Italian composer and guitarist Angelo Gilardino has been at the forefront of contemporary classical guitar music for over 40 years. His legacy is fittingly recognised by Cristiano Porqueddu, himself already firmly established as one of Italys leading guitarists, who pays tribute to the composer with this integral release of Gilardinos works. Recorded in chronological order, starting with compositions from the mid 1960s and ending with works written just a few years ago, Porqueddu delves in to the astonishing variety of music Gilardino has produced. From the dreamy works of his early period including Estrellas para Estarellas, Abreuana and Trepidazione per Thebit a more formal style began to take hold from the 1980s, with the composer writing his first series of 12 studies (Studi di virtuosità e di trascendenza) in 1981. He followed up this success by adding another 48 to the collection, and since the 2000s the 60 Studies have become a central part of Gilardinos oeuvre, having entered the concert programmes of several prominent guitarists. Constantly striving to create a new type of dialogue between the guitar and accompanying instruments, Gilardino composed his first concerto for guitar and orchestra in 1996, sealing his reputation as an accomplished orchestral composer with an additional 16 concertos thereafter. During the 2000s, Gilardino returned to writing for the solo guitar, skilfully bridging the divide between atonal chromatic and diatonic modal music. Gilardinos compositions are inspired by music from all areas and epochs; from Mozart, Ravel and Messiaen to Scottish folk tunes and the beauty of the Mediterranean, there are few elements that are not represented in some shape or form in the composers works. Porqueddu studied under Gilardino at the Lorenzo Perosi Academy in Biella, and under the composers guidance his compositions have won him international plaudits in his own right.