Plínio Fernandes

Plínio Fernandes has emerged as a distinctive presence among contemporary guitarists through his command of both European classical repertoire and Brazilian popular idioms. The Decca label welcomed him to its roster ahead of his second album, Bacheando, which appeared in 2023.

Born on 22 July 1994 in Itanhaém, São Paulo state, Brazil, Fernandes grew up amid several family musicians and took his earliest guitar instruction from his father. An affinity for Bach’s music took root during those childhood years. After claiming prizes in a series of Brazilian youth guitar contests, he performed as soloist at age twelve with the Campo Grande Symphony Orchestra in a Vivaldi guitar concerto. Further studies in São Paulo followed with Henrique Pinto and with Pinto’s pupil Fábio Zanon. By 2011 he was already working as a professional touring musician, presenting solo recitals and chamber programs across thirty-five cities in Brazil and Chile. Between 2011 and 2014 he returned each year on scholarship to the International Campos do Jordão Winter Festival, where he absorbed fresh approaches to the instrument; in 2014 a Brazilian government award allowed him to enroll at the Royal Academy of Music in London, studying there with Michael Lewin, Steve Goss and David Russell.

His performances have reached listeners through streaming platforms, at the Two Moors Festival in South West England and at London’s Garrick Club. Television appearances include broadcasts in France, on the BBC One series Imagine in Britain, and on Brazil’s Jornal Hoje program carried by the Globo network. Cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason frequently shares the stage with him in duo formation. Fernandes’s first Decca release, the 2022 album Saudade, juxtaposed classical, jazz, popular and folk works by composers including Heitor Villa-Lobos, Antônio Carlos Jobim, Milton Nascimento and Violeta Parra. The following year Bacheando explored the continuing influence of J.S. Bach on Brazilian musical traditions.