. . . he's channeled his immense musical charisma into an authentic
Latino sound, with plenty of sexy swing for a new recital disc . . .
Alagna turns to some of Mariano's Spanish specialties in a revelatory
tour of Central and South America, with enough Brazilian bossa novas,
Cuban boleros and Argentine tangos to set your hips swaying and feet
tapping faster than you can say "Salsa Class" . . . he brings a loose
rhythmic ease and a variety of colors to each number. Open-throated
power, supported tone and long breath provide vocal class without
distancing him emotionally, and he throws in a few high notes with
good-natured bravura . . . even in its tearful moments the entire disc
exudes a sunny charm . . . Yvan Cassar's inventive and beautiful
arrangements keep a straightforward nightclub feel. The mix of intimate
accompaniments with exuberant big-band numbers always keeps the focus on
the voice, and Cassar's instrumental choices and the versatility of the
band highlight Alagna's musical urgency . . . One of the best numbers
is the traditional Mexican song "La Llorona," in which Alagna's soft,
plangent sobs paint the chorus effectively. The guitar improvisation in
double time is especially witty, and the spare instrumentation
highlights the song's expressive simplicity. Another superb understated
performance is "El día que me quieras," in which Alagna's old-fashioned
sound, replete with quick vibrato and little vocal turns, pays homage to
the song's creator, Carlos Gardel . . . There are thrills aplenty in
Alagna's full-throated "Piensa en mí," which opens the recital, and in
his smoky-to-blazing delivery of "Bésame mucho" . . . [a] bold and spicy
concierto.
Mostrando entradas con la etiqueta Consuelo Velázquez. Mostrar todas las entradas
Mostrando entradas con la etiqueta Consuelo Velázquez. Mostrar todas las entradas
martes, 27 de mayo de 2014
sábado, 18 de enero de 2014
Miloš LATINO Gold
One of the hottest properties in classical music, MILOŠ came to
international attention in 2011 with his debut album The Guitar/
Mediterráneo which, in the space of just a few months, topped classical
charts around the world, sold over 150,000 copies and won him
Gramophone’s Young Artist of the Year Award.
Miloš Karadaglić, an exclusive Deutsche Grammophon/Mercury Classics
recording artist, released his second album Latino in 2012 and went on
to receive both Classic Brit (UK) and Echo Klassik (Germany) awards.
Reviewing the album Gramophone commented “Karadaglić is a guitarist of
superior musical and technical gifts who allows his personality to sing
through the music with taste and intelligence” and The Daily Telegraph
added “this new Latin American programme is outstanding in its finesse,
warm sensuality and sheer beauty.”
In March 2012 Deutsche Grammophon/Mercury Classics released Latino GOLD – a special CD/DVD edition that includes new recordings of works by
Piazzola, Villa-Lobos and some of the most popular South American
composers. HEARTSTRINGS, a one hour documentary film has been released
simultaneously and will be aired on TV throughout the year.
viernes, 22 de noviembre de 2013
Quartetto Prometeo STEFANO SCODANIBBIO Reinventions
Stefano Scodanibbio (1956-2012) was a musician active on many fronts. As
an innovative virtuoso bassist and a pioneer of extended technique for
his instrument he collaborated with composers including Luigi Nono,
Iannis Xenakis, John Cage, Brian Ferneyhough and Terry Riley, inspiring
each of them to new works. With Riley, with Markus Stockhausen and with
others, he gave concerts of improvised music. He founded the Rassegna di
Nuova Musica Festival in Macerata, his Italian hometown, and directed
it for more than 30 years. He taught master classes from Darmstadt to
Stanford. And as a composer his works for strings, for contrabass in
particular were heard around the world: they were challenging pieces
which – as Irvine Arditi wryly notes – avoided “traditional avant-garde
trends”.
Arditti, a friend and associate of Scodanibbio, brought the present project to ECM’s attention. It documents a ‘dream project’ which fired Scodanibbio’s imagination in the last years of his life. The “Reinventions” comprise radical arrangements for string quartet of three Contrapunctus from Bach’s “Art of the Fugue” as well as string quartet settings of popular Mexican songs and Spanish guitar music. Scodanibbio, who loved Mexico, had gone there for extended periods to work on his compositions. Irvine Arditti: “The Mexican songs fascinated him, in particular ‘Bésame mucho’ by Consuelito Velásquez, which he considered the most beautiful song ever written. What is intriguing about these arrangements is that they are indeed ‘re-inventions’ as Stefano manages to impinge his own style of writing, in harmonics, so that they are unmistakably the work of his hand. He was also insisting on slow tempi so that every nuance of his arrangements could be understood.“
The Mexican songs are drawn together in “Canzoniere Messicano” (2004-2009) which embraces, in addition to the music of Velázquez, Scodanibbio’s recreations of pieces by José Alfredo Jiménez, José Lopez Alavéz, Germán Bilbao, and traditional music. The “Quattro Pezzi Spagnoli”, meanwhile, were shaped in 2009, and are based on Spanish compositions for guitar from the 18th and 19th centuries by Francisco Tárrega, Miguel Llobet, Dionisio Aguado, and Fernando Sor. Tárrega and Llobet, Paul Griffiths remarks, “came to prominence at a time of revival in Spanish music and of cultural renaissance in Barcelona, where Tárrega spent most of his life and Llobet was born. Fernando Sor, a Barcelonian of a century before, settled in Paris, where he befriended the visiting Dionisio Aguado in the 1820s and 30s. Scodanibbio, himself a touring virtuoso, may have felt he was in congenial company with all of them.”
“Reinventions” marks the first ECM appearance by Italy’s Quartetto Prometeo. Since its formation in the mid-1990s, the string quartet has emphasised both classical repertoire and the new musical expressions of our time. The group has had a close relationship with Salvatore Sciarrino who has dedicated works to them, including his “Esercizi di tre stili” and his Quartetto No. 8. They have recorded music of Sciarrino, Hugo Wolf, Schumann, Schubert Beethoven and more for labels including Kairos, Brilliant Classics, Amadeus and Limen Music. The group has won a number of awards including the Bärenreiter Prize of the ARD Munich Competition, and the City of Prague Prize as Best Quartet in the Prague Spring International Music Competition.
Arditti, a friend and associate of Scodanibbio, brought the present project to ECM’s attention. It documents a ‘dream project’ which fired Scodanibbio’s imagination in the last years of his life. The “Reinventions” comprise radical arrangements for string quartet of three Contrapunctus from Bach’s “Art of the Fugue” as well as string quartet settings of popular Mexican songs and Spanish guitar music. Scodanibbio, who loved Mexico, had gone there for extended periods to work on his compositions. Irvine Arditti: “The Mexican songs fascinated him, in particular ‘Bésame mucho’ by Consuelito Velásquez, which he considered the most beautiful song ever written. What is intriguing about these arrangements is that they are indeed ‘re-inventions’ as Stefano manages to impinge his own style of writing, in harmonics, so that they are unmistakably the work of his hand. He was also insisting on slow tempi so that every nuance of his arrangements could be understood.“
The Mexican songs are drawn together in “Canzoniere Messicano” (2004-2009) which embraces, in addition to the music of Velázquez, Scodanibbio’s recreations of pieces by José Alfredo Jiménez, José Lopez Alavéz, Germán Bilbao, and traditional music. The “Quattro Pezzi Spagnoli”, meanwhile, were shaped in 2009, and are based on Spanish compositions for guitar from the 18th and 19th centuries by Francisco Tárrega, Miguel Llobet, Dionisio Aguado, and Fernando Sor. Tárrega and Llobet, Paul Griffiths remarks, “came to prominence at a time of revival in Spanish music and of cultural renaissance in Barcelona, where Tárrega spent most of his life and Llobet was born. Fernando Sor, a Barcelonian of a century before, settled in Paris, where he befriended the visiting Dionisio Aguado in the 1820s and 30s. Scodanibbio, himself a touring virtuoso, may have felt he was in congenial company with all of them.”
“Reinventions” marks the first ECM appearance by Italy’s Quartetto Prometeo. Since its formation in the mid-1990s, the string quartet has emphasised both classical repertoire and the new musical expressions of our time. The group has had a close relationship with Salvatore Sciarrino who has dedicated works to them, including his “Esercizi di tre stili” and his Quartetto No. 8. They have recorded music of Sciarrino, Hugo Wolf, Schumann, Schubert Beethoven and more for labels including Kairos, Brilliant Classics, Amadeus and Limen Music. The group has won a number of awards including the Bärenreiter Prize of the ARD Munich Competition, and the City of Prague Prize as Best Quartet in the Prague Spring International Music Competition.
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