New: FROM MADRID WITH LOVE

-how time does alter the mind -
Read Carlos' latest article here in the Blog page. Click on Read more to see photo.... Read more

STEPHEN DODGSON 1924 - 2013: A Personal Recollection

The death has been announced of Stephen Dodgson one of the finest and most prolific composers of music for guitar - and all that without able to play the instrument. Read Carlos' personal appreciation here in the Blog page.... Read more

CARLOS IN JERSEY 17 APRIL

Carlos played at the St Helier Town Hall in the Liberation Launch concert on Wednesday 17th April to mark the beginning of the Jersey Arts Festival. Previous appearances for the Festival and on the island have included the Jersey Arts Centre, Opera House, St James, Elizabeth Castle, Mont Orgueil Castle, the cafe at Archirondel and on a tug off-shore, with Carlos tied down to a chair in a concert relayed to neighbouring yachts via loudspeakers! For more information please see the Tour dates page here at the website.... Read more

CARLOS IN ITALY 18-21 APRIL

Carlos played and taught at the Festival Chitarristico "I Colori della Musica" in Celano near Rome. The festival has become one of the largest of its kind in Europe.
Click on Read more to see photo of Carlos in Assisi, Italy.... Read more

CARLOS' GUITAR CLASSES FOR ADULTS IN CENTRAL LONDON BEGIN MONDAY WEEK

Directed by Carlos the classes are open to keen players of all standards. Try the performance class and begin to take charge of your nerves and not the other way round! Or come to the Ensemble class and have fun playing with other like-minded people, and improve your reading at the same time. Classes run on Monday evenings (not bank holidays).
Write to info@carlosbonell.com with a brief description of your playing experience, and reserve your place now!... Read more

List of special guests who have played at Carlos' UCL guitar classes

On every last day of term the students present a free public concert with a guest artist invited to close the proceedings.

Click on "Read more" to see the long and distinguished list of guest artists and see other news items and the Teaching page for more information about Carlos teaching.... Read more

Carlos in Malta

On Tuesday 26th March Carlos presented a special programme ranging from Bach, Albeniz and Tarrega to the music of Maltese composer Gordon Mizzi in Valleta, Malta at the Manoel Theatre. Carlos has recorded two albums of Mizzi's evocative music for solo guitar and premiered several of his compositions. See the Discography page here at the website for album images and track-listings or visit itunes.

Click on "Read more" to see photo... Read more

Full houses in London concerts

Carlos played to capacity audiences at the LSE and Enfield, London last week with his concert at the Dugdale Centre sold out some weeks ahead. He presented his Magical Mystery Guitar Tour programme which includes music by Albeniz, Tarrega, Villa-Lobos, Rodrigo, Vivaldi, Queen and The Beatles. Watch this space for news of more London shows this year!

Click on "Read More" to see photo.... Read more

Carlos live on BBC Radio London

Carlos played live with Peter Cowdrey, piano on the Jo and Simon show on BBC Radio London on Saturday 2nd March. Together they played Carlos' arrangements of Spanish Romance and Malagueña and talked about his London concerts the following week.
Click on Read more to see photo of Carlos at the Radio London studio with Peter Cowdrey and presenters Jo and Simon.... Read more

New: RE-RELEASE OF CLASSIC ALBUM

Carlos' classic album "The Private Collection" has been redesigned with new artwork and new liner notes and will be re-released in 2013, but is available now exclusively here at the website.
Click here to view track listing and to purchase.

Click on "Read more" to see album cover featuring photos of Carlos from the age of 8!...... Read more

Youtube video of Asturias

Watch Carlos' latest video in an ultra-Spanish version with Elisa, Spanish dancer and castañet player.
Click here to watch.

Click on Read more to see photo of Carlos minutes before going on stage to play.... Read more

Beatles' Strawberry Fields Forever

Filmed in black and white at the Royal College of Music in August, Carlos plays his arrangement of Strawberry Fields from the album Magical Mystery Guitar Tour. Click here to watch.

Carlos goes to the top of the charts!

On the same day of Carlos' appearance on 18th May on BBC Breakfast TV the Magical Mystery Guitar Tour album went to number one in the UK itunes classical album chart.
Also:
- Here Comes the Sun went to number four in the itunes classical song chart -
- Magical Mystery Guitar Tour album went to number eight in the overall itunes album chart! -
The album is avalailable here at the Store page or on Amazon.

See recording of Carlos on BBC Breakfast TV

Click here to watch the recording of Carlos on BBC Breakfast TV talking and playing tracks from his Beatles' album Magical Mystery Guitar Tour.
After Carlos' appearance on Friday 18th May:
- The Magical Mystery Guitar Tour album went to number one in the UK itunes classical album chart -
- Here Comes the Sun went to number four in the itunes classical song chart -
- The Magical Mystery Guitar Tour album went to number eight in the overall itunes album chart! -

A concerto for guitar and orchestra by Paul McCartney

Carlos is helping Sir Paul McCartney with a concerto for guitar and orchestra that the ex-Beatle is composing. Over many meetings since the beginning of 2006 Carlos has been notating and pre-recording the guitar part at Sir Paul's studio in England.... Read more

Download online Carlos' arrangements in sheet music and tabs, including best-selling Queen Guitar Rhapsodies available

Sheet music and tabs for solo guitar pieces recorded on the Queen Guitar Rhapsodies CD and Carlos' DVD are on internet sale sites' best sellers' lists. They are now available for download from Faber Music

Click on "Read more" to see full list of sheet music, and to see photo... Read more

THE COMPLETE BLOG INDEX

Here is a complete index to all the blogs Carlos has posted since 2010, listed alphabetically by category. Happy reading!

Interpretation is all in the mind

- Ways to develop it and slip into a composer's head -
Read Carlos' recent blog, which includes fascinating quotes from Helen Mirren about her starring role in "The Queen" film - here in the Blog page.

Click on "Read more" to see photo... Read more

Guitar Camp in the Jungle

- The joys and fears of a simple plucker as he braves the unknown -
"...dark thoughts disturbed my usually calm mind at the mention of prowling tigers..."
Read Carlos' recent blog here in the Blog Page.
Click on "Read more" to see new photo.... Read more

Preparing For My Concerts With Just One Day to Go

- What To Do When I Am Supposed To Know Everything -
As Carlos limbered up for his tour read his recent blog here in the Blog page.
Click on Read More to see photo at the Wirral before his recital on 16th November.... Read more

Yesterday I played Penny Lane in Penny Lane

-"The first concert of my tour starts out in Liverpool"-
Carlos writes about playing the music of the Beatles at St.Barnabas Church where Paul McCartney was a choir boy. Read it here in the Blog Page.

Click on "Read more" to see photo of Carlos in Penny Lane.... Read more

BLOG EN ESPAÑOL: Carlos en Lima, Peru

- Mi semana en el Festival Internacional de Guitarra en Lima -
Leerlo todo aquí en la página Blog.
Click on "Read more" to see photo... Read more

Perusing Peru's delights and surprises

- "My week at the International Vivace Guitar Festival in the land of Attahuallpa the last Emperor of the Incas" -
Read Carlos's recent blog here in the Blog Page.... Read more

Here Comes The Sun and I say -

"Play my guitar in London, with the Olympic Games just down the road? Not likely".
Read Carlos' latest blog here in the Blog page.

Click on "Read More" to see photo... Read more

Adding an Irish twist to my Magical Mystery Guitar Tour

"Stepdancing, traditional music, lots of pubs.... and more, at Carrick-on-Shannon's Music Fest". Read Carlos' recent blog about his first visit to this part of Ireland, here in the Blog page.

Click on "Read more" to see photo... Read more

Up to Ulverston with my Guitar for an Evening of Tangos

"Piazzolla, Stan Laurel and the Quakers - they were all there too" - read Carlos' recent blog here in the Blog page.

Click on "Read more" to see photo... Read more

What I Thought as I Strummed My Guitar from the Norwegian Fjords to a Desert Oasis

"The rhythm of time itself is our great master as we sit poised to play..."
Read Carlos' recent blog here in the Blog page.

Magical Mystery Guitar Tour Live in the UK

Carlos will tour the UK in October and November presenting his programme Magical Mystery Guitar Tour of music by the Beatles, Queen and classical guitar favourites. Dates and venues are being added at the present time, and will be listed during the next few weeks here in the Tour dates page.

Carlos writes about behind the scenes of his appearance on BBC Breakfast TV

Read Carlos' inside account of his appearance in the morning show about his album Magical Mystery Guitar Tour. By the evening the album had shot to number one on the classical itunes chart. Read it here in the Blog page.

How I arranged Beatles classics for classical guitar

Carlos recorded these arrangements on his CD dedicated to the music of The Beatles' Magical Mystery Guitar Tour. Read Carlos' article in the Blog Page by clicking on June 2011.

Today's Virtuoso Guitarist Needs a Renaissance Education

Read Carlos' recent blog here in the Blog Page.

Carlos is the featured cover artist in the March issue of the Classical Guitar magazine

In an extensive interview he talks about his life in music, and why and how he arranged the Beatles' music for solo guitar. The magazine also publishes the first of a series of articles written by Carlos, and which were first published here in the Blog page.
Click here here to buy an issue. Also available from specialist UK newsagents, classical guitar centres, and by subscription to www.classicalguitarmagazine.com
... Read more

Carlos' Youtube channel

Click on the Youtube icon here at the top and you will be transported to Carlos' very own channel, where you will be able to see and hear a selection of music from Bach to the Beatles as performed by Carlos.

Which Sex Is Your Guitar?

- Everything you wanted to know, but never thought of asking -
Yes, it's all above board, or is it? Read Carlos' recent article here in the Blog Page.

Living in London UK: the guitarists who came and went - but where have the ones born there gone?

Read Carlos' amusing article about Julian Bream, John Williams, Fernando Sor, Francisco Corbetta (who?) among others... Enter the Blog Page and click on January 2011

Another magazine feature for Carlos's new album

The widely read and respected magazine Guitar Planet carries a feature about the Magical Mystery Guitar Tour album in its latest internet issue. You can read it in Latest News at http://www.guitarplanet.eu

Acoustic Magazine reviews Carlos' latest album

Magical Mystery Guitar Tour CD:
"The playing is impeccable throughout and the arrangements are a constant delight - playful and intriguing without ever losing sight of those oh-so-familiar tunes. It takes both nerve and a gift for invention to say something new within this material, but Bonell pulls it off with the panache of a true master….This is a genuinely lovely album."
Acoustic Magazine, November 2011

Total Guitar Magazine describes the album as "exquisite"

Carlos' new album of Beatles' music arranged for solo guitar has been described as "exquisite" by Total Guitar magazine and "breathtaking" by BBC Radio Producer David Lowe.

The album is available here with free delivery, and on itunes.... Read more

Spanish Diverdi magazine publishes an interview and review

The Spanish CD magazine Diverdi published in the October issue an interview with Carlos and a review of the Magical Mystery Guitar Tour album.

"Bonell takes his guitar, with the means of this powerful repertoire directly to the Public, with a capital P. Basing himself on the original music, Bonell expresses the music in an essentially direct style while still revealing his own personality as a musician and interpreter of a classical background. And so, Blackbird emerges from Bonell's memory with the unique addition of an extract from one of the most celebrated pages of classical music, the Bourrée from Bach's First Lute Suite.... Read more

Flying Fish Guitarists And Other Animals

.....And What We can Learn From Our Fellow Creatures - that is the title of Carlos' blog published on 1st October. Curious? Read it here in the Blog page. Click on the month of October.

A capacity audience turn out for Carlos and Martin Taylor

Carlos and jazz guitar supremo Martin Taylor gave the latest concert in the Transformations Music Series to a full house at the Bolivar Hall, London, last Friday 21st October. The Bolivar Hall is a beautiful hall and cultural centre in the Venezuelan Embassy. Carlos played three Preludes and the Chôros by Heitor Villa-Lobos, and his arrangements of the Beatles' Penny Lane, Strawberry Fields and Here Comes The Sun. Martin played excerpts from The Great American Songbook as well as a selection of his own original compositions, including a calypso-style piece inspired by his time in Venezuela in the 1970s. They ended with two duets - their own arrangements of Spanish Romance and Yesterday.... Read more

World première in Derry receives a standing ovation

Carlos with the Contempo String Quartet gave the first performance of Laurence Roman's Quintet at the City of Derry Guitar Festival on Saturday. The work - in three movements - is the composer's first composition for guitar. Carlos says "I think it is a very fine work by a really good composer. We were all thrilled that the audience loved it." Also on the programme was Paul Coles' Romanza which was receiving its second performance after Carlos premièred it last year.

Interview with BBC Radio Scotland

Beatles album - Listen to BBC Radio Scotland interview with Carlos... Read more