12 Concert Etudes

These twelve concert studies for guitar opus 41 by the German composer and guitarist Burkhard (Buck) Wolters represent a new milestone in the concert repertoire for guitar. They follow in the tradition of great cycles of studies such as Frédéric Chopin’s twelve Études opus 10 and opus 25 and in particular the twelve studies for guitar by Heitor Villa-Lobos, yet still have their own musical language and inventive character. There are many parallels with the great Brazilian composer’s twelve studies, such as the arpeggios that form the basis of the first two studies by both composers and the inclusion of numerous repeated notes in the fourth study in both instances. These and other charming parallels will suggest possible links to Villa-Lobos for the educated observer, offering interesting points of reference with no question of inferior imitation. Besides guitar techniques often used in the past such as arpeggios, scales or left-hand slurs, this cycle also takes more unusual challenges for the guitar as the focus of a study: for instance, playing two parts in polyphonic texture sustained at a rapid tempo, playing trills across two strings or combining arpeggios with artificial harmonics. A few of these studies go far beyond the familiar in terms of length and acrobatic challenges.