On August 14 and 15, the New York Guitar Festival returns to Bryant Park with two free events that will be typically eclectic, occasionally electric, and always electrifying. From classical guitar favorites to Brazilian popular music, from punk-jazz to folk-based improvisations, the 27th annual NYGF will turn the Bryant Park stage into a showcase for the range of the instrument and the creativity of the people who play it.Raphaël Feuillâtre was born in Djibouti, on the Horn of Africa, raised in France, and has won major guitar competitions in Spain, Portugal, and the USA. He now records for the famed German label Deutsche Grammophon. His globetrotting career is reflected in his repertoire, which goes from Bach to contemporary guitarists like Sergio Assad and Roland Dyens.Goran Ivanovic & Fareed Haque are each busy as soloists, but they’ve occasionally found time to record together. One album title, IndoBalkan, hints at their mix of styles and reflects their own backgrounds. Ivanovic is Croatian-born, while Haque is of Pakistani and Chilean descent. Both now live in Chicago, and their music is a deep dish pie of South Asian, Latin, and Balkan ingredients, liberally spiced with improvisation.Ziggy & Miles are brothers from Melbourne, Australia. They were the first guitar duo (and, oddly, the first Australians) to be accepted into the Juilliard School’s Artist Diploma program, and in 2023 became the first guitar duo to win the prestigious YCA (Young Concert Artists) Award here in the States. They continue to blaze trails by unveiling new works written for them as well as arrangements of familiar pieces like Debussy’s “Claire de Lune.”Gabriele Leite is a Brazilian guitarist now based in New York. She represents the next generation of great Brazilian musicians, and champions the extraordinary sonic range of her homeland, both the classical compositions and the classic works of MPB, or Brazilian Popular Music. Exploring virtually every aspect of the guitar’s personality,
