Music by Jim Flegel

Classical Guitar: Suite del Recuerdo, “Evocación” by José Luis Merlin

Jose Luís Merlin was born and grew up in Argentina where his Jewish grandparents and father fled to escape persecution in Odessa in 1912. His music reflects his European, South American, and Jewish heritage. He recalls movingly about performing his Suite del Recuerdo (from which this piece is taken) and having older members of his audiences approach him with tears in their eyes. The memories (“recuerdos”) evoked in the suite brought audiences back to earlier, happier times in Argentina.

The Evocación that I play here goes even deeper into his past, recalling the eastern European and Jewish culture of his ancestry more than any of the other movements of the suite.  I also feel a sense of longing and separation felt by his grandparents, and by so many others who have been forced to leave their homelands.  Merlin, himself, later emigrated to Spain; there are many layers of longing, nostalgia, and memory that he evokes in this beautiful piece.

Classical Guitarist James Flegel is known for his exquisite artistry as a performer and for his passion, insight, and dedication as a teacher. 

Dr. Flegel earned Bachelors degrees in both Music and Psychology from St. Olaf College, where he studied classical guitar and renaissance lute.  He earned a Masters degree in Composition from the University of Minnesota, where he studied composition, counterpoint, orchestration, and analysis under renowned professors Dominick Argento, Michael Cherlin, and Paul Fetler.   He earned a Masters degree and his Doctorate of Musical Arts degree in classical guitar performance, studying under Jeffrey Van, with additional studies under Robert Guthrie and Michael Hauser (flamenco). 

He has taught at Carleton College, Macalester College, the University of Minnesota School of Music, and is currently on the faculty of the University of Minnesota-Morris. He also teaches at the MacPhail Center for Music, Minneapolis. He has performed, taught, and adjudicated competitions throughout the United States.