Many consider the Paraguayan-born Barrios to be the greatest guitarist composer of all time. Yet his music lay undiscovered and unappreciated until the mid-1970s when comprehensive editions first appeared. Today his music is performed by major concert artists and is appreciated by audiences worldwide. Many of the works on this recording, beginning with the Brazilian folk-inspired Maxixe, are virtuoso displays of technical prowess and compositional skill. Other works, for example Madrigal – Gavota and the Vals, Op. 8, No. 4 (Vals Brillante), illustrate the widely travelled composer’s fondness for mixing harmonic forms and ideas from different musical periods, cultures and countries.