Julian Bream

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Julian Bream (born in London, 15 July 1933) is often acclaimed as premier classical guitar and lute virtuoso of the 20th century. Initially young Bream was very attracted to the jazz guitar style of Django Reinhardt, the legendary Gypsy guitarist. Encouraged by his father, he decided to make his career in music and the guitar.
After studying at the Royal College of Music, he made his public debut in 1950, quickly winning fame for his technique and mastery of a wide range of musical styles.
Julian Bream's Solo recitals are wide-ranging, including transcriptions from the 17th century, many pieces by J.S. Bach arranged for guitar, popular Spanish pieces, and contemporary music, much for which he was the inspiration. He has stated that he has been influenced by the styles of Andrés Segovia and Francisco Tárrega.
In 1950, Julian Bream took up the Renaissance lute, and began a life-long fascination with Elizabethan music.
Bream's association with his fellow guitarist John Williams, which resulted in three recordings and a number of concerts, has been an enormous success. They received gold and silver discs for their duo recordings. In 1993, to celebrate his 60th birthday, RCA issued "The Ultimate Guitar Collection", a unique box set of 28 compact discs, revealing the vast gamut of his recording work.

Named an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1964, Bream was then named a Commander of the Order of the British Empire two decades later.

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