Café Music  was written in the 1980’s and is the most popular work for the guitar that Michael has written. ‘It was a response to going  to a concert at the Queen Elizabeth Hall when in all truth much of the music played seemed to me more fitting for the cafe rather than a main concert hall. So I went home that evening and wrote the first few bars of something in a similar style, light, somewhat romantic, but technically manageable’. The work proved very popular, was soon published, and appeared  in various examination syllabuses including The Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music. ‘I have one  memory which stands out - I had recently proposed to my wife and around that time she was preparing one of the movements for her Grade IV examination with the Associated Board. When the result  was sent a month or so later, with a mark for that piece not as high as we had anticipated, the examiner had written that she did not understand the intentions of the composer. We are still married some 30 years later.’. 

 

Café Music is published by Ricordi and can be purchased via this website (here) or the publisher itself.