LEXINGTON, KY (2/14/12) – Just two days before David Russell releases his newest album featuring works by Baroque masters, the Grammy award-winning guitarist will take to a Bluegrass stage to close out the first University of Kentucky International Guitar Series. The concert featuring Russell will begin at 3 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 19, at the new auditorium in Pavilion A of UK Albert B. Chandler Hospital.
 
"I haven't been in Kentucky for many years and I look forward to returning and playing in Lexington, meeting old friends and making new ones with the music of the guitar," said Russell. "I have chosen a varied repertoire that includes baroque, classical and contemporary music. The baroque pieces by Couperin and Weiss I recently recorded on my latest CD. I will finish the recital with a selection of arrangements of Celtic music, which takes me back to my family roots."
 
Russell’s playing has been hailed as "magnificent" by the American Record Guide. The classical guitarist is world renowned for his superb musicianship and inspired artistry, having earned the highest praise from audiences and critics alike.
 
In recognition of his great talent and his international career, he was named a Fellow of The Royal Academy of Music in London in 1997 and was given the Medal of Honor of the Conservatory of the Balearics in 2003. Russell won the 2005 Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Soloist in Classical Music for his CD "Aire Latino." During his studies at the Royal Academy, the guitarist won twice the Julian Bream Guitar Prize. Later he won numerous international competitions, including the Andrés Segovia Competition, the José Ramírez Competition and Spain's prestigious Francisco Tárrega Competition.
 
Russell spends his time touring the world, appearing regularly at prestigious halls in New York, London, Tokyo, Los Angeles, Madrid, Toronto and Rome. In 2009, he was named honorary member of Amigos de la Guitarra, the oldest guitar society in Spain.
 
Russell's upcoming album, "Grandeur of the Baroque" will feature distinctive works by four of the greatest Baroque masters for guitar. Suites from George Frideric Handel, François Couperin and lutenist Silvius Leopold Weiss join J.S. Bach’s Toccata from Partita No. 6 in E minor on this collection of Baroque treasures.
 
"Some time ago my good friend Hubert Kappel made a beautiful arrangement of the sixth partita by Bach and I have wanted to play the Toccata and Fugue, as it is such a magnificent piece. I decided it should be the opener for the CD," said Russell in speaking about the selections on this recording. "As a complement I played four sinfonias, shorter pieces that Bach wrote for the keyboard (they are often referred to as three-part inventions)."
 
The Partita No. 6 in E minor is one of Bach’s most introspective keyboard compositions. It opens with an unusual toccata, here expanded to incorporate a vast fugue as the central argument of the movement. Sinfonia No. 11 in G minor recalls the dignified 18th-century Sarabande, a style Russell has recorded in various forms throughout his discography.
 
The Handel Suite No. 7 in G minor is filled with references to French music, including an overture inspired by the work of Jean-Baptiste Lully to precede his operas for the court of Louis XIV.
 
The French theme lends itself well to Vingt-Sixième Ordre ("26th Suite") from Book IV of Couperin’s "Pièces de Clavecin." Russell’s original arrangements of these works for harpsichord match the sparkle and luminosity with which Silvius Leopold Weiss imbued his Suite in D major. "Couperin has been one of my favorite composers," Russell said. "I have recorded some other of his harpsichord pieces before. On this occasion I have transcribed four movements from the 26th ordre, each piece has a very distinct character, showing both the depth and the humor of his music.
 
"I closed my new recording with the suite by Weiss which has been part of my repertoire for many years. The "Passacaille" is a wonderful piece that many guitarists have enjoyed playing and I had been looking forward to recording it for a long time."
 
To see previous performances by Russell, visit the artist's YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/davidrussellguitar.
 
The UK International Guitar Series 2011-12 is being presented by the UK School of Music in the UK College of Fine Arts, which has garnered national recognition for high-caliber education in opera, choral and instrumental music performance, as well as music education, composition, theory and music history.
 
Tickets for the David Russell concert are $20 for general admission and $15 for senior citizens students. To purchase tickets, contact the Singletary Center ticket office by calling (859) 257-4929 [Call: (859) 257-4929], visiting here online, or in person at the venue.
 
For more information on the UK International Guitar Series, visit the UK School of Music online at www.uky.edu/FineArts/Music/guitar/series.php or contact Dieter Hennings at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
 
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