19th-century music for the classical guitar is mainly associated with Spanish, Italian, Austrian, and French composers – much less with composers from Germany. However, the guitar was played all over Europe, and composers wrote music for it everywhere, including Germany.

This project aims to introduce six noteworthy composers from Germany who wrote a significant oeuvre for guitar that is interesting enough to be performed again and/or to serve as material in guitar tuition. The idea is to write a book with six biographical essays, including an overview of the repertory and analyses of music. I might also include one or two edited works per composer. This may be an appendix volume, though, because in that I case I would have to go for a larger format.

The six composers are:

1 – Carl Blum (1786–1844)

2 – Eduard Salleneuve (1800–1882) – (I might yet exchange this name for another)

3 – Ferdinand Pelzer (1801–1860)

4 – Wilhelm Neuland (1806–1889)

5 – Adam Darr (1811–1866)

6 – Eduard Bayer (1822–1908)

As I write this in late November 2016, I am not sure yet whether I will write this book in English or in German (or both). I also have not approached a publisher yet. So far I have begun to collect material (scores, reviews) and created or edited Wikipedia articles (except on Salleneuve).

For me, it will be a temporary departure from Irish music and a return to research about guitar music after some 25 years.