Bridge Records is pleased to issue guitarist David Starobin's final studio recording, W.T. Matiegka's Six Sonatas, op. 31, performed on a Viennese style guitar. Starobin regards Matiegka's sonatas as "in their time, the pinnacle of expression on the guitar, offering the most detailed notation of both articulation and character--a clear window onto performance style in the era of Beethoven and Schubert."

REVIEWS:

[Starobin's] gift for interpretation is evident throughout the present recording and illustrates his artistic ability to “serve” the score. This recording encourages close listening as the guitarist’s technique never intrudes, while the interpretive quality offers myriad opportunities for one’s attention to settle more and more deeply into Matiegka’s compositions.

— EarRelevant

No less a figure than the young Schubert acknowledged Matiegka's skill by making an arrangement of one of his trios. Also a contemporary of Mozart, Haydn, and Beethoven, Matiegka absorbed the musical practices of the day and applied them expertly in his guitar sonatas, of which 11 survive. The sonatas of Op. 31 all contain three short movements, but there's never a hint of repetition or familiarity as these works unfold with a spectrum of creative possibility, especially in Starobin's eloquent hands. The guitarist brings refinement to every turn of phrase, whether the music is marching, dancing or crying. Generations of guitarists will thank Starobin for bringing Matiegka's pieces to light. This recording is a swansong to savor.

— Gramophone