In February 2020, Tonebase released my films about Britten’s ‘Nocturnal’. One is a lecture, filmed in Britten’s composition studio, the other is an interview with Laura Snowden about her work with Bream on ‘Nocturnal’.
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These three videos form a Guitar Foundation of America online convention collaboration between Jonathan Leathwood, Stanley Yates and myself. We took a look at the pedagogical utility of improvisation as a tool for deepening our understanding of notated, composed music.
Part 1 – Jonathan explored the baroque
Part 2 – Stanley took a look at early nineteenth partimento harmony
Part 3 – I looked at improvisation as a compositional tool in the 20th and 21st centuries

I argue that the classical guitar canon is built from iconic recordings: musical scores are merely secondary artefacts – addendums to the recordings. This twisted hierarchy has resulted in the shifting of emphasis in performance practice and stylistic awareness away from the composer’s music and onto the performer’s exemplars. But are these performers reliable advocates for the music they play? Or are they guilty of spreading fake news? What happens if their interpretations contradict the composer’s score, style, and artistic intentions?

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In this filmed interview from 2005, Stephen Goss talks about his saxophone quartet ‘Uneasy Dreams’ and his piece ‘Frozen Music’ for guitar and string trio. Mike Searby also asks him more general questions about his influences and his compositional processes.
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“Interpretative technical aspects in Stephen Goss’s solo guitar work composed between 2001 and 2017: The influence of sources in the development of an interpretation” is the title of Rui Mourinho’s recent PhD (2020) from the University of Évora in Portugal. Rui has kindly allowed me to share the PDF of the final thesis. It is written in Portuguese.

Join David for a conversation with the Welsh composer Steve Goss for the season 3 premier of The tonebase Classical Guitar Podcast. Throughout the interview, Steve discusses his compositional approaches/techniques and recent commissions with guitar legends Aniello Desiderio, Zoran Dukic, and John Williams.
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This thesis examines how contemporary composers approach counterpoint on the guitar. After a historical overview, the thesis centres on the work of six contemporary composers – Stephen Hough, Angelo Gilardino, Stephen Goss, Tilman Hoppstock, Ross Edwards, and Richard Charlton. Interviews are paired with detailed discussions of representative works for guitar by each composer.
Download Thesis

Matthew Wadsworth talks to Adrian Horsewood, in the May 2019 edition of Classical Music Magazine, about the recently released recording of Stephen Goss’s Theorbo Concerto.

Matthew Wadsworth talks to Gramophone Magazine about Stephen Goss’s Theorbo Concerto ahead of its release on 22nd February 2019.

Dan Kyzer wrote his DMA thesis on nihilism in ‘Cinema Paradiso’. In his description of the thesis, Kyzer writes "Stephen Goss composed Cinema Paradiso, a six-movement suite for solo guitar, as an homage to films and film directors. Goss cites nihilism as a theme in Dogville, the film that inspires the fourth movement, “Mandalay,” but I assert that all the films and many musical devices throughout the piece can be read through the lens of nihilism."
Thesis link UNT library

These are my first two film for Tonebase. One looks at the compositional process, the other is looks at common practice harmony.
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In this book chapter, Charise Hastings discusses Steve’s collaborative process with Jonathan Leathwood while working on Oxen of the Sun. The chapter is published in Music and Sonic Art:
Theories and Practices, edited by John Dack and Mine Doğantan-Dack, published by Cambridge Scholars Publishing, October 2018.

Matthew Wadsworth talks to Sean Rafferty, on BBC Radio 3’s In Tune, about Steve’s Theorbo Concerto and The Miller’s Tale ahead of the 2018 North York Moors Chamber Music Festival. The programme was broadcast on 9th August 2018.

Classical Guitar Insider talks to Stephen Goss about politics, the British monarchy, nostalgia, history, culture and musical influences. Released July 2018.

Listen for free on iTunes

Stephen Goss was in Melbourne in July 2018 for a week long residency at Melbourne University working alongside Head of Guitar Ken Murray and the guitar students. Last Friday I caught up with Steve before the end of week concert presented by staff and student featuring Steve’s works. Released July 2018.

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Ken Murray talks to Stephen Goss ahead of Steve’s residency at the University of Melbourne in July 2018.

Link to Interview

Stephen Goss talks to James Rippingale on the future of the classical guitar, composition, and his time as a student at Wells Cathedral School.

Link to Interview

Bridget Kendall and guests John Williams, Stephen Goss, Cenk Erdogan, Celine Camerlynck explore the history of the guitar.

A conversation published in Autumn 2017 in Versopolis, The European Review of Poetry, Books, and Culture.
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This article presents an interpretation model focused on the articulation possibilities derived from the consonants classification system. The article used Cantigas de Santiago by Stephen Goss, a setting of seven pieces for solo guitar with themes extracted from the Codex Calixtinus, the Cantigas de Amigo by Martin Codax, and Cantigas de Santa Maria by Afonso X, as a laboratory work to demonstrate the interpretation model. The article is in Portuguese.

Published in Journal of the International Forum for Studies in Music and Dance Vol 4 No 4
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Mark Small’s article comprises five short interviews with Stephen Goss, Andrew York, Jorge Morel, Dusan Bogdanovic, and Gerard Drozd

John W. Warren askes composers Javier Farias, Jurg Kindle, and Stephen Goss about the practicalities of working as a composer.
Read the full interview

In this extended interview, Stephen Goss talks to Stewart French about his work and influences. Filmed by SL Chai at Putney Music in London, on 3rd October 2016.
Watch Part 1 (24’59")
Watch Part 2 (28’08")
Watch Part 3 (22’13")

Stephen Goss interviews Leo Brouwer with John Williams at the Bolivar Hall in London as part of the Instituto Cervantes Leo Brouwer Festival, April 2017.

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‘Stephen Goss and I happened to be staying at the same hotel at this year’s GFA convention in Denver. So, I jumped on the chance to sit down and have a conversation with him about his music. In this podcast we not only hear Stephen talk about his background and musical journey but we get an insight into specific compositions that he has written. We listen to three different works and discuss how they came about.’ – Simon Powis
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Guy Traviss asks Stephen Goss about his music and his collaborations with guitarists John Williams, David Russell, Xuefei Yang and Miloš Karadaglić . The film was released on 30th January 2015 prior to the premiere of Cantigas de Santiago on 31st.

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This extended four-part interview took place at the Royal Academy of Music in London on 6th May 2016.
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In this interview from August 2016, David Belcher asks Steve about several of his compositions for guitar as well as his collaborations with other guitarists. They also discuss the state of the classical guitar in today’s world.
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Eclectic Influences: An In-Depth Look at Stephen Goss’s Park of Idols for Cello and Guitar by Dr Kimberly Patterson (University of Memphis). Published in Soundboard, the Journal of the Guitar Foundation of America, Vol.41 No.4 Spring 2016.

John Williams talks to Guy Traviss about his CD release of Steve’s Guitar Concerto. This interview was published in Soundboard, the Journal of the Guitar Foundation of America, in February 2015.

Tony Morris talks to Stephen Goss about his Albéniz Concerto. The show was broadcast on 30th January 2015.

Xuefei Yang talks to Sean Rafferty on BBC Radio 3’s In Tune before the premiere of Illustrations to the Book of Songs. The programme was broadcast on 21st October 2014.

Suzy Klein talks to John Williams ahead of his performance of Stephen Goss’s Guitar Concerto at the Festival Hall in London. The interview was broadcast on 10th June 2014.

Link to programme

Guy Traviss talks to Stephen Goss. This interview was published in Soundboard, the Journal of the Guitar Foundation of America, in Spetember 2013.

An interview with Stephen Goss in July 2013 before the first performance of the Concerto for Five

Direct Link

Rachel Tregenza from Nicky Thomas Media Consultancy talks to Steve about the forthcoming premiere of his Concerto for Five at Cadogan Hall.

Emmanuel Despax and Thomas Carroll talk to Suzy Klein about the forthcoming premiere of Stephen Goss’s Piano Concerto on 25th April 2013 at Cadogan Hall. The programme was broadcast on 24th April 2013.

Link to programme

Stephen Goss was interviewed on the World Update programme on 26th April 2014 about the use of a tablet display during the premiere of his Piano Concerto.

An article in the Independent about the forthcoming premiere of Stephen Goss’s Piano Concerto and how the work is based on the designs of Thomas Heatherwick. Published on 2nd April 2013.

Thomas Carroll, Stephen Goss and members of the Orpheus Sinfonia talk about the orchestra’s 2012-13 season. It features several performances of works by composer-in-residence Stephen Goss – including premieres of two new concertos, the Piano Concerto and the Concerto for Five. The interview was broadcast on 20th September 2013.

Link to programme

John Williams talks to John Brunning about Steve’s Guitar Concerto. The interview was broadcast on 19th September 2012.

Sean Rafferty talks to Emmanuel Despax and Stephen Goss ahead of the premiere of Portraits and Landscapes at the Wigmore Hall. The interview was broadcast on 12th September 2011.

This thesis documents the procedures that led to the first performances of Stephen Goss’s guitar cycle: Sonata for Guitar, El Llanto de los Sueños, The Chinese Garden. It analyses Goss’s exploration of resonance, its influence on the structure, its contribution to the character of the work and its influence in the interpretation of these works. The thesis is in Portuguese.
Link to Thesis

This keynote paper for the London Guitar Festival was given at the Purcell Room, South Bank Centre, London on 5th June 2011. The topic was the current state of new music for guitar.

This article about Stephen Goss’s collaborative work with Xuefei Yang was published in Classical Guitar Magazine in January 2011.

Natalie and Xuefei talk about The Autumn Song ahead of a tour Ireland. The interview was broadcast in March 2010.

Natalie Clein and Xuefei Yang talk to Sean Rafferty on BBC Radio 3’s In Tune ahead of the premiere of The Autumn Song at the Wigmore Hall, London. Broadcast on 2nd February 2010.

Sean Rafferty talks to the Primrose Piano Quartet about their ‘Variations on a Burns Air’ CD release. The programme was broadcast in February 2010.

This article is an extract from Jonathan Leathwood’s PhD thesis (University of Surrey 2010).

Sean Rafferty talks to Xuefei Yang on BBC Radio 3’s In Tune. She plays Blue Orchid from The Chinese Garden live in the Studio. The interview was broadcast in May 2009.

Extended interview by Colin Cooper in Classical Guitar Magazine, May and June 2008

Cover Article, New Notes, March 2005
Journal of the Society for the Promotion of New Music (now Sound and Music)

Interview feature in Classical Guitar Magazine, February 2004.

Guitar Forum 1, EGTA: September 2001

Myths of tradition and heritage in concert repertoire and didactic methodology.
The Journal of the European Guitar Teachers’ Association 2000

This publication was originally a unit from the Mtpp (Music Teaching in Private Practice) post-graduate course devised by the ISM in partnership with the University of Reading. There are chapters on sight reading, transcribing, arranging, editing, improvisation and composition.

I wrote this short series of articles in 1987 as part of my studies at the Royal Academy of Music in London. The articles were published in four instalments in Classical Guitar Magazine from October 1989 to January 1990.