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Julian Bream OBE
Name...Julian Bream OBE
Date of birth...15 July 1933
Place of birth...London, England
Instruments...Guitar, Lute.
Classical Guitar.
Bream was born in London and brought up in a very musical environment. His father played Jazz guitar and the young Bream was impressed by hearing the playing of Django Reinhardt. He was encouraged to play the piano but also the guitar. On his 11th birthday Bream was given a classical guitar by his father. He became something of a child prodigy, at 12 winning a junior exhibition for his piano playing, enabling him to study at the Royal College of Music. He made his debut guitar recital in Cheltenham at the age of 13.
After national service he resumed a busy career playing around the world,including annual tours in the US and Europe for several years.
He played part of a recital at the Wigmore Hall on Lute in 1952 and since has done much to bring music written for the instrument to light.
1960 saw the formation of The Julian Bream Consort, a period instrument ensemble with Bream as Lutenist. The consort led a great revival of interest in the music of the Elizabethan era. His first European tours took place in 1954 and 1955, and were followed by extensive touring in North America, Far East, India, Australia, The Pacific Islands and other parts of the world. Bream has recorded extensively for RCA and EMI Classics. These recordings have won him several awards, including four Grammy awards, two for Best Chamber Music Performance, and two for Best Classical Performance. RCA also released The Ultimate Guitar Collection, a multi-cd set commemorating his birthday in 1993. In 1984 Breams arm was seriously injured in a car accident, it took great effort for him to regain his previous technical ability.
Breams recitals are wide-ranging, including transcriptions from the 17th century, many pieces by Bach arranged for guitar, popular Spanish pieces and contemporary music, much for which he was the inspiration. He has stated that he has been influenced by the styles of Andres Segovia and Francisco Terrega.
Many composers have worked with Bream, and among those who dedicated pieces to him are Malcolm Arnold, Richard Rodney Bennett, Benjamin Britten, Leo Brouwer, Peter Racine Fricker, Hans Werner Henze, Humphrey Searle, Toru Takemitsu, Michael Tippet and William Walton. Brittens Nocturnal is one of the famous pieces in the classical guitar repertoire and was written with Bream in mind. It is an unusual set of variations on John Dowlands Come Heavy Sleep, which is played in it`s original form at the close of the piece.
Bream has also taken part in many collaborations, including work with Peter Pears on Elizabethan music for Lute and Voice, and three records of guitar duets with John Williams.
Breams playing can be characterized as virtuosic and highly expressive, with an eye for details, and with strong use of timbres.
The above, along with his many radio and television appearances, have made Bream an important ambassador for the classical guitar.
The 2003 DVD video profile, Julian Bream, My Life In Music, contains 3 hours of interviews and performance. It has been declared by Graham Wade, the finest film contribution ever to the classical guitar.
Bream has stated that even though he had some sessions with Segovia, he never really studied with him. He enjoys a reputation as a down to earth Londoner who likes nothing more than a pint of beer in his local pub. Bream has for over forty years lived in a georgian farmhouse at Semly in Wiltshire. |
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