One of the best guitar virtuosos of the 19th century lived right here in the United States. Justin Holland arranged and composed music for the guitar that people nationwide would play. Some of that music has recently been recorded for the first time.

Besides being a composer, arranger and guitar virtuoso, Holland was a teacher, Freemason and civil-rights activist. He was born free and used his freedom to help enslaved Black people escape through the Underground Railroad— he moved in the same national circles as statesman Frederick Douglass.

American Public Media recently commissioned the recording of more than two dozen pieces composed or arranged by Holland. Most pieces have never been recorded before, and 14 are included in this hourlong special — hosted by Scott Blankenship, with Holland expert Prof. Ernie Jackson. The rest can be heard by using the players for each after the radio program’s playlist below.

Playlist

W.H. Rulistun (arr. J. Holland): Rochester Schottische – Ernie Jackson, guitar

Justin Holland: Last Waltz of a Lunatic – Ernie Jackson, guitar

Giuseppe Verdi (arr. J. Holland): La Traviata – Michael Vascones, guitar

Ludwig van Beethoven (arr. J. Holland): Gertrude’s Dream Waltz – Michael Vascones, guitar

Vincenzo Bellini (arr. J. Holland): La Sonnambula – Michael Vascones, guitar

Justin Holland: Home Sweet Home With Variations – Mark Delpriora, guitar

Joseph Labitzky (arr. J. Holland): Elfin Waltzes – Mark Delpriora, guitar

Justin Holland: Peek-a-Boo Waltz – Mark Delpriora, guitar

W. T. Wrighton (arr. J. Holland): Dearest Spot on Earth – Keith Calmes, guitar

Justin Holland: Pansy Blossom Waltz – Keith Calmes, guitar

Justin Holland: Moonlight Mazurka – Keith Calmes, guitar

Friedrich von Flowtow (arr. J. Holland): Martha – Gabriele Leite, guitar

Justin Holland: Musette de Nina – Gabriele Leite, guitar

Gioachino Rossini (arr. J. Holland): William Tell Overture – Gabriele Leite, guitar

Additional songs

We recorded more tunes composed or arranged by Holland, besides the ones used in our hourlong radio special. Listen to them below.

Justin Holland: Webster's Funeral March
Performed by Mark Delpriora

Justin Holland: Shells of Ocean
Performed by Gabriele Leite

Justin Holland: See Saw Waltz
Performed by Mark Delpriora

Justin Holland: Oberon
Performed by Mark Delpriora

Justin Holland: Norma
Performed by Gabriele Leite

Justin Holland: Morning Star Waltz
Performed by Michael Vascones

Justin Holland: Lucrezia Borgia
Performed by Gabriele Leite

Justin Holland: Lucia di Lammermoor
Performed by Michael Vascones

Justin Holland: Laughin May Schottisch
Performed by Mark Delpriora

Justin Holland: La Prima Donna Waltz
Performed by Mark Delpriora

Justin Holland: Evangeline Grand March
Performed by Michael Vascones

Justin Holland: Etta Gavotte
Performed by Keith Calmes

Justin Holland: Delta Kappa Epsilon
Performed by Mark Delpriora

Performers

Ernie Jackson is an expert on the work of Justin Holland, including a book on the composer (The Music of Justin Holland), and is a music professor at Queensborough Community College in New York. Magazines including Guitar Player, Guitar World and Downbeat have featured him. He is also the featured instructor in the guitar technique instructional video Fingerstyle Funk. His other books include The Everything Guitar Book and The Guitar Chord Composer.

Gabriele Leite has studied at the Manhattan School of Music and has won several national guitar competitions. She is the co-founder of the Brazilian Classical Guitar Community, a platform for publishing and broadcasting online recordings of Brazilian composers.

Michael Vascones, who’s also from Queens, has played guitar since he was 12. He studied at the Juilliard School and now is pursuing his master’s degree at the Manhattan School of Music.

Mark Delpriora is chair of the Guitar Department at the Manhattan School of Music. In addition to composing many works for guitar, he has won the Andrés Segovia Award for Outstanding Performance.

Keith Calmes has been performing and teaching guitar for more than three decades. Although known for his classical work, he has played guitar in a variety of styles, including surf, jazz, rock and Indian.

YourClassical recognizes the need to expand the classical music canon by adding the work of living composers to our airwaves and music streams. As part of a project to record more music by composers of color and women, we recently commissioned Navajo pianist Connor Chee to write Unbroken: Music for the Navajo Code Talkers.

Chee started piano lessons at 6 and at 12 won a gold medal in the World Piano Competition’s Young Artist Division, earning him his first performance at New York City’s Carnegie Hall. He is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music and the University of Cincinnati’s College Conservatory of Music. He won first prize in the 2016 Bradshaw & Buono International Piano Competition, and three of his albums of original pieces and piano transcriptions of Navajo music have earned awards.

The Navajo Piano won best instrumental recording at the 16th Annual Native American Music Awards, and his piece “Beginnings” won best new age song. He also was nominated for best new artist and record of the year.

Connor has made a career of his passion by telling the stories of his Native American heritage through classical piano. His music speaks to every aspect of Navajo life, from simple songs that are sung every day, to sacred pieces that are sung privately and music for celebration and powwows.

Connor said he had thought about writing a piece about the Navajo code talkers for some time, and that this commission offered the perfect opportunity. Unbroken pays tribute to Navajo soldiers who created a secret code within the Navajo language that played a big role in America’s victory in World War II. Unbroken also is a way for Connor to honor the service and sacrifice of all veterans.

Listen

Listen to Unbroken: Music for the Navajo Code Talkers using the player at the top of this story.

Movement I - 0:00
Movement II - 2:36
Movement III - 5:58
Movement IV - 9:01

Connor Chee

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Video Credits

Editing: Scott Blankenship
Stock footage: Vecteezy

American Public Media, which runs YourClassical, recognizes the need to expand the classical music canon by adding the work of living composers to our airwaves and music streams. As part of a project to record more music by composers of color and women, we recently commissioned Nashville composer Cristina Spinei to write Spiral, a trio for violin, cello and piano.

Spinei has been a fixture in the Nashville music community since 2014. In recent years, her music has spread across the country with commissions by the likes of the New York Choreographic Institute, the Pacific Northwest Ballet and others. Most recently, Spinei was commissioned by the Pacific Northwest Ballet for their 2022 Worlds to Come production. The performance was the final production of their 50th Anniversary Season. The East Nashvillian magazine praises her “adventuresome imagination,” but Spinei describes her style as “minimalish.”

She explains the creation of Spiral:

Her sound evokes the influence of past eras. She says she frequently listens to Antonio Vivaldi’s music if she ever feels stuck, while simultaneously showing her forward-thinking ideas of operalike melodies and the rhythms of Latin music.

From the opening notes of her new trio, listeners will get the sensation of movement and might even start envisioning dance steps.

“I always want there to be some kind of movement through the music in the audience,” she says, “whether you’re tapping your foot, or nodding your head, or swaying — something.”

Listen to Spiral using the player above — performed by pianist Alessandra Volpi-Jenson, violinist Alicia Enstrom and cellist Kaitlyn Raitz.

Spinei's 'Spiral' - Performers

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Video credits

Editing: Scott Blankenship
Stock footage: Pavel Danilyuk/Pexels.com