Search - Heitor Villa-Lobos, Federico Moreno Torroba, Joaquin Turina :: Popular Classics for Spanish Guitar [Hybrid SACD]

Arguably the greatest classical guitar recording ever made

Tom Poore | South Euclid, OH | 01/27/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"English guitarist Julian Bream has retired from the concert stage. But in his day, he was perhaps the greatest concert guitarist of the 20th century. This is a remastered issue of his 1962 RCA recording. It captures the 29 year old artist in his prime, playing with a passion and flair that no one has surpassed. This CD reminds us of how, in the right hands, the guitar has a voice that no other instrument can match. Too often today the guitar is played as though it's a second rate piano, eschewing the supple shaping of sound for which stringed instruments are uniquely suited. Bream in this recording will have none of this. His approach is unabashedly sensual and prismatic.



Audiophiles may quibble over whether the sound of this 2006 reissue improves on the now deleted 1997 CD reissue. On the plus side, edits are cleaner--for example, in the earlier release there's an obvious edit at the 2:01 mark of Chôro No. 1 that's inaudible in this new CD. This latest remastering, however, has a slightly plummier sound that's not always suited to Bream's incisive playing. Asturias, for example, looses some of its bite compared to the leaner sound of the old CD. Quibbles aside, this is arguably the greatest single classical guitar recording ever made. While other recordings can claim more historical significance--for example, those that premiere important new works--none before or since has better showcased guitar playing at its absolute best."

Available again and improved.

Geoffrey P. Smith | ATLANTA, GA USA | 09/27/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I reviewed the earlier re-release of this essential recording, and this update is merely to add that the sound quality for normal CD playback is appreciably better to these (non-audiophile) ears. There is greater presence to the guitar, and less 'hiss'. I am unable to comment on the 'super-audio' version, but if you are at all interested in Julian Bream and/or classical guitar, please purchase this recording. The previous reviewer sums it up perfectly and this is (near) perfect music making. Julian Bream ruined all other classical guitarists for me!"