Brava, Sharon: with her powerful pairing with the New York Philharmonic, guitarist Sharon Isbin rules.

In the 10 years since classical guitarist Sharon Isbin came out publicly, she has won a Grammy award and has had one recording after another hit the Billboard charts. So much for the dangers of living an open life.

Isbin has become the preeminent classical guitarist of our time on her own terms--by studying Bach but also by embracing world music and by commissioning some of today's most adventuresome composers. She even paid homage to another heroine of the instrument, Joan Baez, with 2003's Joan Baez Suite.

With her latest CD, Isbin tackles the great Latin guitar concertos of Joaquin Rodrigo, Heitor Villa-Lobos, and Manuel Ponce. Each of these pieces exudes heat, sensuality, and romanticism, and Isbin's performances are crisp, heartfelt, and ultimately flawless.

Rodrigo's famous 1940 "Concierto de Aranjuez" is especially significant to Isbin. A 1979 broadcast of her performance prompted the great Spanish composer to contact Isbin, and that was the start of a 20-year friendship. The piece's languid movement was also a favorite of Isbin's brother Neil, who died of AIDS in 1996. "It is impossible not to think of him in this music," she says in the notes to the new CD.

In June 2004, when Isbin returned to the Rodrigo concerto for appearances with the New York Philharmonic in preparation for this recording, it was the first time a guitarist had played with the illustrious orchestra in 26 years. From start to finish, it's some powerful and persuasive music making.

Get into Isbin

A few favorite CDs to check out.

Isbin's fondness for world travel informs this Grammy-winning solo CD featuring music from around the globe. If there's an emphasis on Spain and Latin America, it's because that's where Isbin's musical heart truly lies. But John Duarte's "Appalachian Dreams" offers rich American folk tunes too.

In this best seller Isbin serves up clear-headed, sparkling performances of music by Bach, Vivaldi, and others. You'd never know that compositions like Bach's "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring" weren't written for guitar; in Isbin's hands they just feel right.

Get ready for adventure with new works expressly written for Isbin to perform with orchestra. Cinematic pacing and a profusion of color and style mark Rouse's concerto, while the more organic sounds of Tan Dun (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) are somehow detailed and vigorous all at once.