As Jacob Kellermann points out in the commentary to this album, there is an unbroken tradition of performing arrangements of Franz Schubert’s music on the guitar. Already in his lifetime some of his most popular songs appeared with simplified guitar accompaniment, marketed by music publishers wanting to exploit the growing market for domestic music-making. Schubert himself composed very little for the instrument, and there are doubts regarding Schubert’s own skills on the instrument. Nevertheless it is well known that the guitar was in fashion with the middle-class Viennese among which Schubert and his circle of friends moved. In his notes, Kellermann argues that elements of the light, melody-driven and carefree musical style favoured in that environment and present in stylized form in much of Schubert’s music is the very aspect that makes it so inviting to play on the guitar. DuoKeMi was formed by Kellermann and Daniel Migdal in 2006, and the two are constantly aiming to expand the repertoire for their combination of instruments. This has resulted in a number of commissions as well as new transcriptions, often by Kellermann himself as in the case of the much-loved Arpeggione Sonata recorded here.

Harpist Yolanda Kondonassis and guitarist Jason Vieaux have come "Together" to create a recording featuring two world premieres for the duo. Each of the five works on this recording shows off the unique character of the harp/guitar combination in general, with the two premieres especially revealing the engaging musical personalities and communicative skills of this duo in particular. Since making her debut at age 18 with the New York Philharmonic and Zubin Mehta, Yolanda Kondonassis has been celebrated as one of the world’s premier solo harpists and is widely regarded as today’s most recorded classical harpist. Jason Vieaux, “among the elite of today's classical guitarists” (Gramophone), is the classical guitarist that goes beyond the classical, putting his expressive gifts and virtuosity at the service of a remarkably wide range of music.

Friedemann Wuttke, the internationally recognised guitarist, joins forces here with his musical friends and companions. The result is an entertaining programme which not only shows the musical association of these friends, but also demonstrates how eras and nations are connected through music. A colourful collection of interesting, popular pieces has come into being. This ranges from the Renaissance to the 20th century; from Argentina to Spain. We thus arrive at a very exciting interplay between widely diverging styles and a great variety of musicians, in musical encounters that arose from two decades of international concert appearances. The guitar is joined by various contributors who are carried away by the lightness and charm that Friedemann Wuttke allows to prevail through his choice of pieces. In everything, the will of the guitarist to do justice to his instrument, to the composers, and also to the listener, is displayed in ways that are both entertaining and demanding.

It was Francisco Tárrega, composer and guitarist, who first transcribed Bach’s music for his own instrument, offering colour, tonal variety and clarity in an exploration of counterpoint. Tristan Manoukian’s transcription of the Partita No. 2 honours the precedent in its virtuosic and expressive writing. It is possible that the Suite and the Prelude, Fugue and Allegro were originally conceived for the so-called “lute-harpsichord”, a keyboard strung with gut that sounded like a lute. Bach’s version of Vivaldi’s Violin Concerto transforms and refashions it, and the guitar transcription is perfectly suited to convey the richness of its invention. Prizewinning guitarist Judicaël Perroy is one of the most exciting talents to have emerged in years.