https://slippedisc.com/2022/06/italian-guitar-composer-dies-91/
https://www.volterraguitar.org/bio-alvaro-company.html
https://www.volterraguitar.org/bio-alvaro-company.html
In the second edition of The Contemporary Guitar (ISBN 978-1-4422-3789-6) John Schneider wrote that 1963 can be thought of as Year Zero for the contemporary era of the guitar. It was the year the world got Nocturnal after John Dowland by Benjamin Britten; Si le jour Parait ... by Maurice Ohana and Las seis cuerdas by Alvaro Company. It might be good here to clarify that these were three landmark works that foretold the future of classical guitar music since, as many of us know, plenty of innovative and legendary works for guitar had been written before, during and since 1963. But Schneider's point is well worth noting now that Alvaro Company has passed.
I realize that for most people the passing of an Italian guitarist composer who pioneered extended techniques and post-tonal possibilities for the instrument won't mean too much but it's still a sad day for classical guitarists who keep tabs on guitarist composers.
Props to Lebrecht for noting the news. I occasionally tire of his scabrous moments and the commentary brawls but it's thanks to Lebrecht rants that I learned about Ethan Hein's work and in contrast to a lot of other classical mainstream journalism Lebrecht has, at least, paid attention enough to note the deaths of Roland Dyens, Julian Bream, Angelo Gilardino and Alvaro Company.
