Long before Bream picked up a lute, however, he was an amazing classical guitarist who rose to prominence during the golden age of classical guitar. Many thought Bream was another Andrès Segovia, but, unlike Segovia, he did not limit himself to traditional classical guitar repertoire or classical music. That diversity began in childhood, encouraged by his father, who was an amateur jazz musician.

Bream progressed from plucking his father’s banjo to playing electric guitar when he was only ten years old. The youngster played classical piano in addition to guitar, which eventually led to a scholarship at the Royal College of Music, where he studied piano and cello. The college didn’t teach guitar, so Bream taught himself to play classical guitar. He attended a Segovia concert when he was 13 years old, and, afterward, was asked to play for the maestro. An impressed Segovia gave Bream two lessons.

Within a few years, Bream began a burgeoning concert career that was briefly interrupted by mandatory military service. The ever-industrious Bream played cello in the Army string band, and electric jazz guitar with weekend dance bands. He furthered his musical education by listening to jazz recordings of Django Reinhardt, Charlie Christian, Tal Farlow, and saxophonist Charlie Parker. But Bream’s taste was not limited to jazz. Years ago, Bream contacted GP to express his compliments for a Soundpage lesson on the style of Jimi Hendrix’s music, which he said he enjoyed playing.

Many internationally renowned composers have written for Bream, including Benjamin Britten, whose “Nocturnal”—a set of variations on Dowland’s lute composition, “Come, Heavy Sleep”—is undoubtedly Bream’s signature guitar piece. The album Nocturnal is currently out of print, though you might be able to find a copy on eBay. Unfortunately, you will have a much more difficult time finding the soon to be 75-year-old guitarist on stage. Bream retired in 2002, after what he famously referred to as “55 years on the planks.”

INSPIRED

Together, 1971
Julian Bream and John Williams play seamlessly on this album of duets and duet arrangements. Duets include English composer William Lawes’ “Suite for Two Guitars” and Ferdinando Carulli’s “Duo in G.” Superlative performances of Spanish music arranged for duet include “Córdoba” by Isaac Albéniz and Manuel de Falla’s “La Vida Breve.”

RCA Victor Basic 100 Volume 26 Rodrigo Concierto de Aranjuez, 1993
Bream again collaborates brilliantly with another guitarist. This time, however, the other guitarist is holding a baton, not a guitar. Renowned Cuban composer/guitarist/conductor Leo Brouwer is the perfect choice to conduct the orchestra on “Fantasía para un Gentilhombre” by Joaquín Rodrigo. Classical guitar aficionados will also appreciate Bream’s solos on “Concierto de Aranjuez” and two solo-guitar preludes by Heitor Villa-Lobos. Villa-Lobos was known to have purchased copies of the recording as gifts for friends and associates.

REQUIRED

The Essential Julian Bream, 2008
This two-disc compilation of previously released recordings (as selected by Bream) spans the years 1959 through 1984. Aside from the traditional guitar repertoire, listeners will be delighted by pieces composed expressly for Bream, such as “Five Bagatelles for Guitar” by William Walton. Reportedly, Bream told Walton he had played it exactly as written, to which Walton replied, “You got it better.” Sir Malcolm Arnold’s “Guitar Concerto Op.67” is a tribute to Bream’s hero Django Reinhardt. Bream’s guitar blends beautifully with harpsichord on Luigi Boccherini’s “Guitar Quintet in D Minor, G.448.” The inclusion of Bream performing Britten’s “Gloriana: Courtly Dances” on lute with the Julian Bream Consort—a group of woodwind and string musicians—makes this collection truly essential.

Julian Bream The Ultimate Guitar Collection, 1996
Another two-disc compilation, this collection is strong in Spanish composers such as Isaac Albéniz. The title is a bit misleading, however, because the collection also includes Bream playing lute, as on Antonio Vivaldi’s “Concerto in D for Lute and Strings RV 93”—a piece that has been recorded for guitar by John Williams and Christopher Parkening. Classical guitarists will also appreciate Bream’s lute playing on Francis Cutting’s “Greensleeves” and on John Dowland’s “Fantasia ‘A Fancy.’” No Bream collection is complete without Albéniz’s “Leyenda (Asturias),”  “Granada,” and “Sevilla.” Other classic Spanish pieces include “The Miller’s Dance” by Manuel de Falla, “Recuerdos de la Alhambra” by Francisco Tárrega, and the sensitive and beautiful “Valses Poéticos” by Enrique Granados.

Romantic Guitar, 1972
Francisco Tárrega once said, “A guitar in the hands of an Englishman is almost blasphemy.” Tárrega would change his mind upon hearing Bream’s performance of his “Adelita,” and again on “Hommage A Tárrega, Op. 69,” “Garrotín,” and “Soleares” by Joaquín Turina. Bream’s mournful, haunting phrasing of the Catalonian song, “El Testament D’Amelia,” rounds out this album.

TIRED

Guitar for Relaxation, 1999
Bream’s friend and fellow classical guitar superstar, John Williams once told me, “Compilations these days of the classical catalog are endless. You have after-dinner classics, before-breakfast classics, moonlight classics—I even had a request recently for music for listening with your pet. Can you believe it?” Unless you see the name “Julian Bream” in extremely small print on the bottom of the back label of the jewel box, you’d never know it was a Julian Bream album. Surely, Mr. Bream’s recordings deserve a better setting than this K-Tel-like packaging. Let’s get his original recordings back into print!