This CD restores to the catalog one of the most popular classical guitar LPs from the 50s and 60s. Originally recorded for Philharmonia in 1952, it was last released on a Nonesuch/Elektra LP. Also featured is Rey de la Torre’s studio recording of the Boccherini D Major “Fandango” Quintet (the premiere recording of this work, made in 1951). Also included is a live concert performance of Villa-Lobos’s Etude No. 11, issued for the first time. Born in Gibara, Cuba, in 1917, Rey was a child prodigy on the guitar, known as “El Niño”. At the age of 14, Rey’s parents sent him to Barcelona to study with the great guitarist, Miguel Llobet. The young artist was to spend two and a half years under Llobet’s tutelage and the triumphs that followed had the Barcelona critics comparing him not only to Llobet, but to Casals as well. This recital shows Rey at his best, and includes works that he gave the world premiere performances of- the compositions by Nin-Culmell and Orbon. The Boccherini Quintet recording is a real rarity- the first recording of this now-famous composition- and a recording that, mysteriously, was never released. In it, Rey is joined by the superb Stuyvesant String Quartet. This recording includes extensive essays about Rey de la Torre by his former student, Anthony Weller, and about the Stuyvesant String Quartet by producer Jay Shulman.

Bridge has also released this recording by the Stuyvesant String Quartet with Benny Goodman, clarinet: works by G.F. Malipiero, Debussy, Ravel and Alan Shulman; BRIDGE 9137