I’ve been a fan of Sharon Isbin–one of the great classical guitar players in the world–for decades. Over the years, I’ve watched Isbin perform with various symphony orchestras. I’ve also enjoyed her solo concerts. And, I listen to her wonderful music CDs on a regular basis.
SHARON ISBIN: TROUBADOUR presents a fascinating portrait of Sharon Isbin’s career. As a young girl, Isbin was interested in rockets. SHARON ISBIN: TROUBADOUR starts with film of Isbin firing off rockets in her backyard when she was a kid. Isbin’s father took the family to Italy for a year. Isbin’s brother was supposed to take guitar lessons, but backed out when he realized all the practice he would be required to do. Sharon Isbin took his place…and the rest is history.
Isbin fell in love with her guitar and decided at an early age she wanted to be a performer. SHARON ISBIN: TROUBADOUR traces Isbin’s long career as a performer and a teacher. The Juilliard School approached Isbin to establish a guitar option for their gifted students. Isbin’s Juilliard guitar majors continue to learn and astonish with their marvelous performances.
Isbin had a lot to overcome over her career. Conservative European symphony orchestras did not consider the guitar as a legitimate classical instrument. After years of touring, Isbin convinced many of them to allow her to perform with them. And, a woman musical performer–a guitarist–was a rare phenomenon which took decades to achieve acceptance.
If you’d like to listen to Sharon Isbin’s inspired playing, 5 Albums is the perfect opportunity. Not only do you get five of Isbin’s best albums, but it’s available at the bargain price of $17! You can’t beat that! GRADE: A (for both the TV documentary and the 5 Albums)
| CD1 Journey To The Amazon – Music By Almeida, Barrios, Brouwer, Canonico, Lauro, Montana, Salvio, Thiago De Mello And Vianna (Pixinguinha) | |||
| 1-1 | Historia Do Luar (Chôro) | ||
| 1-2 | Seis Por Derecho | ||
| 1-3 | Waltz Op. 8, No.4 | ||
| 1-4 | A Hug For Pixingha | ||
| 1-5 | Chants For The Chief, No. 2: Uirapurú Do Amazonas = Uirapurú From The Amazon | ||
| 1-6 | Julia Florida | ||
| 1-7 | El Marabino | ||
| 1-8 | Waltz, No.3 (Natalia) | ||
| 1-9 | Porro | ||
| 1-10 | Batucada | ||
| 1-11 | Lago De Janauacá | ||
| 1-12 | Chants For The Chief, No.1: A Chamada Dos Ventos / Canção Noturna = Wind Call / Nocturne Song | ||
| 1-13 | Canción De Cuna (Lullaby) | ||
| 1-14 | Aire De Joropo | ||
| 1-15 | Cochichando | ||
| 1-16 | Chôro Alegre (A Hug For Tiberio) | ||
| 1-17 | Cavaleiro Sem Armadura = Knight Without Armor | ||
| CD2 Dreams Of A World – Folk Inspired Music For Guitar By Duarte, Gismonti, Granados, Lauro, Lecuona, Padre Donostia, Ramón Y Rivera, Ruiz-Pipo, Shemer, Takemitsu, Tárrega, Theodorakis And Thiago De Mello | |||
| 2-1 | Virgilio | ||
| Canción Y Danza No. 1 | |||
| 2-2 | Canción | ||
| 2-3 | Danza No. 1 | ||
| Appalachian Dreams Op. 121 | |||
| 2-4 | Fantasia: Katy Cruel–Shady Grove–The Foggy, Foggy Dew | ||
| 2-5 | Black Is The Color Of My True Love’s Hair | ||
| 2-6 | Darling Cora | ||
| 2-7 | Putney Hymn | ||
| 2-8 | Finale: O’Brien’s Jig–Red-Haired Boy–Planxty George Brabazon | ||
| 2-9 | Londonderry Air | ||
| 2-10 | Agua E Vinho | ||
| 2-11 | Romanza | ||
| 2-12 | Brisas Del Torbes | ||
| 2-13 | Canto Siboney | ||
| 2-14 | Preludio No. 6: Dolor | ||
| 2-15 | Recuerdos De La Alhambra | ||
| Four Songs | |||
| 2-16.1 | Of Sting And Honey | ||
| 2-16.2 | Tomorrow | ||
| 2-16.3 | Jerusalem Of Gold | ||
| 2-16.4 | Spy Girl | ||
| Two Epitaphios | |||
| 2-17 | One Day In May | ||
| 2-18 | You Have Set, My Star | ||
| 2-19 | Varre-Vento | ||
| 2-20 | Dedicatoria | ||
| CD3 Rouse • Dun Guitar Concertos | |||
| Concert De Gaudi For Guitar And Orchestra | |||
| 3-1 | Allegro | ||
| 3-2 | Largo Sereno | ||
| 3-3 | Svolazzante | ||
| Concerto For Guitar And Orchestra (Yi2) | |||
| 3-4 | Rubato | ||
| 3-5 | Adagio | ||
| 3-6 | Andante Agitato | ||
| 3-7 | Cadenza | ||
| 3-8 | Ending | ||
| CD4 Baroque Favourites For Guitar – Music By Albinoni, J. S. Bach And Vivaldi | |||
| Concerto In D Major R. 93 | |||
| 4-1 | Allegro | ||
| 4-2 | Largo | ||
| 4-3 | Allegro | ||
| Concerto In A Minor BWV 1041 / In G Minor BWV 1058 | |||
| 4-4 | [Allegro] | ||
| 4-5 | Andante | ||
| 4-6 | Allegro Assai | ||
| 4.7 | Adagio | ||
| Concerto In A Major R. 82 | |||
| 4-8 | Allegro Non Molto (Quasi Andante) | ||
| 4-9 | Larghetto | ||
| 4-10 | Allegro | ||
| 4-11 | Adagio, From Keyboard Concerto In F Minor BWV 1056 | ||
| 4-12 | Prelude For Lute In D Minor BWV 999 | ||
| 4-13 | Jesu, Joy Of Man’s Desiring, From Cantata BWV 147 | ||
| CD5 Rodrigo Concierto de Aranjuez, Villa-Lobos Guitar Concerto, Ponce Concierto Del Sur | |||
| Concierto De Aranjuez | |||
| 5-1 | I Allegro Con Spirito | ||
| 5-2 | II Adagio | ||
| 5-3 | III Allegro Gentile | ||
| Concerto For Guitar | |||
| 5-4 | I Allegro Preciso | ||
| 5-5 | II Andantino E Andante | ||
| 5-6 | III Allegretto Non Troppo | ||
| Concierto Del Sur | |||
| 5-7 | I Allegretto | ||
| 5-8 | II Andante |
Love Sharon Isbin. I heard her play live once.
Patti, Sharon Isbin puts on a great performance! I’ve seen her live several times and the music was fabulous!
Never heard of her, but I do like classical guitar- my father was a fan of flamenco guitarist Carlos Montoya, and he had a few of his albums.
Jeff, you would love 5 ALBUMS. Great music by a great musician!
I’ve never heard of her, not sure whether or not her music would be interesting to me. I’m pretty much a rock and country music fan.
Maggie, you could give Sharon Isbin a try on YouTube.com. Her Vivaldi and Rodrigo music dazzles!
Thanks for the reminder of her, and the pointer toward the album collection…sad that she might’ve faced more resistance in Europe, post Segovia et al., but sclerotic thinking, either sexist or simply hidebound, does tend to persist.
Todd, thanks for the link. In SHARON ISBIN: TROUBADOUR Isbin refers to her struggles getting guitar music accepted as “classical” and the resistance she encountered as a woman musician. But she doesn’t dwell on it…
A sampler page: https://www.sharonisbin.com/video.html
Never heard of her, either! However, I can appreciate the type of music she creates! I just got a three-CD set of Django Reinhardt’s recordings and have been enjoying them as I waste time at my computer! Interesting tidbit about classical guitars: they don’t have marks on the fretboard to help show where you’re playing!
Bob, I knew about the lack of marks on the fretboard. If you like Django Reinhard, you’ll love Sharon Isbin!