Julian Bream

One of the most important classical guitarists and lutenists of the 20th century, Julian Bream was born in Battersea (London) on July 15, 1933. His interpretations of works by Renaissance and modern composers have given this specific repertoire its letters of nobility. The son of an amateur guitarist, he grew up in a musical environment: he learned the piano and cello, then discovered the guitar through Django Reinhardt's gypsy jazz style, before taking an interest in classical guitar. A musical prodigy, he entered the Royal College of Music at the age of sixteen, by which time he was already giving public recitals. Two years later, in 1951, he made his debut at London's Wigmore Hall. As well as touring the world, Julian Bream recorded instrumental pieces for radio and film. In 1960, he formed the Julian Bream Consort, of which he was lutenist, to promote the works of Elizabethan composers. The repertoire of works he recorded for the RCA Victor label from this date onwards served as a model for classical guitar performers, from the compositions of John Dowland to the guitar concertos of Rodrigo and Albéniz, from Baroque pieces by J. S. Bach and Vivaldi to modern works by Villa-Lobos and Britten. In 1972, he made his first recording as a duo with Australian guitarist John Williams. The experience was repeated two years later under the title Together Again, followed by a live recital in 1979. Injured in a car accident in 1984, the virtuoso guitarist reappeared at the BBC Proms in 1991. The inspiration for works by contemporary composers such as Malcolm Arnold, William Walton, Hans Werner Henze, Benjamin Britten, Leo Brouwer, Michael Berkeley, Michael Tippett, Toru Takemitsu, Peter Maxwell Davies and Harrison Birtwistle, Julian Bream was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (1964), then a Commander in 1985. Honorary member of the Royal Academy of Music and honorary doctor of several universities, he has won six Grammy Awards and the Edison Prize (1974). In 2013, the British magazine Gramophone awarded him a lifetime achievement award. In addition to his impressive discography of almost a hundred titles, he has released dozens of compilations, including a 28-CD box set, The Ultimate Guitar Collection, released in 1993. Julian Bream recorded for EMI Classics before retiring from the stage in 2002, having returned to Wigmore Hall the previous year, fifty years after his debut. After a heart attack at Christmas 1998, he died at his home in Donehead St. Andrew (Wiltshire) on August 14, 2020, aged 87.