Those who were not lucky enough to catch Juan Martín in his Barbican performance last year will be pleased to hear that he has released a double DVD of the this performance called Juan Martín and his Flamenco Dance Ensemble – Live in London at the Barbican. It has been beautifully filmed and edited so that you can see the fine details of his hands playing (and even the specks of dust on his shoulders of his jacket because of the accuracy of the focus!) and the perspective of the shots changes constantly, so it is pleasing to watch. If you were in the audience at the Barbican, you might just catch a glimpse of yourself on the DVD. I have a full review appearing soon in Classical Guitar magazine.

Juan Martín has been performing and touring for many years now but alongside this busy schedule, he has also written some excellent guitar tutors which have been a valuable tool for many guitarists for many, many years now. Like Donn Pohren, his publications have made a great contribution to people’s understanding and appreciation of flamenco outside of Spain. More recently his video series of six lessons called La Guitarra Flamenca, which was originally released on video, has been reissued as a book with DVDs (Faber Music). These, like his two-volume flamenco tutor published with Mel Bay, are full of pieces which are both interesting and accessible to those wishing to learn to play flamenco guitar.

Earlier this year Juan Martín was invited to perform with the Nash Ensemble at Wigmore Hall, London.

Juan Martín in the Green Room at Wigmore Hall.

© 2010 Thérèse Wassily Saba