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TOM SALVATORI |
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Mike then went on to compose for commercials (Flintstone Kids vitamins) and, starting in 2000, stepped into his legacy body of work composing music for Video Games (Halo and Destiny, among others), while Tom focused his composing attention on the nylon string guitar. Going back to his early solo guitar works in the 1990s, Tom released a wide range of nylon string guitar albums to his credit, with the most recent ones being Seven Guitar Miniatures (2022), Respite Guitar (2021), and La Bella Vita (2024). In 2025 Tom released a newly recorded 4-track, 13-minute solo guitar CDEP called Lullaby For Jude. By nature, Tom is a very upbeat person, and you can often hear that reflected in his music. By comparison, Lullaby For Jude conjures a much more intimate and somber state of affairs as Tom’s original title track represents a sonic eulogy dedicated to Mike’s granddaughter, who lost her first-born son in childbirth. Following the dedicated title track, Tom continues his classic guitar adaptations, this time featuring “Gabriel’s With This Love”, a cover of a track composed by Peter Gabriel for the movie Passion: Music For The Last Temptation Of Christ. The music was underscore to the 1989 movie of the same name by Martin Scorsese. Compared to the title track and much of the music here, “I Wait And Wonder” is a bit more lighthearted. One of Tom’s more wistful guitar compositions, the track exudes optimism and resilience. Being a musicologist with a vast knowledge of a range of composers, guitars and history, Tom dives deep for the album closing “Grieg’s Suite No.1 From Peer Gynt, 2nd Movement”. Originally composed by erstwhile legend Edvard Grieg in 1879 and now under the auspices of public domain. A dirge of sorts…it reflects the state of the art of music in what is now considered ancient times and Tom writes that the track was actually reworked by Grieg in 1888 Tom reduces this lush string section piece to 6 strings to reimagine this intimate piece as a heartrending solo guitar lullaby. If you go to Tom’s website at Salvatori Productions you can see, hear and purchase much of his amazing music. With an abundance of albums to his credit, it’s near impossible to condense his vast repertoire just in the course of an album review, yet clearly any and all of his albums going back to the 1990s provides time well spent and creates a perfect opportunity to catch up with one of America’s finest exponents of the nylon string classical guitar.
mwe3.com presents a new interview with Tom Salvatori
Tom Salvatori: Anytime there is a loss of an infant in childbirth, there simply are no words that come close to expressing the sense of sympathy and empathy you would like to convey about the loss. I have always believed that where words fail…music heals. With this thought in mind, “Lullaby For Jude” came pouring out of me as a heartfelt memorial dedicated to the memory of Jude, his mom and dad, and our entire extended family. mwe3: What made you want to revisit the Peter Gabriel track from Passion, Music for The Last Temptation of Christ? Did the album’s overall theme inspire it? Did the music affect you personally and on a musical level? Tom Salvatori: Actually, Peter Gabriel’s ‘With This Love” has been stuck in my head for decades – ever since I first heard the movie soundtrack back in 1989. I’ve always felt it was one of the most beautiful pieces that he has ever composed. One of my creative goals as I embark on my retirement years is to reimagine my favorite pieces from my favorite composers and find a way to arrange them for the warmth and intimacy of solo nylon string guitar. My hope is to introduce works that have touched me deeply to new audiences who may not otherwise be exposed to the original works. When the idea for this EP release became reality, I got to work immediately on “Gabriel’s With This Love” piece because I thought it would be an excellent fit after “Lullaby For Jude” and provide it a warm hug as its follow-up piece. mwe3: Does “I Wait And I Wonder” lighten the mood somewhat? What’s the history on that track? Tom Salvatori: Several of my pieces have word phrases or lyrics assembled as part of the creative process to help me visualize and remember my melodies. It’s part of my process of committing a piece to memory because I am not a ‘sheet music first’ type of composer… everything I have learned on the guitar and have composed or arranged for the guitar over the years has been completely “by ear.” Admittedly, many of my “lyric” exercises have led to strange naming conventions for my pieces as they take on their final shape and form. In this particular case, “I Wait And I Wonder” is the opening lyric that helped me memorize this hopeful melody that I was composing at the time. My rule throughout my entire life has always been to allow my melodies to breathe on their own, unencumbered by the weight of lyrics. Lyrics, to me, have a tendency to drag a piece of music back down to earth rather than allow it to soar closer to the heavens. I keep my focus on the purity and beauty of instrumental music, and as such, my random lyric writing serves a placeholder purpose only and as guideposts in visualization of the piece for memorization purposes only. I doubt anyone will ever talk me into publishing them… even you, Robert! And we go back nearly 30 years! Trust me, if my brain falls out of my head and my library of lyrics ever gets published, I’ll grant you the exclusive. You’ve earned that! mwe3: Is “Suite #1” from Peer Gynt, Op. 46, 2nd Mvmt one of your favorite pieces? Where do you place Grieg in the pantheon of great classical composers? Didn’t Grieg also write “Hall Of The Mountain King” too as part of the Peer Gynt Suite? What is Grieg best known for as a composer?
I immediately adopted Grieg’s 2nd Movement as the “underdog” piece from his Suite #1 that I would reimagine for solo guitar. I took on the arrangement…and when completed, I considered it a perfect match for the contemplative and intimate mood of the Lullaby For Jude EP project. It seemed to fit in very nicely with the overall meditative nature and tone of the pieces assembled. Among the pantheon of Romantic era composers, Norway’s Grieg truly holds a special place – he brought the music of Norway to fame which helped develop a national identity for his country. mwe3: Even though you and your brother Michael, who you worked with for many years, are said to be retired, it’s great that you are still able to release a new EP, Lullaby For Jude. More time to practice guitar? Tom Salvatori: Retirement is about spending more time with family and taking on my important role of being a Grandpa. I currently have 3 grandchildren now, but Mike wins by a long shot… he is Grandpa to 19 grandchildren! Just like every day for the last 53 years, my 1972 Hernandis Classical Guitar is alongside of me for the ride, no matter what. Admittedly, the creative bursts have been less frequent in the more recent bundle of years, but I still reach for my guitar every day. It helps center me and provides a calming, meditative state of mind. Every time I play my guitar I fall in love with the warmth and intimacy of playing on nylon strings again. And there’s no smell in the world better than the faint waft of cedar I enjoy every time I pick up my guitar. mwe3: Your other recent releases include La Bella Vita (2024), Seven Guitar Miniatures (2022) and Respite Guitar (2021). How do you look back on those more recent titles and where does Lullaby For Jude fit into your repertoire and catalog? Is it too much to ask for more? Tom Salvatori: Although creative output has slowed over recent years, my love for the nylon string guitar is the same. I have built a great resource body of work I can draw upon to perform, which I still do in my own quiet time, for family and periodically for small private gatherings and events. My music is best served to meet the moment in a quiet and intimate environment with an audience intent on listening. I have spent time so far in retirement focusing on documenting my works in sheet music form… which I find tedious at best, but it has helped me feel like I’m giving back and leaving a legacy resource for future generations to enjoy and play – specific to those players who want to focus on the quiet and intimate side of the guitar for beauty sake rather than those who prefer to become speed demons or who have a tendency to adopt the guitar as a percussive tool. mwe3: Do you ever think of putting together a kind of Tom Salvatori compendium of sorts, featuring a chronological album of your favorite works going back to your albums from the 1990s? What are some of your favorite early albums and what compositions or tracks you recorded earlier are among your favorites? Can you give me 10 tracks from what albums of yours that you think best represent your music?
It is also funny to note that ‘A Lifetime in Music’ was supposed to be a project that would keep me busy throughout my entire retirement, but I completed it in a mere three months! Oh well… I suppose it leaves me more time than I expected for new creative ideas to come along and new opportunities to arise… I also spent time later in 2023 assembling a compilation CD of the ensemble guitar pieces that were originally released with piano composer Iris Litchfield in 2007 (When Evening Falls) and in 2010 (Ever Ever On). The 2023 guitar-focused compilation CD is simply called The Nylon String Guitar In Ensemble and is available here: To answer your question about a short list of my favorite pieces; every piece I have ever composed has been raised like a child of mine, even the outtakes that never made it on to a formal release (2015’s Sketches is a compilation CD of all my pieces that didn’t fit in for one reason or another) … but I suppose the best indicator of my favorites would be to track my performance playlists. In 2012, I released a collection of set pieces from my show on a CD entitled: ‘On the Quiet Side of the Guitar’ which is available here: The pieces featured on this CD are: As the Nightshade Grows (2010, Ever Ever On) And the pieces I have added to my performance playlist since 2012 are: The Roads Leading Home (2013, A Year in the Life) There are also a handful of covers pieces from my “guitar heroes” that I like to sprinkle into my performances. The following pieces are also featured on my 2016 CD release entitled “Parlour Favorites”: Horizons, Hands of the Priestess (Steve Hackett, Genesis) Parlour Favorites is available here: mwe3: So in retirement, there’s that word again! what do you look forward to and are there still musical horizons yet to be explored? Even with so many of our great musical leaders far away on the other side, I am reminded of Andre Segovia, who lived to be 94 and also Les Paul, who also lived to be 94. Something about that age of 94. Let’s hope for some form of longevity anyway.
Mike and I both live in Wheaton, Illinois where we’ve each raised our immediate families, but we enjoy our trips to Sarasota for our respite getaways and to visit our extended family there. BINGO at the Tiki Bar and the white sandy beaches along the Gulf have turned into attractive destinations for us while we are in Florida. You’ll be the first to know if and when creative output comes about for either of us in the future; we sincerely appreciate your interest in our music and your enthusiasm for our releases…which dates way back to 2001’s Late Night Guitar…
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One of the most discerning and quietly understated classical nylon string guitarists in the US today, Tom Salvatori is hardly a newcomer to the American independent and progressive guitar scene. Together with his brother Michael Salvatori, they recorded a prog-rock masterpiece album in the mid-1970s called The Castle by their late great band Apocalypse, and then together produced Michael’s stellar prog-folk follow-up in 1982 called Waiting For Autumn. 
mwe3: The title track “Lullaby For Jude” immediately draws the listener in with its heartfelt dedication. How does the track reflect your family’s loss?
Tom Salvatori: Exactly that, Robert… I was sitting at Symphony Center in Chicago last year enjoying a CSO performance of Grieg’s Peer Gynt Suite #1 and fell in love with the 2nd Movement. It seems to be overlooked as a ‘palate cleanser’ in support of the more bombastic and famous “In the Hall of the Mountain King.” It occurred to me at that concert that everyone in the hall no doubt had familiarity the 1st Movement (“Morning Mood”) and the 4th Movement (“In the Hall of the Mountain King”), yet there was an exquisite and deep beauty in this intimately lilting and gorgeous 2nd Movement (also known as “Aase’s Death”) that seemed to collectively catch us all by surprise. 
Tom Salvatori: Early on in my retirement I focused on producing a retrospective sheet music book entitled ‘Tom Salvatori, Guitar Composer - A Lifetime in Music’ (54 pages © 2023), which introduced a short story I wrote about the unique little space I carved out for myself in the music world, along with a sheet music chronology of nineteen unpublished pieces from over the years. It also featured a few of my more opinionated and as a result, more humorous blog posts…and a brief autobiography. It is available here: https://tomsalvatori.com/sheet-music