Album Notes

CARPE DIEM - SOLO CLASSICAL GUITAR

"Beautiful pieces, delicately and sensitively played." - Lawrence Ferrara, San Francisco Conservatory of Music

"A ravishingly beautiful addition. Nicholas Schuller's playing has a depth and poetry that resonates long after the music ends. This is playing full of subtlety and color - a hauntingly beautiful disc." - Kurt Erickson, Composer

Guitarist Nicholas Schuller is a graduate of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music where he studied in the studios of David Tanenbaum and Lawrence Ferrara. While in residence at the Conservatory he was also heavily influenced by the teachings of composer/guitarist Dusan Bogdanovic.

Nicholas has performed in master classes for several of the world's top guitarists wherein he received guidance from Pepe Romero, Manuel Barrueco, Scott Tennant, Mark Teicholz, and others.

Nicholas has distinguished himself by winning first prize at the 1993 Juan Serrano Guitar Competition. Two years later, he became a recipient of the Rose Pollack scholarship for performers of stringed instruments.

Nicholas is a versatile musician in both solo and ensemble performance. He maintains an extensive repertoire with a particular interest in early and modern music.

The selected compositions for Carpe Diem range from the Renaissance to the Avant Garde. Nicholas’ performance allows the listener to experience the wide range of possible sounds and colors the guitar may produce. The contrast between these selected compositions creates a wonderfully meditative atmosphere.


Maximo Diego Pujol (b. 1957) - is an Argentine classical guitarist/composer born in Buenos Aires. The Three Preludes, all written in the stye of the tango, were published in 1985. (Tracks 1-3)

Sylvius Leopold Weiss (1686-1750) - was one of the great lute performer/composers of the Baroque era. In 1717 he met the famous lute player Count Logy (1650-1721). Weiss composed the Tombeau sur la Mort de Mr. Comte d’Logy
in his memory. (Track 4)

Leo Brouwer (b. 1939) - is a guitarist/composer/conductor born in Havana, Cuba. This set of six “haiku like” preludes was composed between 1981-83 and are based on the lines from poems by Miguel Hernandez. (Tracks 5-10)

Francesco da Milano (1497-1543) - was regarded as the greatest lutenist of the Renaissance. The three pieces selected for Carpe Diem display the beautiful counterpoint representative of Renaissance vocal and instrumental compositions. (Tracks 11-13)

Nathan Kolosko (b. 1976) - is a guitarist/composer who has made significant contributions to the repertoire for solo guitar, guitar ensemble, and guitar with other instruments. The Five Short Pieces, composed in 2006, extract meditative sounds from the instrument and each are unique in compositional style. (Tracks 14-18)

Francisco Tarrega (1852-1909) - is a seminal figure in the history of Spanish guitar literature. Like Chopin’s music to the piano, Tarrega’s works are marked by refined craftsmanship and are utterly idiomatic to the guitar. (Tracks 19-21)

Sweet Street Studios aspires to reach a wide audience of listeners by offering high quality classical guitar recordings at a bargain price.