St. Louis Classical Guitar Society season ends with memorable recital
The St. Louis Classical Guitar Society ended its 2011-12 season with a recital by one of the musical world’s undisputed greats. The Glasgow-born (and accented), Minorca-raised guitarist David Russell’s performance at the Ethical Society on Saturday night provided a fitting end to a memorably successful season.
Russell has won numerous prizes and awards — the Julian Bream Guitar Prize (twice) and the Segovia, among many others — and he is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Music. He won a Grammy in 2004, further testimony to his uncompromising standards.
Still, it may be that the thing he’s won the most effortlessly is the collective heart of his audience, with his flawless technique, inborn musicianship and easy manner. Most of what he played on Saturday night was of a such a quality that it could have been recorded and released with minimal editing.
The audience was so captivated that, even in a decidedly overwarm auditorium, Russell’s early offer to have the (noisy) air conditioning system turned on was declined: better to sweat a little than to have a single note obscured…
…The concert’s official finale was a selection of Celtic music in varying moods, starting with a jig and underlining Russell’s versatility….

ST. Louis Post-Dispatch
by Sarah Bryan Miller