South African guitarist Derek Gripper is the kind of musician who makes painstakingly difficult technique sound like the product of effortless musicianship and adventurous curiosity. Though he trained a classical violinist, he is perhaps best known for transcribing music played on the 21-stringkorainstrument from West Africa and arranging it for guitar. Last year, he presented aTEDx talkabout his work and we strongly encourage you to check it out. This week, we chatted with Derek about his journey from violins to guitar, sojourn full of detours to places like India and Mali and composers like Bach and Toumani Diabaté.

The British lutenist, scholar, and pedagogue,  Nigel North has been captivating audiences with his brilliant playing for decades. He has become one of the premier authorities on the performance and interpretation of early music. His performance at theAudible Cloisters: Guitar Marathonwill focus on French lute music of the 17th century. In the following interview he elucidates certain aspects of the lute and music of this period. Additionally, he talks about the issue of authenticity in early music and gives his advice to young artists negotiating the pitfalls of historical performance.