Wide-ranging, enjoyable performances with some true gems
07/03/1999
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Without question, Andres Segovia deserves the title "Legendary" bestowed upon him by the title of this recording. His public performances led composers to write for him and his transcription skills led to a dramatic improvement and variety in the repertoire. While Segovia's recordings extend into the mid-70's, these recordings range from mono performances in 1952 to stereo ones in 1969. The remastering produced a fine product. Some of the recordings from 1962 are a little muddy. Surprisingly, I found the mono recordings more listenable than some of the stereo tracks. The Weiss and Scarlatti recordings are among my favorities. Weiss compositions for the guitar/lute (as opposed to transcriptions) and Scarlatti's style (described in the liner notes as delicate and elegant) seems best-suited for Segovia's playing. My biggest complaint is that some of the dance pieces (Frescobaldi's Corrrente or Purcell's Jig) lose their way in the slow performances. While his musical progeny (Elliot Fisk, Christopher Parkening and John Williams) may have surpassed him, the father of the modern classical guitar movement, as represented by this recording, still remains in anyone's list as one of the best performers."