Along with, perhaps, the piano, the guitar is one of the world’s most popular instruments, with examples to be found in homes and schools seemingly...

Along with, perhaps, the piano, the guitar is one of the world’s most popular instruments, with examples to be found in homes and schools seemingly everywhere. Yet unlike the piano, the guitar does not have several centuries’ worth of classical masterworks in its repertory. And unlike other instruments, it does not have a place in the standard orchestra. In spite of its popularity, the guitar is in fact somewhat on the periphery of the classical music world. As artistic director of the International Guitar Foundation, Tom Kerstens has made it his goal to bring the guitar closer to the center. Tom Kerstens leads the G Plus Ensemble in a new album of premiere recordings by some of the UK’s leading composers, including Anna Meredith, John Metcalfe, Michael Parsons, Laurence Crane and Max Richter. “Kerstens and friends play with a precision that seems to grow out of the nature of the material rather than being imposed on it - interpretation at its most natural.” (Gramophone review of Tom Kerstens and G Plus Ensemble’s previous release, Utopia)