Since I first heard Kazuhito Yamashita through a cassette recording of his monumental transcription of Modest Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition, I have been in awe of him. The intensity and virtuosity, completely unrivaled to this day, of his playing were enough to make anyone’s jaw drop (or fingers fall off). I then searched for and came across more of his recordings, like his complete Bach cycle of the lute suites, violin partitas and sonatas, and the cello suites; Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s Caprichos de Goya and concertos and quintet; and other mind-boggling transcriptions like Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite and Dvorak’s New World Symphony. Many years later, I was fortunate to hear him play live in San Francisco through the Omni Foundation’s amazing Dynamite Guitar Series.
Tonebase, the wonderful resource for classical guitarists, recently did a video on Kazuhito Yamashita, which I feel compelled to share with Six String Journal readers. And, I discovered through the video, that he released a re-mastered full-length recording of his legendary performance of Pictures at an Exhibition. If you have not heard of Kazuhito Yamashita, brace yourself.
And if you missed the interview of his talented daughter, Kanahi Yamashita, I did for Six String Journal readers, check it out!
Save 30% on a Tonebase subscription by using the Six String Journal coupon code and supporting our site at the same time! Coupon code: SSJ-30
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