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Naxos

Torroba: Guitar Concertos Vol 1 / Romero, Coves

$19.99 Only 3 left

Details

Composer
TORROBA, FEDERICO MORENO
Artist
Romero, Coves, Coves
Format
CD
Label
Naxos
Released
Jan 13, 2015
Catalog #
8573255
UPC
747313325573

About


Federico Moreno Torroba (1891-1982) is known today for billions of little guitar pieces that dot just about every Spanish guitar collection. You might assume from this that he was either a composer of little consequence, or one of those guys who lived forever but wrote only a tiny amount of music. He was neither. In Spain he is best known as the composer of Luisa Fernanda (1932), one of the greatest and most popular of Zarzuelas. You might call it the “West Side Story” of Spain. He also wrote operas and concert works, including ten concerted pieces for guitar and orchestra, all of which Naxos proposes to record in this new series.

Now I have to confess, the very thought of more guitar music CDs makes me want to scream. We get solicited to review at least a dozen new ones every month, but this is different. Torroba was a major composer, a far more interesting creative personality than, say, the better known Rodrigo, and it’s not as though we suffer from a glut of good modern guitar concertos (other than those of Leo Brouwer). So the prospect of three discs devoted to the Torroba guitar concertos is an exciting one, and this disc marks an auspicious beginning.

You would expect Pepe Romero to excel at the Concierto en Flamenco–he knew the composer and he is fully at home in both classical and Flamenco guitar. The piece is gorgeous, the performance vibrant and passionate. Here and in the following Diálogos entre guitarra y orquesta, it’s great to be able to forget about classical forms (each piece has four movements instead of the usual three) and simply revel in the bold contrasts and captivating melodies with which Torroba festoons both works. Writing for guitar and orchestra isn’t easy–the two really have no business together–but Torroba’s scoring masterfully supports the soloist while never denying the orchestra the opportunity to assert itself boldly and colorfully.

The soloist in Diálogos is Romero’s gifted pupil, Vicente Coves, who plays as well as his mentor, and whose brother leads the orchestra vividly and sympathetically. Both guitarists also offer a solo piece. Romero presents Aires de La Mancha, and Coves the Suite Castellana, which dates from around 1920 and contains the composer’s first essay for solo guitar (Danza). The engineering, happily, is uniformly excellent, with particularly well-judged balances between solos and the orchestra. Even if you think you’ve heard it all when it comes to guitar music, you will want this disc and, I suspect, the whole series.

-- David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com

Tracklist 16 tracks

  1. 1 I. Fandango 09:36
    Track
    1
    Title
    I. Fandango
    Duration
    09:36
    Composer
    Federico Moreno Torroba
    Performer
    Pepe Romero
    Ensemble
    Orquesta Filarmónica de Málaga
    Conductor
    Manuel Coves
  2. 2 II. Farruca 05:28
    Track
    2
    Title
    II. Farruca
    Duration
    05:28
    Composer
    Federico Moreno Torroba
    Performer
    Pepe Romero
    Ensemble
    Orquesta Filarmónica de Málaga
    Conductor
    Manuel Coves
  3. 3 III. Alegrias de Cadiz 04:43
    Track
    3
    Title
    III. Alegrias de Cadiz
    Duration
    04:43
    Composer
    Federico Moreno Torroba
    Performer
    Pepe Romero
    Ensemble
    Orquesta Filarmónica de Málaga
    Conductor
    Manuel Coves
  4. 4 IV. Bulerias 06:52
    Track
    4
    Title
    IV. Bulerias
    Duration
    06:52
    Composer
    Federico Moreno Torroba
    Performer
    Pepe Romero
    Ensemble
    Orquesta Filarmónica de Málaga
    Conductor
    Manuel Coves
  5. 5 I. Allegretto mosso 09:57
    Track
    5
    Title
    I. Allegretto mosso
    Duration
    09:57
    Composer
    Federico Moreno Torroba
    Performer
    Vicente Coves
    Ensemble
    Orquesta Filarmónica de Málaga
    Conductor
    Manuel Coves
  6. 6 II. Andantino mosso 06:22
    Track
    6
    Title
    II. Andantino mosso
    Duration
    06:22
    Composer
    Federico Moreno Torroba
    Performer
    Vicente Coves
    Ensemble
    Orquesta Filarmónica de Málaga
    Conductor
    Manuel Coves
  7. 7 III. Andante 06:17
    Track
    7
    Title
    III. Andante
    Duration
    06:17
    Composer
    Federico Moreno Torroba
    Performer
    Vicente Coves
    Ensemble
    Orquesta Filarmónica de Málaga
    Conductor
    Manuel Coves
  8. 8 IV. Allegro 09:09
    Track
    8
    Title
    IV. Allegro
    Duration
    09:09
    Composer
    Federico Moreno Torroba
    Performer
    Vicente Coves
    Ensemble
    Orquesta Filarmónica de Málaga
    Conductor
    Manuel Coves
  9. 9 No. 1. Jeringonza 01:50
    Track
    9
    Title
    No. 1. Jeringonza
    Duration
    01:50
    Composer
    Federico Moreno Torroba
    Performer
    Pepe Romero
  10. 10 No. 2. Ya llega el invierno 02:05
    Track
    10
    Title
    No. 2. Ya llega el invierno
    Duration
    02:05
    Composer
    Federico Moreno Torroba
    Performer
    Pepe Romero
  11. 11 No. 3. Coplilla 01:04
    Track
    11
    Title
    No. 3. Coplilla
    Duration
    01:04
    Composer
    Federico Moreno Torroba
    Performer
    Pepe Romero
  12. 12 No. 4. La Pastora 02:05
    Track
    12
    Title
    No. 4. La Pastora
    Duration
    02:05
    Composer
    Federico Moreno Torroba
    Performer
    Pepe Romero
  13. 13 No. 5. La Seguidilla 02:27
    Track
    13
    Title
    No. 5. La Seguidilla
    Duration
    02:27
    Composer
    Federico Moreno Torroba
    Performer
    Pepe Romero
  14. 14 I. Fandanguillo 01:56
    Track
    14
    Title
    I. Fandanguillo
    Duration
    01:56
    Composer
    Federico Moreno Torroba
    Performer
    Vicente Coves
  15. 15 II. Arada 04:07
    Track
    15
    Title
    II. Arada
    Duration
    04:07
    Composer
    Federico Moreno Torroba
    Performer
    Vicente Coves
  16. 16 III. Danza 03:18
    Track
    16
    Title
    III. Danza
    Duration
    03:18
    Composer
    Federico Moreno Torroba
    Performer
    Vicente Coves