Vasilina Shashkova is a young classical guitarist from Moscow, now based in Italy, who has won prizes at competitions across Europe and beyond — including First Prize at the Concorso Internazionale Niccolò Paganini in Parma. Her playing combines a formidable technique with an old-school sense of drama that suits the Romantic repertoire perfectly. Read more in our artist profile of Vasilina Shashkova, and hear her earlier Siccas recording of Castelnuovo-Tedesco's Capricho de Goya No. 18.
Here she plays Le Départ by Napoléon Coste on a 2025 Chai Di lattice guitar.
About Le Départ
Le Départ ('The Departure') is a dramatic concert fantasy by Napoléon Coste. True to its title, the music paints a scene of leave-taking: agitated tremolo-like figuration, martial rhythms and a restless forward drive alternate with moments of lyrical farewell. It is virtuoso music in the full nineteenth-century sense — written to display both the player's technique and the guitar's ability to tell a story without words.
Pieces like this made Coste one of the defining figures of the French Romantic guitar, and they remain a test of any player's ability to sustain drama across a large-scale form. Our guide to Napoléon Coste and the classical guitar gives an overview of his life and major works.
About Napoléon Coste
Napoléon Coste (1805–1883) was the leading French guitarist-composer of the nineteenth century. A student and friend of Fernando Sor, he pushed the instrument toward orchestral richness: he favoured a seven-string guitar for its added bass register, and his études and concert works remain central to the advanced repertoire. After a hand injury in 1863 ended his performing career, he continued to compose, leaving a catalogue that guitarists are still rediscovering today.
The Guitar: Chai Di, 2025
Chai Di is a contemporary luthier whose lattice-braced concert guitars have been attracting serious attention among performers. The 2025 instrument heard here gives Shashkova the projection and dynamic headroom that Coste's orchestral textures demand. The guitar is available in our shop, and you can compare construction styles in our article on fan-braced, double-top and lattice guitars.
Watch the Performance
For more Romantic repertoire, browse our overview of famous classical guitar pieces.
