Guitar Festival Postojna, Slovenia

PROGRAMME - XIX century Masterpieces
Period instrument: eight-string Mirecourt (1827)

Mauro Giuliani (1781 - 1829)                                                               GRANDE OUVERTURE op. 61
                                                                                                                        Andante Sostenuto
                                                                                                                          Allegro Maestoso

Mauro Giuliani (1781 - 1829)                              6 VARIATIONEN NEBST POLONAISE UND FINALE op. 9


PROGRAM NOTES
Fernando Sor (February 14, 1778, Barcelona, Spain — July 10, 1839, Paris, France)
Romanticism emphasized the individual, the subjective, the irrational, the imaginative, the personal, the spontaneous, the emotional, the visionary, and the transcendental. Some temporaries made the comparison calling him the Beethoven of the Guitar.

Mauro Giuliani (July 27, 1781, Bisceglie,Puglia, Italy - May 8, 1828, Napels, Italy)
Living years in Vienna before returning to Italy, representing Viennese classicism nourished with Italian lyricism. Playing with mastery, with elegance, with exceptional sonority and virtuosity.

Anton Diabelli (September 6, 1781, Mattsee near Salzburg, Austria - April 7, 1858, Vienna, Austria)
Influenced by Michael Haydn, left Bavaria for Vienna in 1803. Respected as a publisher for music by Schubert, Beethoven, and others, and as a guitar and piano teacher. His third sonata is an example of composing with depth, complexity and knowledge of our instrument and of the culture of the pianist-composer.

Raphaella Smits is no ordinary musician. She is a phenomenon. She fascinates. She moves. She makes a lasting impression. The "first lady of the eight-string guitar" is acclaimed worldwide: for her charisma, for her research and eclectic programming, for her choice of historical instruments and ditto performance practice, for her numerous CD recordings, called benchmarks for future performances, and for her authentic recitals.

Raphaella Smits plays worldwide in her unique way on eight-string guitars and historical instruments. She has been praised as ‘an uncommonly musical guitarist’ (Tim Page, New York Times), ‘Une Grande Musicienne’ and ‘one of the most sensitive and cultured performers of our time’ (Jean Bernard, Diapason, FR).
In 2019, she received a unique award "Por su aporte a la Guitarra y la Cultura" in Argentina at the Festival Guitarras del Mundo.

In addition to stage-work, Raphaella Smits has realized 25 albums, many of which are listed as indispensable to refined music lovers. To this day, she continues to produce new, valuable recordings.

Raphaella Smits is widely acclaimed as an inspiring pedagogue for both guitar and chamber music. She taught at the Lemmens Institute / LUCA School of Arts in Leuven, Belgium, from 1986 to 2022. Now, she continues to give regular masterclasses in Europe, in North and South America, and in Japan.

Organizers of international music competitions request Raphaella as a member or as president of the jury because of her exceptional and unbiased judgment and her empathetic afterthoughts with the candidates.

Raphaella studied classical music at the Royal Conservatories of Antwerp and Brussels. Simultaneously she went to José Tomàs to perfect her playing at the "Catedra Andrès Segovia" in Spain. At that time she already gave her first concerts and became a convincing advocate for the eight-string guitar.

In 1986 Raphaella Smits was the first woman to win the first prize of the "XX Certamen Internacional de Guitarra Francisco Tarrega", the famous international guitar competition in Benicasim, Spain. That victory confirmed the progression of a successfully started career, after previous prizes in competitions in Granada and Palma de Mallorca.
The jury presidents, Segovia and Narciso Yepes, both expressed their admiration for Raphaella's musicality and prophetically espressed confidence in her future achievements.

More info at http://www.rsmits.com