Julian Alexander Bream[1] CBE (15 July 1933 – 14 August 2020) was an English classical guitarist and lutenist.

He became frustrated with his lack of knowledge of jazz harmony, so read instruction books by Eddie Lang to teach himself.

He claimed Bream would find it difficult to earn a living unless he played jazz or something similarly modern.

[18] During the 1992–93 season he performed on two occasions at the Wigmore Hall – at their Gala Re-opening Festival, and at a special concert celebrating his 60th birthday.

In the same period, he toured the Far East, visiting Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea and Japan, and performed the premiere of Leo Brouwer's arrangement for guitar and orchestra of Albéniz's Iberia at the Proms.

In 1994 Bream made debuts in both Turkey and Israel to great acclaim, and the following year played for the soundtrack to the Hollywood film Don Juan DeMarco.

A few weeks later, the BBC dedicated a television tribute This Is Your Life programme to Bream, filmed after a commemorative concert at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, London.

[18][5] Other engagements around that time included a gala solo performance at the Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool; a Kosovo Aid concert at St. John's, Smith Square, London, with the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields; recitals at the Snape Proms, Aldeburgh, and at the Norfolk and Norwich Festival; and a tour of National Trust properties in summer and autumn 2000.

[5] Segovia provided a personal endorsement and scholarship request to assist Bream in taking further formal music studies.

[6] Bream's playing can be characterised as virtuosic and highly expressive, with an eye for details, and with strong use of contrasting timbres.

He did not consistently hold his right-hand fingers at right angles to the strings, but used a less rigid hand position for tonal variety.

[5][24] Despite his importance as a classical guitarist, many of his RCA recordings (including the series of 20th-century guitar music) were out of print for several years.

It has been declared by Graham Wade "the finest film contribution ever to the classic guitar" and it became "Gramophone DVD of the year".

[32][33] Many composers worked with Bream, and among those who dedicated pieces to him were Malcolm Arnold, Richard Rodney Bennett, Benjamin Britten, Leo Brouwer, Peter Racine Fricker, Hans Werner Henze, Humphrey Searle, Toru Takemitsu, Michael Tippett, William Walton and Peter Maxwell Davies.

Britten's Nocturnal is one of the most famous pieces in the classical guitar repertoire and was written with Bream specifically in mind.

[34] It is an unusual set of variations on John Dowland's "Come, Heavy Sleep" (which is played in its original form at the close of the piece).

[4] Bream also took part in many collaborations, including work with Peter Pears on Elizabethan music for lute and voice,[35][19][5] and three records of guitar duets with John Williams.