Napoleon Coste (1805-1883) was one of the most important and influential protagonists of the guitar in the 19th century. He was a prodigy, touring Europe in his early years giving highly successful concerts, publishing his own music, inventing new types of guitars and hybrid instruments such as the Heptacode and Decacorde, a musicologist and a highly respected teacher. His most important oeuvre for the guitar are the “25 Etudes de Genre,” concert pieces composed over the whole period of his life, miniatures of great attraction, charm, melodic inventiveness and virtuosity. Also included is the Grande Serenade Op. 30, a multi-movement concert piece to show off the player’s skills and sentiment. This recording is played with great conviction, technical command and apparent joy by the wonderful Flavio Apro, one of Brazil’s foremost guitarists, who has already successfully recorded for Brilliant Classics.
