Grisha Goryachev

Grigory "Grisha" Goryachev (born 29 December 1977 in St. Petersburg ) is a Russian virtuoso flamenco and classical guitarist now living in the United States. A master of both flamenco and classical guitar, receiving wide coverage in Soviet magazines and newspapers. But exposure was limited; Goryachev has said, "I had very bad access to recordings. Most of what I used to pick up were pirates." His tremolo picking was initially poor, but on the advice of his father he practiced it slowly for two years, after which he was able to play proficiently. He was driven to play like his newfound hero, and would play along with the recordings, attempting to match the pace of de Lucia's picados.

In 1991, Goryachev performed at UN headquarters in New York City and also toured Scandinavia where he performed for royalty. His repertoire now also includes the music of other flamenco masters such as Vicente Amigo, Manolo Sanlucar and Rafael Riqueni.

In May 2005 he was awarded a special prize for the Best Performance of Spanish Music at the VI International Classical Guitar Competition in Almería, Spain, later performing at the Festival de Música Española de Cádiz and the Festival de Música de Jimena de la Frontera.

Goryachev has recorded two albums of flamenco music: Alma Flamenca and Homenaje a Sabicas. He has professed his desire to see more guitarists follow his example in playing traditional flamenco to keep the music alive and to encourage classical players to play flamenco compositions in their repertoire and accept it. However, the Boston Globe says that his "repertoire ranges from traditional flamenco to jazzier works by contemporary composers".

In May 2012 he performed Joaquín Rodrigo's popular Concierto de Aranjuez at the Melrose Memorial Hall in Boston. In October 2012 he performed with Peruvian guitarist Jorge Caballero at the 2012 Texas A&M International Guitar Symposium and Competition at Rudder Theatre.