London-based guitarist Plínio Fernandes is among the finest of a young generation of performers fluent in the tradition of classical guitar and Brazilian folk music. As a soloist, he combines artistic inheritances from Antônio Carlos Jobim and Milton Nascimento with the rigour of classical guitar technique. Born in São Paulo, Fernandes received guitar lessons from his father. By age 12, he had won a couple of youth guitar competitions and played Vivaldi’s Concerto in D Major, RV 93, with the Campo Grande Symphony Orchestra. He later studied privately with his idol Fábio Zanon and eventually made his way to London, where he attended the Royal Academy of Music and earned undergraduate and graduate degrees. Fernandes signed with Decca in 2022 as a 27-year-old; his debut album, Saudade, features popular songs from Brazil, arranged by Sérgio Assad. It also includes duets with cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason and Brazilian singer María Rita, and well-known selections by composer Heitor Villa-Lobos. The title—meaning "nostalgia", loosely—refers to Plínio’s life back in Brazil, which he left to become a concert guitarist.