The 92nd Street Y, New York (92NY), one of New York’s leading cultural venues, presents Sean Shibe, guitar, plays Barrios, Villa-Lobos, Adès, Birtwistle, and more, on February 8, 2023 at 7:30pm ET at the Kaufmann Concert Hall. One of the most versatile guitarists performing today, Sean Shibe’s innovative approach to his instrument has enhanced his reputation for having “one of the most discriminating ears in the business” (Gramophone). His most recent album on Pentatone, Lost & Found, was featured on NPR’s “All Things Considered,” and was selected by NPR’s Tom Huizenga as one of Ten Best Classical Albums of 2022.

Shibe was the first guitarist ever to be selected for BBC Radio 3’s New Generation Artists program, to be awarded a Borletti-Buitoni Trust Fellowship and, in 2018, to receive the Royal Philharmonic Society Award for Young Artists. The concert will also be available for viewing online for 72 hours from time of broadcast. Tickets for both the in-person and livestream options start at $25 and are available at 92ny.org/event/sean-shibe-guitar.

Sean Shibe joins 92NY with a program celebrating the Spanish influence on music for classical guitar by largely non-Spanish composers. Selections include works by a far-ranging sampling: Poulenc, Thomas Adès, the New York Premiere of Harrison Birtwhistle’s Beyond the White Hand: Construction with a Guitar Player, followed by a second half spanning Latin American composers, with selections from Barrios, Ginastera and Villa-Lobos.

Program:

Narvaez, Guardame Las Vacas; Mille Regretz

Falla, Homenaje

Poulenc, Sarabande

Birtwistle, Beyond the White Hand: Construction with Guitar Player (NY Premiere)

Barrios, Julia Florida

Villa-Lobos, 12 Études

Ginastera, Sonata

“Shibe’s music-making is masterful, beautiful and convincing in every way”

— The Sunday Times (London)

About the Artist 

One of the most versatile guitarists performing today, Sean Shibe’s innovative approach to his instrument has enhanced his reputation for having ​”one of the most discriminating ears in the business” (Gramophone). He was the first guitarist ever to be selected for BBC Radio 3’s New Generation Artists scheme, to be awarded a Borletti-Buitoni Trust Fellowship and, in 2018, to receive the Royal Philharmonic Society Award for Young Artists. Accolades for his recordings include two Gramophone Awards and an Opus Klassik. He is also the 2022 recipient of the Leonard Bernstein Award.  

Following very successful performances at various summer festivals, this season Shibe gives his New York City solo recital debut at the 92NY which is followed by a tour in the US with Quatuor Van Kuijk. He performs at Wigmore Hall four times and in solo recitals in Germany at the Konzerthaus Dortmund, Mozartfest Wurzburg, and returns to the Schleswig-Holstein Music festival sharing the stage with tenor Karim Sulayman.  

A great admirer of the masterful composers of the past, Shibe is equally committed to new music. Alongside his own transcriptions of Bach’s lute suites and seventeenth century Scottish lute manuscripts, he continues to explore, experiment, and expand the repertoire for his instrument with recent works by Daniel Kidane, David Fennessy, Shiva Feshareki, David Lang, Julia Wolfe and Freya Waley-Cohen. New commissions include works by Thomas Adès, Helen Grime and a new collaboration with Cassandra Miller and Dunedin Consort. 

His most recent release is a second album for Pentatone titled Lost & Found, recorded on electric guitar and featuring repertoire by Hildegard von Bingen, Olivier Messiaen, Moondog, Julius Eastman, Bill Evans, Chick Corea, Meredith Monk, Shiva Feshareki, Oliver Leith and Daniel Kidane. His Pentatone debut album Camino (2021) featured an introspective program of French and Iberian music. The album was named “Recording of the Month” by BBC Music Magazine as well the Recording of the Week by The Guardian and Presto Classical.  

Born in Edinburgh in 1992 of English and Japanese heritage, Shibe studied under Allan Neave at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, and Paolo Pegoraro in Italy. https://seanshibe.com/

2022/23 TISCH MUSIC SEASON

In this first season curated by 92NY’s new Vice President of Tisch Music Amy Lam, the season features 39 events, more than 20 92NY debuts, 31 premieres, and four 92NY commissions. The 22/23 season includes premieres of Joseph Schwantner‘s guitar quintet Song of a Dreaming Sparrow, a song cycle by Anthony Cheung, and works by Laurie Anderson, Timo Andres, Marcos Balter, Christopher Cerrone, Nicholas DiBerardino, Reena Esmail, inti figgis-vizueta, John Glover, Ted Hearne, Fred Hersch, Stephen Hough, Jimmy López, Missy Mazzoli, Nico Muhly, Angélica Negrón, Mary Prescott, Caroline Shaw, Sarah Kirkland Snider, Darian Donovan Thomas, Scott Wollschleger, Pamela Z, and more.

Select Highlights:

This season marks the first time 92NY is presenting a fully integrated concert season across genres, including performances by Kate Baldwin, Joshua Bell, Regina Carter, Angela Hewitt, Larisa Martinez, Branford Marsalis,Kelli O’Hara, Eric Owens, Pepe Romero, Caroline Shaw, Sir András Schiff, Daniil Trifonov, and Jessica Vosk.

The World Premiere of a 92NY-commissioned piece from composer Jimmy López, performed by J’Nai Bridges and theCatalyst Quartet.

The New York premiere of Difficult Grace by cellist Seth Parker Woods and dancer Roderick George, presented in collaboration with Harkness Dance Center.

An in-depth two-day Julius Eastman retrospective featuring LA-based music collective Wild Up in three concerts, as well as exhibits, and panel discussions with Eastman friends and scholars examining the life of one of the 20th century’s most iconoclastic voices.

The Bach Collegium Japan, conducted by Masaaki Suzuki with baritone Roderick Williams

92NY’s signature series exploring the American songbook, Lyrics and Lyricists, continues to explore the best of Broadway, while also highlighting significant contributions to American culture by singer-songwriters across a variety of musical genres such as Marvin Gaye, Joni Mitchell, Nina Simone, the Mamas and the Papas, and more.

Two performances as part of an ongoing partnerships with The Curtis Institute of Music.

Jazz, which has been a staple of 92NY’s Tisch season since Thelonius Monk and Charles Mingus took to the stage in 1955, will be performed by world-class musicians like Branford Marsalis, Fred Hersch, and Regina Carter not just within the renowned Jazz in July series, but throughout the year.

About The 92nd Street Y, New York: The 92nd Street Y, New York (92NY) is a world-class center for the arts and innovation, a convener of ideas, and an incubator for creativity. 92NY offers extensive classes, courses and events online including live concerts, talks and master classes; fitness classes for all ages; 250+ art classes, and parenting workshops for new moms and dads. The 92nd Street Y, New York is transforming the way people share ideas and translate them into action all over the world. All of 92NY’s programming is built on a foundation of Jewish values, including the capacity of civil dialogue to change minds; the potential of education and the arts to change lives; and a commitment to welcoming and serving people of all ages, races, religions, and ethnicities. For more information, visit www.92NY.org.