Manuel Barrueco’s Highlights — Artist of the Month

1952: Born in Santiago de Cuba.
1961: Began playing the guitar at the age of 8, attending the Esteban Salas Conservatory in Santiago de Cuba.
1967: Immigrated with his family to the United States as political refugees; after a stay in Miami, they moved to Newark, New Jersey.
1970: Peabody rewarded him with a full scholarship — the first-ever for a guitar student at the Conservatory, so he moved to Baltimore, Maryland, graduating in 1975.
1974: Aged 22, he became the first classical guitarist to win the Concert Artists Guild competition in New York, which netted him a prized Carnegie Hall recital.
1977: Released his debut solo album, Villa-Lobos, Guarnieri, Chávez — Works for Guitar (Turnabout).
1979: Second album, Albéniz: Suite Española, Granados: Spanish Dances (Turnabout).
1981: Third album, Scarlatti, Cimarosa, Paganini, Giuliani — Italienische Gitarrenmusik (FSM).
1982: Fourth album, Manuel Barrueco Plays Bach: Lute Suites Nos. 2 & 4 (Vox Cum Laude).
1983: Fifth album, Albéniz, Granados — Spanische Gitarrenmusik (Ex Libris).
1984: American premiere of Tōru Takemitsu’s To the Edge of Dream with the Boston Symphony / Seiji Ozawa. He was featured on the guitar compilation album Spotlight on Guitar (Turnabout).
1987: Sixth album, Manuel Barrueco Plays De Falla, Ponce & Rodrigo (EMI).
1988: Seventh album, Manuel Barrueco Plays Mozart & Sor (EMI).
1989: Eighth album, Manuel Barrueco Plays Brouwer, Villa-Lobos & Orbon (EMI).
1990: Was featured on two EMI albums: Mozart: Duets for Flute & Guitar along with flautist Ransom Wilson, and On the Beautiful Blue Danube by The King’s Singers, with double bassist Georg Hörtnagel and clarinettist Sabine Meyer.
1991: FSM Vox released the compilation Manuel Barrueco spielt Gitarrenmusik aus Spanien, Italien, Brasilien und Mexiko.
1992: Was appointed Professor of Guitar at the Peabody Institute. He released his album Manuel Barrueco Plays Albéniz & Turina (EMI) and was featured on the album Latin Guitar Festival (Vox Cameo Classics) along with Konrad Ragossnig and Walter Feybli. Besides, VoxBox released the compilation Manuel Barrueco — 300 Years of Guitar Masterpieces.
1993: Released two solo albums on EMI: Manuel Barrueco Plays Bach & De Visée and Falla: 7 canciones populares españolas, Granados: 12 danzas españolas; and also was featured on Annie Laurie: Folksongs of the British Isles by The King’s Singers (EMI).
1994: Released three albums: Manuel Barrueco Plays Lennon & McCartney and Portrait From Bach to Lennon/McCartney on EMI, and Sometime Ago (Angel Records) featuring compositions by Corea, Jarrett, Simon & Harrison.
1995: Composer Tōru Takemitsu wrote his last orchestral piece, Spectral Canticle for violin, guitar and orchestra, for him and violinist Frank Peter Zimmerman.
1997: Released his celebrated album Rodrigo (EMI) with the Philharmonia Orchestra / Plácido Domingo, as well as J.S. Bach Sonatas (EMI) and Spanish Guitar Recital (Red Line).
1998: Released his album Cantos y Danzas (EMI) with soprano Barbara Hendricks and flautist Emmanuel Pahud.
1999: Released his album ¡Cuba! (EMI).
2000: Appeared on Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood episode 1757.
2001: Released the album Nylon & Steel (Angel Records) along with Al Di Meola, Steve Morse and Andy Summers.
2004: European release of his album Concierto Barroco (EMI) with the Galicia Symphony Orchestra / Víctor Pablo Pérez, featuring works by Vivaldi, Roberto Sierra and Arvo Pärt.
2005: American release of the album Concierto Barroco on Koch International Classics, receiving a Latin Grammy nomination for Best Classical Album. He appeared on the documentary Aaron Shearer: A Life with Guitar (Michael Lawrence Films).
2006: Michael Lawrence Films produced a documentary starring him, Manuel Barrueco: A Gift and a Life, featuring several performances and interviews.
2007: First release on Tonar Music: Solo Piazzolla, which received a Grammy nomination for Best Instrumental Soloist Performance (Without Orchestra).
2008: Two new releases on Tonar Music with the Cuarteto Latinoamericano: Tango Sensations: Music of Piazzolla & Guastavino and Sounds of the Americas, which won a Latin Grammy for Best Classical Contemporary Composition (Inca Dances by Gabriela Lena Frank) the following year.
2009: Released the album Virtuoso Guitar Duos (Tonar Music) along with Franco Platino.
2010: Released his album Tárrega! (Tonar Music), receiving a Latin Grammy nomination for Best Classical Album. He appeared on the two-hour documentary Bach & Friends (Michael Lawrence Films), where world-class musicians share their innermost thoughts and personal reflections on the power and genius of the most influential composer in history.
2011: Recipient of the United States Artist Fontanals Fellowship for Artistic Excellence.
2012: Released his album Chaconne — A Baroque Recital (Tonar Music). Tonar also reissued his Bach Sonatas released in 1997 on EMI.
2013: Released the album Medea: Spanish Guitar Music by Albéniz, Granados and Manolo Sanlúcar (Tonar Music) with the Tenerife Symphony Orchestra / Víctor Pablo Pérez, receiving a Latin Grammy nomination for Best Classical Album.
2014: Released the album China West (Tonar Music) along with the Beijing Guitar Duo.
2016: Released his album Fernando Sor: The Beethoven of the Guitar (Tonar Music). In addition, Tonar released Nicholas Simmons’ coffee-table book No. 58: Manuel Barrueco, Robert Ruck, & a Guitar, which tells the story of Barrueco’s legendary guitar No. 58 by Robert Ruck — one of the most famous classical guitars in the world.
2019: Released the album Heitor Villa-Lobos: Guitar Concerto, Harmonica Concerto, Sexteto místico, Quinteto instrumental (Naxos) with the harmonica player José Staneck, the OSESP Ensemble and the São Paulo Symphony Orchestra / Giancarlo Guerrero. He appeared on Now Hear This TV mini-series season 1, episode 3, Scarlatti: Man Out of Time.
2020: Released his last album, Music from Cuba and Spain, Sierra: Sonata para Guitarra (Tonar Music), being nominated for a Latin Grammy for Best Classical Album.

Content Featuring Manuel Barrueco

Interview (October 4): “Music Is What Feelings Sound Like”
Releases (October 6): “Music from Cuba and Spain, Sierra: Sonata para guitarra” (Tonar Music)
Events (October 8): Manuel Barrueco on the Baltimore International Guitar Competition
Stories (October 13): “No. 58, Manuel Barrueco, Robert Ruck, & a Guitar” (by Nicholas Simmons)

Content Featuring Manuel Barrueco

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