John Duarte always composed for the most purist reason there is--the sheer love of it. Beginning in his teens as an amateur jazz guitarist, he soon began writing more classically inspired works primarily based on improvisation. Just before his 50th birthday, Duarte's "increasingly rewarding hobby" (as he puts it in the notes) made him decide to retire professionally as a scientist and devote himself to composing. Since then, Duarte has established quite a reputation in guitar circles, recieving commissions from such luminaries as Andrés Segovia and John Williams. Now an octogenarian, Duarte seems never to have lost sight of his original motive: making the appeal of his music simple. He writes completely unpretentious, accessible tunes arising from his own pleasure and offered for the pleasure of others.

While most of the selections here were composed with other guitarists in mind, Antigoni Goni's performances are thoroughly enjoyable and technically faultless. The opening Pastorale movement of the first selection, Suite Piemontese, features a lively dance riddled with counterpoint in the tradition of Tarrega (La Cartagenera instantly comes to mind). Goni's expert rendering of Duarte's triptych suite Birds is equally stunning with its sudden chromatic shifts and near-gymnastic fingering requirements. Less virtuosic though equally inspired is Duarte's Musikones, a five-movement suite featuring three Terpsichores that clearly give a melodic nod to Erik Satie's first three Gnossiennes. Here Duarte's improvisational brilliance transforms Satie's meditations into bizarre sinister dances.

As usual, Naxos' sound is excellent, with Goni's guitar amply detailed in a dry acoustic setting. Duarte's rather personable notes read like reflections, briefly outlining his life, the selections, and his overall raison d'être. Naxos' ongoing Guitar Collection series has continued to offer many outstanding recitals of works by unjustly neglected composers. Adam Holzman's recent program of Antonio Lauro's Venezuelan Waltzes, as well as Richard Cobo's first volume in what eventually will be a complete cycle of Leo Brouwer's guitar works are cases in point and should not be missed. Nor should this outstanding, very pleasurable disc.
--John Greene, ClassicsToday.com

Sarah Maria Sun's "Killer Instincts" is an incredibly creative and colorful collection of songs about bad people doing bad things. Perhaps no longer "hip" thing to do, it is a concept album - pleasurable journey in bad people's shoes. To assemble the collection, Sarah brought together songs from a wide range of genres - classical art song and melodrama, opera, Broadway, movie soundtracks, and classic rock and pop. How can this work? In these songs, Sarah inhabits a wide range of characters, at the same displaying her amazing abilities in disparate styles. The arrangements, by Max Renne and Sarah, are as clever as the repertoire. Bernstein's virtuoso "Glitter and Be Gay" arranged for an ensemble of banjos and guitar, and his "There's a Law About Men" sung to an electronic background of the orchestral accompaniment chopped and minced with filters. Joe Walsh's rock classic "Life's Been Good" sung accompanied by just bass guitar. Tom Waits' "Just the Right Bullets" in a wild west meets surf music arrangement. Others are sung basically straight: the Schubert melodrama "Abschied von der Erde" and the first recording of Stefan Wolpe's harrowing "Hitler." And on and on. Keep an open mind and enjoy the ride!

Tres piezas españolas (Three Spanish Pieces), dedicated to Andrés Segovia, were composed in 1954, the same year as Rodrigo’s second guitar concerto, Fantasía para un gentilhombre (Fantasia for a Gentleman). Fandango, with its ‘wrong note’ beginning, contains fine moments of lyricism accompanied by colourful chords, as well as many brilliant passages of triplets in which the player’s dexterity is exploited to the full. The composer wrote about this piece:

The fandango was a very popular dance in the eighteenth century; it was the dance both of the nobility and the masses...The fandango is a slow dance and sometimes includes ballads which are sung. Its origin is uncertain though many experts claim the fandango is of Arabian descent. Except in the trio of this central section, this Fandango does not employ popular themes, but it is inspired by the sevillanas, an extremely intricate folk-dance. The melodic style reflects the gallantry and pomp of the eighteenth century in Spain and especially in Madrid.

The second movement, Passacaglia, more introspective in character, reveals how resonant a single line can be on the guitar, especially on the bass strings. Gradually the figurations over the repeated ground become more complex through succeeding sections until a chordal rasgueado (strumming) takes us into the atmosphere of the indigenous guitar of Spain, but with slightly altered chords from what might be expected. The harp-like brilliance of the following section precedes a fugato coda in fandango rhythm. The transition from the pensive opening to the vigorous finale is a masterly piece of composing requiring a fine judge of pace and shading from the performer. Zapateado is a virtuoso demonstration of the rhythms of the flamenco dance famed for its skilful footwork. Its perpetual motion, inventive modulation and subtle rhythms create not only picturesque images of vigorous choreography but also provide a dramatic climax to the triptych.

Sonata giocosa, Rodrigo’s first sonata for the guitar, was composed in 1958 and dedicated to Renata Tarragó, an earlier editor of the Concierto de Aranjuez. The work is naturally good-humoured, following concepts of the ‘sonatina’ rather than the weightier precedents implied by ‘sonata’. The opening Allegro moderato contains several echoes and associations from other works, such as the ‘wrong note’ and dissonant chord concepts of Fandango from Tres piezas españolas, the downward triple runs reminiscent of the Concierto de Aranjuez, and rapid scale passages in quasi-flamenco mode. The slow movement, Andante moderato, relies on a lightly dotted rhythm interspersed with firm chords, the key of E minor here contrasting with the A major of the outer sections. A composer can hardly be giocoso (Italian for ‘jocose, playful, jesting’) at a more leisurely tempo but this Andante moderato has charm and elegance and the thematic implications of its opening bars are fully explored. The Spanish writer, Sergio Fernández Bravo, described the piece as ‘like a pavana, lento, solemn, full of reveries and references to a past steeped in history’. The final Allegro is a vigorous zapateado dance in six/eight time, with strummed chords, and a strong flamenco flavour, reinforcing the predominant mood of wit and gaiety.

Por los campos de España (In the Spanish Countryside) is a group of impressionistic pieces written over several years. The first of these, En los trigales (In the Wheatfields) was composed during a short summer visit to northern Spain in 1938 after Rodrigo had spent several years abroad. It can be viewed both as a stimulating portrait of the Spanish landscape and as a song of joyous homecoming after long absence.

Junto al Generalife (Close by the Generalife) (c.1955), was dedicated to the eminent German guitarist, Siegfried Behrend. The Generalife was the pleasure palace, with beautiful gardens, of the former kings of Granada, its name derived from the Arabic, Gennat-Alarif – ‘the gardens of the architect’. Situated on the slopes of the Cerro del Sol, the Generalife overlooks the city. The composition is in two parts. The introduction is a gentle lento e cantabile, with fast scale passages in quasi-improvisatory style punctuated by full chords. An Allegro follows, reminiscent of the malagueña. The middle section consists of the melodic tremolo recalling the themes of the granadinas, the flamenco form originating among the gypsies of Granada. The final pages present the recapitulation and a coda which includes passages of fiery descending triplets.

Bajando de la meseta (Coming Down from the Plateau) was completed in 1954, and dedicated to Nicolás Alfonso, Professor of Guitar at the Brussels Conservatoire. Rodrigo explained the background to the work:

The plateau (meseta) referred to is the one that forms the region of Castilla la Nueva; coming down from this plateau we reach Andalusia and in this imaginary and musical journey we are suddenly confronted by loud singing that echoes out to the wide horizon and then changes into a quick, trembling dance. It is the real, bewitching Andalusia, with its pulsing rhythms, which rewards the traveller after the long journey.

En tierras de Jerez (In the Lands of Jerez), written for the famous Austrian guitarist, Luise Walker, was published originally in Antologia per Chitarra (Ricordi, 1973), along with compositions such as Poulenc’s Sarabande (his only work for guitar) and Petrassi’s Suoni notturni. Jerez is the sherry producing area of Spain around Jerez de la Frontera, some sixty kilometres from Seville on the way to Cádiz. Sherry was first exported to England from there in the reign of Henry VII. Originally the town was the Roman settlement called Asido Caesaris, so the word ‘sherry’ may distantly evoke the name of Caesar. Later Jerez became a Moorish settlement until recaptured in 1264 by Alfonso X. The composition offers a variety of moods and some exquisite melodic moments. The quiet opening, in six/eight time, deploys once again the single line concept culminating in tersely rhythmic chords. The theme returns (after the chords), stated an octave higher, ending in a rapid scale run. An intriguing section with strummed six-string chords follows, conjuring up images of the Andalusian guitar glimpsed from afar. After a melody in the bass accompanied by treble chords, an intricate arpeggio episode (broken into by further chords) is introduced. This part also ends with a virtuosic scale across the length of the fingerboard. The climax consists of strummed chords, a repeat of the bass melody section, and a further hearing of the original theme.

Entre olivares (Among Olive Groves), dedicated to Manuel López Ramos, was first published by Ediciones Musicales Madrid (1958) in company with En los trigales (edited by Narciso Yepes). It begins with discordant triplet chords (such as a chord of G major set against an augmented fourth, the C sharp). The energy of the piece, a rapid allegro, suggests that Entre olivares is less a serene amble through twisted little trees on Spanish hillsides than a boisterous peasant dance. The middle section presents a characteristic device of Rodrigo – a melodic line articulated on the bass strings contrasted against allegro gracioso quaver passages featuring the use of alternating pedal notes and rapid movement on the treble strings. The opening theme returns, with a frenetic coda, the last bars marked accelerando and siempre accelerando.

In 1960 Rodrigo composed Tonadilla for two guitars, a work which demonstrates the composer’s mastery of guitar idioms. Dedicated to the esteemed Presti-Lagoya Duo, the perfect appropriateness of the duo writing, the high level of virtuosity demanded, and the breadth of the sonata-like structure, reveal Rodrigo at full creative stretch. Rodrigo, in a short note, observed how the tonadilla is related to the Italian intermezzo, a musical interlude played between acts of a theatrical presentation, whether burlesque or tragedy, and thus a flexible form capable of expressing many diverse moods. Tonadilla is made up of brief themes developing in the style of a sonata as the three movements conjure up individual scenes according to the listener’s imagination. The language of Tonadilla is lucid and logical, inspired by the music of Scarlatti but absorbing within the first movement bitonal passages representative of both the twentieth-century and the traditional influence of Scarlatti’s harmonic writing.

Fandango del ventorrillo (Fandango of the Little Tavern) was originally a piano piece written in 1938, dedicated to Emile Trépard, a Parisian friend of the composer, and included in the suite Cuatro piezas para piano (Four Pieces for Piano). Emilio Pujol, guitarist and scholar, arranged this for two guitars and it was first published in Paris by Max Eschig in 1965. A subsequent arrangement by Pepe Romero was published by Ediciones Joaquín Rodrigo, Madrid, in 1993.

The pianists, Gregory Allen and Linton Powell, described this as ‘another of Rodrigo’s masterly exercises in two-part counterpoint...full of unexpected quirks such as off-beat accents, overlapping phrases, vehement interruptions, mercurial harmonic twists – and a diabolical little drumroll’. The piece certainly displays considerable indebtedness to the late Baroque, exploring harpsichord figurations with implications of the toccata style in dexterity and lightness of mood. Moreover, the repeated notes of the opening theme have various similarities with the melodic vitality of En los trigales, composed the same year. The transferring of Fandango del ventorrillo from pianoforte to plucked strings seems entirely natural, enhancing the piece by bringing it closer to the timbres and spirit of the eighteenth-century keyboard.

Graham Wade

On this release titled The Maltese Touch, guitarist Simon Schembri and Parisii Quartet present three works which, alongside virtuosity of execution, also display a wide range of emotions and contrasts. The guitar concerto op. 30 by Mauro Giuliani was arranged for guitar and string quartet by the composer himself. Luigi Boccherini who was for many years in the service of the Bourbon court and other nobility in Madrid dedicated his composing the specific native sound scapes, that his adopted country Spain offered. Thus he arranged a number of his earlier string quintets for guitar and string quartet like the Quintet in D major, G. 448 “Fandango”. The piece Nazca by the French guitarist and composer Erik Marchelie was written in 1988 and refers to the enigmatic drawings on the desert floor of the Peruvian desert.

Manuel Maria Ponce was born in Fresnillo, Mexico on 8 December 1882. He began his musical studies in Aguascalientes and later moved to Mexico City where he enrolled at the National College of Music. In 1904, Ponce travelled to Europe to complete his studies, in Bologna with Enrico Bossi and Luigi Torchi and in Berlin with M. Krause. After returning home, he held a variety of teaching posts at the National College of Music in Mexico City where he had once studied. Ponce was never one to rest on his laurels and although he had already done a great deal of composing and teaching, after World War I he decided to return to Europe to resume studying. In Paris in 1925, he took classes with French composer Paul Dukas, who held his student in the greatest esteem - Ponce was awarded full marks - and made no secret of it. The quality and quantity of Manuel Ponce's compositions for the guitar makes them one of the major bodies of work in music in the first half of the twentieth century, although he wrote practically all of them in a period of just nine years, between 1923 and 1932. Ponce was constantly spurred on and encouraged by the ever-enthusiastic Andrés Segovia, who applied himself to each new piece in rehearsal and in concert with a zeal and commitment unmatched by even the most forward-looking proponent of the avant-garde. And so, in this short period of time, Ponce produced five sonatas, three themes and variations, a cycle of twenty four preludes, two suites in baroque style, a sonata for guitar and harpsichord and some ten small-scale pieces which were no less inspired in character than their bigger brethren.

What name comes to mind when you are asked about the essence of the Brazilian music? I am sure that some of you will say Villa-Lobos; others will think of Jobim. In Brazil, classical and the popular music are not far apart. They are more like two cities on the same plain and the present disc travels between these two cities while visiting a few towns on the way. What will carry us along this road? Obviously, the wings of song, as Portuguese is the singing language par excellence. The disc contains a selection of Brazilian songs written over the span of fifty years.

Christiane Roncaglio has a beautiful voice. With its dark smoky notes it sounds more mezzo than soprano. There are sharp corners too and the singing is intense. For these reasons, the album is probably not for repetitive and relaxed “evening listening”, but energises and stimulates. The diction is very clear. The accompaniment is divided between guitar and piano, a solution that provides lightness and diversity.

Jobim’s “Big Four” (Corcovado, Desafinado, One Note Samba and The Girl from Ipanema) are all here and need no introduction. His other songs are also memorably melodic and infectiously swinging in his unique affable way. Roncaglio’s performance of Jobim’s standards is a long way from the classical Astrud Gilberto’s shyness and mystery; her singing is more open and glossy. I like how she colours the long notes so that they are never plain or even, which is important for tracks like Eu sei que eu vou te amar.

Villa-Lobos’ songs from Floresta de Amazonas are all very beautiful and melodic. Roncaglio’s performance of them is alluringly mystical, like the singing of sea sirens. Songs from Santoro’s cycle Canções de Amor are sensual and expressive, and all distinctly Puccinian, especially the gloomy and intense Amor que partiu.

There are tender lullabies like Henrique’s Tamba-Tajá and sad cinematic ballads like Miranda’s Retrato. Some numbers, like Minha Terra, resemble operetta. Others, like Uirapuru, are more cabaret-style. Several tracks glorify Brazil and everything Brazilian. Roncaglio shows good control, plays with her voice and enjoys the process, yet never turns it into vulgar “cabaret singing”.

The two accompanying musicians play with sense and sensibility. Sometimes extra-musical squeaks are noticeable when the guitarist moves his fingers along the strings.

Overall, this is a very fine album with solid performances of beautiful songs. It is full of the colourful, carefree spirit of Brazil.

– M usicWeb International (Oleg Ledeniov)

Spaniard Joaquin Rodrigo is probably the most outstanding composer of guitar music of the 20th century. He composed numerous works for solo guitar and guitar duo, including some of the most substantial pieces in the classical guitar repertoire. This release from Dale Kavanagh and the State Philharmonic of Arad presents several of his works for guitar and orchestra and solo guitar. Canadian-born Dale Kavanagh is one of the guitar world’s most gifted interpreters. She has been a top prize-winner in Spain’s “Segovia Competition,” Italy’s “Gargnano Competition,” Switzerland’s “Neuchatel Competition,” and Finland’s “Scandinavian International Guitar Competition.” She performs internationally as a soloist and in the Amadeus Guitar Duo, and has given more than 1,500 concerts in more than 70 countries.

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REVIEW:

The music of Rodrigo simultaneously traverses the technical limits of the guitar and a broad emotional range; thus, it is perfect for guitarist Dale Kavanagh. Like her personality, the playing is direct and personable, while at the same time precise and deeply passionate. Having honed these works on many a concert stage, Kavanagh gives each phrase an unencumbered intention and direction that never fails to communicate to the listener.

– American Record Guide

A recital of Edvard Grieg's lovely Lyric Pieces for piano, transcribed for solo guitar. Guitarist Peter Fletcher wrote the transcriptions for this recording. Mr. Fletcher is in demand as a performer in cultural venues throughout the United States. '... strong technique, a consistent tone, and a bold interpretive imagination... ' - American Record Guide.

Napoleon Coste (1805-1883) was one of the most important and influential protagonists of the guitar in the 19th century. He was a prodigy, touring Europe in his early years giving highly successful concerts, publishing his own music, inventing new types of guitars and hybrid instruments such as the Heptacode and Decacorde, a musicologist and a highly respected teacher. His most important oeuvre for the guitar are the “25 Etudes de Genre,” concert pieces composed over the whole period of his life, miniatures of great attraction, charm, melodic inventiveness and virtuosity. Also included is the Grande Serenade Op. 30, a multi-movement concert piece to show off the player’s skills and sentiment. This recording is played with great conviction, technical command and apparent joy by the wonderful Flavio Apro, one of Brazil’s foremost guitarists, who has already successfully recorded for Brilliant Classics.

From the introduction by Giacomo Susani: "Recording and ricordare (remembering): two terms, in two different languages, with two different meanings, which share a single etymological root. And this is precisely from whence comes the meaning of my first recording: a sort of 'sound-stop' while studying, researching, and working with my instrument."

The British composer Robin Stevens is a great talent waiting to be discovered by the global music community. His varied, stimulating and expressive work is exemplified by this collection of music for wind instruments, ranging from the jolly and accessible (yet very difficult to play) Concert Rondoto the darker, deeper and meaningful Grief’s Portrait. Stevens has a brilliant touch, and also is an excellent pianist, cellist and guitarist and plays all three instruments here, alongside some of the foremost instrumentalists from the musical hotspot of Manchester, England: John Bradbury (principal clarinet, BBC Philharmonic); John Turner (recorderist: Academy of Ancient Music etc.); Richard Simpson (principal oboe, BBC Symphony), Janet Simpson (former principal keyboardist, Hallé Orchestra); and freelance soloists Sarah Miller (flutes);Helen Peller (bassoon) and Lindsey Stoker (horn).

This outstanding album of Italian Renaissance songs is beautifully performed with expert performance practice by soprano Jessica Gould and lute and chitarrone player Diego Cantalupi. Works by Benedetto Ferrari, Tanquinio Merula, Giovanni Felice Sances, and others are featured. Jessica Gould has wowed audiences and critics across the globe with her impressive interpretations of early music. “A dramatic intensity that honored the texts.” (The New York Times) “Dazzling… expansive range, coloratura facility, and multi-hued, powerful sound” (Seen and Heard International) “Astonishing passage and ornaments, executed to perfection” (Lute News, UK) Diego Cantalupi was born in Milano and studied at the Civica Scuola di Musica di Milano, and the Conservatorio di Parma. He holds a degree in lute performance.

Energetic as well as poetic is Karola Obermüller’s music, and it reveals hidden and unknown elements underneath the multilayered musical material. Many of the works on this portrait album in the series Edition Zeitgenossische Musik were developed as work in progress during a long period of time. Distinctive for Obermüller’s work are therefore the reflection from several perspectives and the superposition of different layers of sound. Zooming in on musical details is another special feature in several of her pieces as in “Pulstastung” for example. Here the distances between the musical occurrences are going to be extended more and more, “with an increasing pulse at the same time” (Karola Obermüller). Obermüller is receiving a special inspiration by ancient poetic texts as from the greek poet Sappho. Here she finds the essences of human existence like light and night, eros and longing. In „Untergegangen der Mond“ and „…silbern.“ her music tries “to create moments of magic“ (Volker Blumenthaler). In “Myrmecia” microtonal shiftings are confronted with percussive making of sound, which are creating a “strange, crackling, and insisting stream of sound”, the composer compares to the wild activity of the primordial ant, the title is derived from. The instrumentation of the pieces on this album offer a panorama from solo pieces for bass flute (Camilla Hoitenga) or piano (Emanuele Arciuli) and an extraordinary instrumentation with guitar, hammered dulcimer and harp (International Contemporary Ensemble) arriving at big pieces for ensemble (Ensemble Modern and Ensemble Musikfabrik).