New York Guitar Festival: "A Carnival of Classical Guitar" featuring Raphaël Feuillâtre/Goran Ivanovic & Fareed Haque/Ziggy & Miles/Gabriele Leite @ Bryant Park, New York, NY 8/14/26

 

Bill: New York Guitar Festival: "A Carnival of Classical Guitar" featuring Raphaël Feuillâtre/Goran Ivanovic & Fareed Haque/Ziggy & Miles/Gabriele Leite

Venue: Bryant Park, 41st St. & 6th Ave., New York, NY

Date: Friday 8/14/26

Ticket: Free

8:45pm: Raphaël Feuillâtre

Active: 2017 (Paris, France via Dijbouti)

Latest Release: Bach-Festive Nocturnes (Deutche Grammophone, 2025), Spanish Serenades (Deutche Grammophone, 2025)

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8pm Goran Ivanovic & Fareed Haque

Active: Haque: 1983 (Chicago, IL), Ivanovic: 2000 (Chicago via Croatia) Duo: 2003

Latest Release: Duo:  IndoBalkan (Delmark, 2020)  Haque: Return To The Joyous Lake (Wahdude, 2022) (with R. Wesley Carr) Adam Larrabee: The Haunted Hollow (R. Wesley Carr, 2025), Ivanovic: Far Away Feeling (Goran Ivanovic, 2026)

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7:30pm  Ziggy & Miles

Active: 2014 (New York, NY via Melbourne, Austrailia)

Latest Release: Sidekick (Move Records, 2023)

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7pm Gabriele Liete

Active: 2008 (New York, NY via Cerquilho, São Paulo, Brazil)

Latest Release: Gununcho (Rochinante, 2025)

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Mind boggling concentration of Guitar talent for free at Bryant Park over the course of two nights.  Tonight was acoustic Classical with a global focus.  One would wonder how the order of bill could be placed, but you begin to see what separates the greatly accomplished to the high accomplished veteran professional when viewing a show like this.  It isn't a contest, everyone is great but you begin to see levels.

First up was Brazilian guitarist Gabriele Liete taking on an overview of her country North to Villa-Lobos South over the span of 4 or 5 pieces.  Melbourne duo Ziggy & Miles were up next fresh out of Juliard.  They interviewed with the WNYC host John Schaefer that while each individual player has strengths and weaknesses, the brother compensates. 

The oldest veteran of the night was Fareed Haque who was joined in duo by his accomplished Croatian student Goran Ivanovic.  They have been performing and recording in duo format over 20 years now around their substantial solo careers.  The question came to mind while they were playing, how can this be topped?  Raphaël Feuillâtre made me see how.  Coming from the North African country Dijbouti to live in Paris, Feuillâtre is one of the rare Classical Guitarists that the esteemed Deutche Gramophon label has issued joining Romero Brother Pepe, Göran Söllscher, Narciso Yepes and Leo Brouwer.  As he tore into Albeniz's Leyenda with torrentous fluidity once could only say to themselves "oh yes, this is why."