Search - Antonio Vivaldi, Joaquin Rodrigo, Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco :: The Great Guitar Concertos

Valuable Collection

Todd Ebert | 03/30/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I wish NPR stations would play these and other great guitar music more than they do. Good thing it's available on CD. Starting off with Vivaldi's Concerto in D Major, I much prefer the recording on Williams' Seville Concert CD. The same goes for the Aranjuez Adagio. I also prefer Paco de Lucia's performance of the Aranjuez allegro movements. Aranjuez seems to just keep getting more legendary with each new recording from just about every guitar master. I like Rodrigo's "Fantasia" almost as much as Aranjuez, but I like Pepe Romero's version just as much or even a little more than Williams'. I'm not that crazy about the few Castelnuovo-Tedesco's compositions that I've heard, but I find that his concerto on this CD is exceptional, both in melody and theme development.

Vivaldi again starts off CD number 2 with a somewhat pleasant concerto. The Giuliani Concerto is an outstanding work that blends beautifully the classical orchestra and the guitar. Furthermore, the guitar comes through loud and clear, overcoming the usual problem of the orchestra drowning out the guitar. I'm not sure if the mike was placed at just the right position for the guitar or what. In any case, it sounds fabulous. I'm luke warm toward the Villa-Lobos Concerto but find the very beginning of the second movement mesmerizing. As with Castelnuovo-Tedesco, few pieces from Ponce inspire me; however, "Concierto del Sur" is a surprisingly captivating concerto with its lyrical qualities and dynamics. Moreover, the third movement ends with an exciting bang. This CD was well worth the price of a double CD collection."