeley was an English composer.- Biography :He was born in Oxford, England, and educated at the Dragon School, Gresham's School and Merton College, Oxford...
Guitar Concerto, Op. 88 (1974) - Hans Werner HenzeHans Werner HenzeHans Werner Henze is a German composer of prodigious output best known for "his consistent cultivation of music for the theatre throughout his life"...
Royal Winter MusicRoyal Winter MusicRoyal Winter Music is the name given to two solo works for classical guitar by the German composer Hans Werner Henze.Both works are inspired by characters from Shakespeare. The first work was completed in 1976, and is in six movements...
(first sonata, 1976) - Giles SwayneGiles SwayneGiles Oliver Cairnes Swayne is a British composer.- Biography :Swayne is a cousin of Elizabeth Maconchy. He spent much of his childhood in Liverpool, and began composing at a young age...
Suite (1976) - Peter Maxwell DaviesPeter Maxwell DaviesSir Peter Maxwell Davies, CBE is an English composer and conductor and is currently Master of the Queen's Music.-Biography:...
Hill Runes (1981) - Michael BerkeleyMichael BerkeleyMichael Berkeley is a British composer and broadcaster on music.-Early life:His father was the composer Sir Lennox Berkeley...
Sonata in One Movement (1982) - Richard Rodney BennettRichard Rodney BennettSir Richard Rodney Bennett, CBE is an English composer renowned for his film scores and his jazz performance as much as for his challenging concert works...
Sonata (1983) - Michael TippettMichael TippettSir Michael Kemp Tippett OM CH CBE was an English composer.In his long career he produced a large body of work, including five operas, three large-scale choral works, four symphonies, five string quartets, four piano sonatas, concertos and concertante works, song cycles and incidental music...
The Blue Guitar (1984) - Leo BrouwerLeo BrouwerJuan Leovigildo Brouwer Mezquida is a Cuban composer, conductor and guitarist. He is the grandson of Cuban composer Ernestina Lecuona Casado.-Biography:...
Concerto elegiaco (Guitar Concerto No. 3) (1986) - Tōru TakemitsuToru Takemitsuwas a Japanese composer and writer on aesthetics and music theory. Largely self-taught, Takemitsu possessed consummate skill in the subtle manipulation of instrumental and orchestral timbre...
All in Twilight (1987) - Leo BrouwerLeo BrouwerJuan Leovigildo Brouwer Mezquida is a Cuban composer, conductor and guitarist. He is the grandson of Cuban composer Ernestina Lecuona Casado.-Biography:...
Sonata (1990)
Awards and recognitions (incomplete)
- 1964: Officer of the Order of the British EmpireOrder of the British EmpireThe Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
- 1964: Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music PerformanceGrammy Award for Best Chamber Music PerformanceThe Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance has been awarded since 1959. The award has had several minor name changes:*From 1959 to 1960 the award was known as Best Classical Performance - Chamber Music ...
at the Grammy Awards of 1964Grammy Awards of 1964The 6th Grammy Awards were held on May 12, 1964. They recognized accomplishments by musicians for the year 1963.-Award winners:*Record of the Year**Henry Mancini for "Days of Wine and Roses"*Album of the Year...
for Evening of Elizabethan Music performed by the Julian Bream Consort - 1966: Honorary Member of the Royal Academy of MusicRoyal Academy of MusicThe Royal Academy of Music in London, England, is a conservatoire, Britain's oldest degree-granting music school and a constituent college of the University of London since 1999. The Academy was founded by Lord Burghersh in 1822 with the help and ideas of the French harpist and composer Nicolas...
- 1967: Grammy Award for Best Classical Performance – Instrumental Soloist or Soloists (with or without orchestra) at the Grammy Awards of 1967Grammy Awards of 1967The 9th Grammy Awards were held March 2, 1967. They recognized accomplishments of musicians for the year 1966. The 9th Grammy Awards is notable for not presenting the Grammy Award for Best New Artist.-Award winners:*Record of the Year...
for Baroque Guitar (Works of Bach, Sanz, Weiss, etc.) - 1968: Honorary Doctorate from the University of SurreyUniversity of SurreyThe University of Surrey is a university located within the county town of Guildford, Surrey in the South East of England. It received its charter on 9 September 1966, and was previously situated near Battersea Park in south-west London. The institution was known as Battersea College of Technology...
- 1972: Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Soloist(s) Performance (with orchestra)Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Soloist(s) Performance (with orchestra)The Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Soloist Performance was awarded from 1959 to 2011. From 1967 to 1971 and in 1987 the award was combined with the award for Best Instrumental Soloist Performance and awarded as the Grammy Award for Best Classical Performance - Instrumental Soloist or...
at the Grammy Awards of 1972Grammy Awards of 1972The 14th Grammy Awards were held March 15, 1972, and were broadcast live on television in the United States by ABC; the following year, they would move the telecasts to CBS, where they remain to this date...
for André PrevinAndré PrevinAndré George Previn, KBE is an American pianist, conductor, and composer. He is considered one of the most versatile musicians in the world, and is the winner of four Academy Awards for his film work and ten Grammy Awards for his recordings. -Early Life:Previn was born in...
(conductor), Julian Bream & the London Symphony OrchestraLondon Symphony OrchestraThe London Symphony Orchestra is a major orchestra of the United Kingdom, as well as one of the best-known orchestras in the world. Since 1982, the LSO has been based in London's Barbican Centre.-History:...
for Villa-LobosHeitor Villa-LobosHeitor Villa-Lobos was a Brazilian composer, described as "the single most significant creative figure in 20th-century Brazilian art music". Villa-Lobos has become the best-known and most significant Latin American composer to date. He wrote numerous orchestral, chamber, instrumental and vocal works...
: Concerto for Guitar - 1973: Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music PerformanceGrammy Award for Best Chamber Music PerformanceThe Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance has been awarded since 1959. The award has had several minor name changes:*From 1959 to 1960 the award was known as Best Classical Performance - Chamber Music ...
at the Grammy Awards of 1973Grammy Awards of 1973The 15th Grammy Awards were held on March 3, 1973, and were the first to be broadcast live on CBS, after the first two ceremonies were on ABC. CBS has been the TV home for the Grammy Awards ever since. The awards recognized accomplishments by musicians from the year 1972...
for Julian Bream & John WilliamsJohn Williams (guitarist)John Christopher Williams is an Australian classical guitarist, and a long-term resident of the United Kingdom. In 1973, he shared a Grammy Award win in the 'Best Chamber Music Performance' category with Julian Bream for Julian and John .-Biography:John Williams was born on 24 April 1941 in...
for Julian and John (Works by LawesHenry LawesHenry Lawes was an English musician and composer.He was born at Dinton in Wiltshire, and received his musical education from John Cooper, better known under his Italian pseudonym Giovanni Coperario, a famous composer of the day...
, CarulliFerdinando CarulliFerdinando Maria Meinrado Francesco Pascale Rosario Carulli was an Italian composer for classical guitar and the author of the first complete classical guitar method, which continues to be used today. He wrote a variety of works for classical guitar, including concertos and chamber works...
, AlbénizIsaac AlbénizIsaac Manuel Francisco Albéniz y Pascual was a Spanish Catalan pianist and composer best known for his piano works based on folk music idioms .-Life:Born in Camprodon, province of Girona, to Ángel Albéniz and his wife Dolors Pascual, Albéniz...
, GranadosEnrique GranadosEnrique Granados y Campiña was a Spanish pianist and composer of classical music. His music is in a uniquely Spanish style and, as such, representative of musical nationalism...
) - 1981: Fellowship of the Royal College of MusicRoyal College of MusicThe Royal College of Music is a conservatoire founded by Royal Charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, England.-Background:The first director was Sir George Grove and he was followed by Sir Hubert Parry...
- 1983: Fellowship of the Royal Northern College of MusicRoyal Northern College of MusicThe Royal Northern College of Music is a music school in Manchester, England. It is located on Oxford Road in Chorlton on Medlock, at the western edge of the campus of the University of Manchester and is one of four conservatories associated with the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music...
- 1984: Honorary Doctorate from the University of LeedsUniversity of LeedsThe University of Leeds is a British Redbrick university located in the city of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England...
- 1985: Commander of the Order of the British Empire
- 1988: Honorary Member of the Royal Philharmonic SocietyRoyal Philharmonic SocietyThe Royal Philharmonic Society is a British music society, formed in 1813. It was originally formed in London to promote performances of instrumental music there. Many distinguished composers and performers have taken part in its concerts...
- 1996: Royal Philharmonic Society Instrumentalist's Award
LP
- 20th Century Guitar, RCA LSC-2964
- 70's, RCA ARL 0049
- Dedication, RCA ARL 5034
- A Bach Recital for the Guitar, Westminster CLP 1929
- Baroque Guitar (1966), RCA
- Collection of the Greatest Performances of Julian Bream, Vol. II, Westminster
- Concertos for Lute and Orchestra, RCA ARL1-1180
- Dances of Dowland, RCA LSC-2987
- Elizabethan Lute Songs, RCA LSC-3131
- Elizabethan Music by The Julian Bream Consort, RCA LSC-3195
- The Golden Age of English Lute Music, RCA LSC-3196
- Julian & John, RCA
- Julian Breams Greatest Hits, Westminster
- Julian Breams Greatest Hits Volume Two, Westminster 9008-8185
- Lute Music of John Dowland, RCA ARL1-1491
- John Dowland: 14 Lute Pieces, Westminster W-9079
- Music for Voice and Guitar with Peter PearsPeter PearsSir Peter Neville Luard Pears CBE was an English tenor who was knighted in 1978. His career was closely associated with the composer Edward Benjamin Britten....
, RCA LSC-2718 - Popular Classics for Spanish Guitar, RCA
- Rodrigo: Concerto De Aranjuez, Berkeley Guitar Concerto (1975), RCA
- Sonatas for Lute and Harpsichord—Bach, Vivaldi with George MalcolmGeorge MalcolmGeorge John Huntley Malcolm was a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba as a Liberal from 1909 to 1922, and was a cabinet minister in the government of Tobias C. Norris....
, RCA LSC-3100 - Villa-Lobos, Twelve Etudes for Guitar, Suite populaire bresillienne (1978), RCA
- The Woods So Wild, RCA LSC-3331
CD
- Fret Works (1990), MCA
- Guitarra: The Guitar in Spain (1990), RCA
- Joaquin Rodrigo: Concerto Elegiaco/Fantasia Para Un Gentilhombre (1990), RCA
- Julian Bream plays Bach (1990), RCA
- Julian Bream Plays Granados & Albéniz (Music of Spain, Volume Five) (1990), RCA
- Music of Spain, Vol. 7 (1990), RCA
- Two Loves with Peggy AshcroftPeggy AshcroftDame Peggy Ashcroft, DBE was an English actress.-Early years:Born as Edith Margaret Emily Ashcroft in Croydon, Ashcroft attended the Woodford School, Croydon and the Central School of Speech and Drama...
(1990), RCA - Baroque Guitar (1991), RCA
- La Guitarra Romantica (1991), RCA
- Rodrigo: Concierto de Aranjuez; Villa-Lobos: Preludes (1991), RCA
- Romantic Guitar (1991), RCA
- Baroque Guitar (1993), RCA
- A Celebration Of Andrés Segovia—Bream (1993), RCA
- Highlights from the Julian Bream Edition (1993), RCA
- Rodrigo: Concierto de Aranjuez; Fantasía para un gentilhombre No1-5 (1993), RCA
- Rodrigo: Concierto de Aranjuez; Takemitsu: To the Edge of Dream with Simon RattleSimon RattleSir Simon Denis Rattle, CBE is an English conductor. He rose to international prominence as conductor of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and since 2002 has been principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic ....
and the City of Birmingham Symphony OrchestraCity of Birmingham Symphony OrchestraThe City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra is a British orchestra based in Birmingham, England. The Orchestra's current chief executive, appointed in 1999, is Stephen Maddock...
(1993), Capitol - Together/Julian Bream & John Williams (1993), RCA
- Together Again/ Julian Bream & John Williams (1993), RCA
- Villa-Lobos: Guitar Concerto; Preludes; Etudes with André PrevinAndré PrevinAndré George Previn, KBE is an American pianist, conductor, and composer. He is considered one of the most versatile musicians in the world, and is the winner of four Academy Awards for his film work and ten Grammy Awards for his recordings. -Early Life:Previn was born in...
and the London Symphony OrchestraLondon Symphony OrchestraThe London Symphony Orchestra is a major orchestra of the United Kingdom, as well as one of the best-known orchestras in the world. Since 1982, the LSO has been based in London's Barbican Centre.-History:...
(1993), BMG International - Bach Guitar Recital (1994), EMI Classics
- Bach: Lute Suites, Trio Sonatas (1994), RCA
- Guitar Concertos (1994), RCA
- Julian Bream Consort, Vol. 6 (1994), RCA
- Music of Spain (1994), RCA
- Popular Classics for Spanish Guitar (1994), RCA
- Romantic Guitar (1994), RCA
- Sonata (1995), Angel
- 20th Century Guitar I (1996), RCA
- The Golden Age of English Lute Music (1996), RCA
- Music for Voice & Guitar (1996), RCA
- Music of Spain: Milán, Narváez (1996), RCA
- Popular Classics for the Spanish Guitar (1997), RCA
- Julian Bream Edition, Volume 1: The Golden Age of English Lute Music (28 CDs) (1998), RCA
- The Romantic Hours (1998), RCA
- Spain—Sor, Vol. 24 (1998), BMG Classics
- Guitar Concertos (1999), RCA
- Guitar Music by Albeniz, Vivaldi, Rodrigo & Grandos (2 CDs) (1999), RCA Classics/BMG
- Woods So Wild (1999), RCA
- Nocturnal: Martin, Britten, Brouwer, Lutoslavski (2000), EMI
- The Ultimate Guitar Collection (2 CDs) (2000), RCA
- Duos de Guitares with John WilliamsJohn Williams (guitarist)John Christopher Williams is an Australian classical guitarist, and a long-term resident of the United Kingdom. In 1973, he shared a Grammy Award win in the 'Best Chamber Music Performance' category with Julian Bream for Julian and John .-Biography:John Williams was born on 24 April 1941 in...
(2001), RCA - Spanish Guitar Music (remastered) (2001), Deutsche Grammophon
- Spanish Guitar Recital (2001), RCA
- Rodrigo: Concierto de Aranjuez; Fantasía para un gentilhombre; Tres piezas espanolas; invocacion y danza (remastered) (2004), RCA
- Spanish Guitar Recital (2004),
- Guitar Recital: Bach, Sor, Turina, Tippet, Schubert (2005), Testament
- Music of Spain (2005), RCA
- Elizabethan Lute Songs, Decca
- Julian Bream & Friends, Musical Heritage Society
- Lute Music from the Royal Courts of Europe, BMG Classics
- Music of Spain: The Classical Heritage, RCA
- My Favorite Albums, RCA/Sony Classical
Books about Bream
- Julian Bream: A Life on the Road. London: Macdonald, 1982. ISBN 0356078809. Text by Tony PalmerTony PalmerTony Palmer is an American football guard in the National Football League who is currently a free agent. The former University of Missouri guard who was selected by the St. Louis Rams. He was signed by the Green Bay Packers after being cut in the 2006 preseason by St. Louis...
, photographs by Daniel MeadowsDaniel MeadowsDaniel Meadows is an English photographer turned maker of digital stories, and a teacher of photography turned teacher of participatory media.-Life and career as photographer:...
. - Julian Bream: The Foundations of a Musical Career. Bold Strummer Ltd, 2006. ISBN 1577840674. Stewart W. Button.
External links
- Julian Bream's myspace page
- Biography (Hazard Chase)
- Some photos of LP covers (Oviatt Library Digital Collections)