David Russell (guitarist)

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David Russell (born in 1953 in Glasgow) is a classical guitarist.

Russell is world-renowned for his superb musicianship and inspired artistry, having earned the highest praise from audiences and critics alike.

1 Early Life
2 Competitions
3 Honours
4 Discography
5 Quotes
6 Official Homepage
7 External links

[edit] Early Life

When David was just five years of age, his family moved from Glasgow to the Spanish paradise of Minorca, where he very quickly became interested in the guitar, imitating the likes of Andrés Segovia and Julian Bream.

Today, David resides in Galicia, but spends most of his time touring the world, appearing regularly at prestigious concert halls in major cities such as New York, London, Tokyo, Los Angeles, Madrid, Toronto, Amsterdam and Denver. He is also regularly invited to play in music festivals.

Away from the classical guitar scene, David has won amateur golf tournaments, mainly in Scotland and Spain.

He is also an avid supporter of his local football team, Celta de Vigo.

[edit] Competitions

During his studies at the Royal Academy, Russell won the Julian Bream Guitar Prize twice and received a scholarship from the Ralph Vaughan Williams Trust. Later he won numerous international competitions, including the Andrés Segovia Competition, the José Ramírez Competition, and Spain's prestigious Francisco Tárrega Competition.

[edit] Honours

In recognition of his great talent as well as his international career, Russell was named a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Music in London in 1997.

In May 2003, he was awarded the great honour of being made "adopted son" of Es Migjorn, the town on Minorca where he grew up.

In November 2003, he was given the Medal of Honour of the Conservatory of the Balearics.

In 2004, he won a Grammy Award for his CD "Aire Latino", in the category of best instrumental soloist in classical music.

[edit] Discography

Since 1995, David Russell has had an exclusive contract with Telarc International, with whom he has recorded a CD featuring the music of Paraguayan guitarist-composer Agustín Barrios Mangoré, another with the music of Spanish composer Federico Moreno Torroba, a recording including the three Rodrigo concerti for solo guitar (Concierto de Aranjuez, Fantasía para un Gentilhombre and Concierto para una Fiesta), "Celtic Music for Guitar", "Music by Giuliani", "Baroque Music", "Spanish Favorites", "David Russell plays Bach" , "Aire Latino" (Grammy winner), dedicated to music written by Latin American composers, and his most recent, "Spanish Legends".

His discography also includes transcriptions of Bach, Handel and Scarlatti on GHA, "Nineteenth Century Music", also on GHA, and the complete works by Francisco Tárrega on Opera Tres.