Masakazu Ito

Masakazu Ito is recognized as one of today's top guitarists, acclaimed by musicians, composers, conductors and critics for his mastery of the instrument and its repertoire. As a teacher, Ito currently holds a position at the University of Denver’s Lamont School of Music, where he received his master’s degree under the guidance of Professor Ricardo Iznaola.

A unique dimension of Ito’s career involves his friendship with popular Japanese musician Kitaro. The two collaborated in an outdoor duo concert presented in 1991. In 2000, Ito recorded guitar parts for Kitaro’s album, Thinking of You (Domo Records). The recording won a Grammy in January, 2001 for Best New Age Album.

Kitaro has been an influence on Ito’s own work as a composer: Ito’s 1996 album, Intimate Guitar, contains some of his own compositions. His second CD Release, A Truly Classical Christmas, features Ito’s arrangements of popular holiday songs as well as his original works.

Ito's solo repertoire is notable for including works by Japanese composers such as Takemitsu, Yoshimatsu and Yocoh. His favorite guitar music, however, comes from Spain and is featured in two recordings, Espana! Music from Spain, Vol. 1 and Poesía Pura: Music from Spain, Vol. 2. Espana! was released in December, 1997, a CD that Classical Guitar said "is a recording of depth . . . [and is] most musically satisfying" (1999). Poesía Pura is his latest recording project that explores compositions influenced by Poesía Pura, a Spanish poetic style introduced by Juan Ramón Jiménez (1881-1958), featuring works by Federico Moreno Torroba, Eduardo Sainz de la Maza and Antonio José.