Mel Bay Classic Koshkin: A Collection of Guitar Solos by Nikita Koshkin (Frank Koonce Series) [Paperback]

Nikita Koshkin (Author), Frank Koonce (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 5, 2003

Born in 1956 in Moscow, guitarist Nikita Koshkin is one of Russia s leading composers, teachers and concert artists. This collection includes works from throughout his 30-year career as a composer including his three-movement Hispanic Suite, one of his earliest compositions. The other compositions included in this volume are: Pan, Tristan Playing the Lute, Romance, and a five-movement suite called The Ballads: Suite for Solo Guitar. Koshkin uses dropped-D tuning in several of these pieces and favors rhythmic variety and stylistic diversity. These intermediate to advanced compositions appear in standard notation only with suggested left-hand fingering and generous performance notes.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Nikita Koshkin was born in 1956 in Moscow. He received his first guitar as a present from his grandfather, along with a recording of Andres Segovia. Koshkin was so impressed by this recording that he made a decision to make music his occupation even though his parents has prophesied a diplomatic career for him. He studied classical guitar with Georgi Emanov at the Moscow College of Music and later with Alexander Frauchi at the Gnessin Institute where he also studied composition with Victor Egorov. Koshkin's music is deeply dramatic and at the same time witty and playful, forceful and imaginative. Numerous extra-musical references to legends, fairy tales and literary figures, as well as musical forms of other cultures, innovative sound effects, and patterns of popular music, give rise to a rich texture full of surprises. Koshkin offers the distinctive Russian blend of romantic fervor, passionate feeling and verve, and melancholy that, even more than his exquisite craftsmanship, accounts for the appeal of his compositions to audiences everywhere. An active concert artist himself, Koshkin has toured in Russia, the Netherlands, France, Germany, Great Britian, the Czech Republic, Poland, and the United States. He recorded his first CD in 1997, The Prince's Toys - Koshkin Plays Koshkin (Soundset Recordings - SR 1011), and he returned to the United States in 1999-2000 to tour and make a second album, The Well-Tempered Koshkin (SR 1015). On January 27, 2000, a Mel Bay Publications live concert video (MB99231VX) of Koshkin performing solos and duos with Frank Koonce was filmed at Hemmle Recital Hall on the campus of Texas Tech University. Mr. Koshkin continues to live in Moscow where he divides his time between composing, performing and teaching. Frank Koonce is internationally acclaimed as a performer, teacher, and writer. He holds degrees from the North Carolina School of the Arts and from Southern Methodist University, studying first with Jesús Silva and then with Robert Guthrie. In 1974-75, he was a Fulbright Scholar and performer in Italy where he studied with Sergio Notaro and Alirio Diaz. Mr. Koonce's creative output includes an authoritative guitar edition of Johann Sebastian Bach's complete solo lute works and recordings with both English and Spanish narration of Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco's "Platero y yo." He has also recorded an album entitled "A Southwest Christmas" with the Phoenix Bach Choir and is featured in a live concert video with the renowned composer/guitarist, Nikita Koshkin (Mel Bay 99231VX). As a founding partner of Soundset Recordings he has helped produce other classical compact discs, including a premiere recording of works by Alan Hovhaness with the Korean Broadcasting System Symphony Orchestra and the first two recordings of Nikita Koshkin. A Professor of Music, Frank Koonce has directed the guitar program at Arizona State University since 1978. He was Director of "Guitar Festival 1987" an international event jointly sponsored by the Guitar Foundation of America and the American String Teachers Association, and has since served as Chair the GFA Advisory Board. He is an active performer, with recitals to his credit in England, Korea, Macedonia, Taiwan, China, Bangladesh, Costa Rica, Mexico, Spain, The Czech Republic, Austria, and throughout the United States.

Product Details

• Paperback: 80 pages
• Publisher: Mel Bay Publications, Inc.; SPI edition (November 5, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786670274
• ISBN-13: 978-0786670277
• Product Dimensions: 11.8 x 8.7 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,598,749 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)