A treasury of the classical guitar: as a solo and concerto instrument, and as a partner to other instruments, in music from Europe and Latin America that spans five centuries. This box assembles all releases from the ground-breaking series, Panorama de la guitare, which showcased luminaries of the guitar’s ‘new golden age’ in the 1960s and 70s. Most of these recordings are making their first appearance on CD, and all have been remastered from the original tapes in 24bit/96kHz, revealing the sound of the instrument in its true intimacy and beauty.

This box presents the most comprehensive collection dedicated to the classical guitar. It includes all the best-loved music from the Renaissance to today, performed by first-class musicians who demonstrate the infinite possibilities of a multi-faceted instrument with virtuosity and finesse.

The first 24 CDs of this set gather together the complete Panorama de la Guitare series which Robert J. Vidal (1925-2002) curated for Erato between 1969 and 1978. Vidal was close to the great guitarists, especially Andrés Segovia. From 1959 onwards he produced Radio France’s International Guitar Competition and he also played a key role in French national radio’s broadcasting of guitar music. Vidal, also known as “Mr. Guitar”, stimulated interest in the guitar among other musicians and artistic administrators and brought the instrument to a wide audience, both in France and around the world.

Erato’s Panorama de la Guitare series, the natural extension of Vidal’s policy to raise awareness of the guitar, enjoyed huge commercial success at the time. It presented his favourite interpreters and his protégés, which were all among the finest guitarists of the time.

All the recordings have been remastered from the original tapes in 24bit/96kHz. CD25 does not derive from the historical Panorama series but is a compilation of popular guitar numbers that do not appear elsewhere in the collection. All wallets – except CD25 - carry the designs of the original LP covers. The great majority of these recordings are released here for the first time on CD - all in track list below but the ones marked with an asterisk (*).

Artists

Turibio Santos (guitar), Óscar Cáceres (guitar), Konrad Ragossnig (guitar, lute), Hanni Widmer (organ), Duo Pomponio-Zárate (guitar), Maxence Larrieu (flute), Lucien Debray (oboe), Lily Laskine (harp), Henri-René Pollin (saxophone), François-Joel Thiollier (percussion), Barbara Polasek (guitar), Leo Brouwer (guitar), María Luisa Anido (guitar), Serge Collot (viola), Christian Lardé (flute), Betho Davezac (guitar), Angel Romero (guitar), Wulfin Lieske (guitar), Pierre Laniau (guitar)

Federico Moreno Torroba Orchestra, Orchestre de Chambre Jean-Francois Paillard, Leo Brouwer Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, Federico Moreno Torroba, Jean-Francois Paillard, André Previn