Classical Music Discoveries

Hailed as “one of a kind, a banjoist who specializes in classical music and regularly knocks socks off left and right doing so,” John Bullard has released a new recording, 24 Preludes for Solo Banjo, Volume One, Books 1 & 2 Nos. I-XII was produced by multiple Juno Award and Grammy-winning David Travers-Smith. Bullard commissioned composer Adam Larrabee to write 24 Preludes which Larrabee says he wrote in a style that is “predominantly early 20th-century, at times almost neo-classical and inspired by works of J.S. Bach, Chopin, and Shostakovich that follow the long-standing tradition of writing pieces in all the major and minor keys to showcase an instrument’s versatility.” He continues, “I have tried to make each prelude feature a different form, performance technique, timbre, or rhythmic style. There is an all-pizzicato or muted piece, one featuring natural harmonics or “chimes,” a Bulgarian ratchenitsa, a Basque zortico, a passacaglia, a jazz “stride piano” style cakewalk, a theme and variations, a Braz