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The Great Guitar Concertos. What are they? Outside of the fact that this is
also the title of a John Williams collection for CBS Masterworks it is also a
collection of the most often played works for guitar and orchestra in the
repertoire. Works included are by Vivaldi, Giuliani, Rodrigo, Villa-Lobos,
Ponce and Catelnuovo-Tedesco.
Rather than dwell on the specifics of the performances, which are excellent,
the music and authors deserve the highlight as there are many fine recordings
available for all of these pieces. This recording, however, is recommended
for those that would like all of the pieces in one set while it is also a great
introduction to the works for classical guitar.
The first two are by Vivaldi: The Concertos in D maj. and A maj. Certainly,
Vivaldi needs little introduction except to speak in terms of these two works.
The D maj. concerto was the only one written originally for the Lute while the
A maj. piece was adapted from The C major Trio written for Violin, Lute and
Continuo. Both of these works translate very well to the guitar and have
become part of the standard repertoire.
A big jump from the 1720s brings us to early 19th century Vienna and a guy
named Mauro Giuliani (1781-1828?). References seem to differ on the date of
death but suffice it to say that he was eleven (11) years younger than
Beethoven and died in the year following Ludwig's death. He was born in
Barletta, Italy and was self taught on the Guitar. His technical skills and
unique (for the day) fingerings won him acclaim throughout Europe. He settled
in Vienna from 1807-19 and was soon installed within the musical family of
that city. In fact, he was also often in the companionship of Beethoven. It
is unfortunate that in Maynard Solomon's biography of Beethoven that not one
sentence is given to Giuliani.
Giuliani wrote over three hundred pieces for the guitar and would also
transcribe the works of his Viennese buddies for performance upon the guitar.
Most of his studies are standard fare for the student and professional alike
teaching all facets of technique while at the same time achieving an esthetic
quality that keeps them fresh.
The Concerto in A maj., Op. 30 is for Guitar and String Orchestra was given
its premier in 1808 to critical acclaim from Gustav Schilling. While the
piece maintains a certain classical charm it also bares a remarkable
resemblance to the style which marked Beethoven's works from the period. It
is interesting to note here that while Giuliani was Beethoven's friend and was
well known throughout the musical capitals of Europe that it is the Spanish
guitarist and composer Fernando Sor, Giuliani's exact contemporary, who is
known as the 'Beethoven of the Guitar'. But that is another story.
This piece is at once exciting; the cadenza of the opening movement (Allegro
Maestoso) is as thrilling as any found in concertos written for other mediums.
The Italian lyricism of the second movement, Andantino Siciliano, is charming
and highlights the melodic nature of the guitar. The third movement (Alla
Polacca) is a playful exchange between the string orchestra and guitar that
is immediately as charming as anything heard in Mozart. It is easy to see
that the virtuosity of Giuliani's possession must have been captivating,
indeed.
This brings us to Manuel Maria Ponce (1882-1948). Ponce never enjoyed
international acclaim during his life but is considered the musical poet
laureate of Mexico. Not unlike Bartok and Kodaly Ponce spent most of his
career researching the folk music of Mexico and bringing it to his rich
compositions.
Ponce first showed his musical abilities when he was nine composing a piece
entitled La Marcha del Sarampion (March of the Measles) while recovering from
the disease. In 1914 he composed the song Estrellita which did win him a
nominal amount of acclaim but was more often mistakenly identified as a folk
song. He traveled to Europe twice to enhance his musical skills and on the
second trip spent time studying orchestration with Paul Dukas. It was this
after this second trip that Ponce found his musical 'voice'.
The Concerto Del Sur was written for Segovia after a prolonged gestation that
began in 1926; the concerto did not receive it's premier until 1941. Ponce's
meetings with Segovia were infrequent and his own uncertainty of scoring the
quieter nature of the guitar with the larger sonority of the orchestra kept
him from completing the work. After conducting a performance of the Tedesco
Concerto with Segovia he completed the work.
To solve the problem of pitting a guitar against a full blown orchestra
Ponce's score incorporates strings, single woodwinds, timpani and tambourine.
Through this Ponce achieves a rich variety of complementary color while never
overpowering the solo instrument. Ponce not only searches through a variety
of lyrical expressions using original and native Mexican themes but also
explores the wide range of the guitar drawing from the classical to the
flamenco style to frame his ideas.
Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco (1895-1968) was a prolific composer in all forms of
musical expression but is more widely accepted for his works for guitar. Most
of his early works received their premiers from Toscanini, but it was Segovia
who provided the inspiration for the guitar works.
Jewish-Italian by birth he later emigrated to America when it was no longer
safe for him in the shadow of Musolini. He maintained a life-long interest
in the music of Spain and his compositions reflect that interest. The
Concerto No. 1 in D, Op.99 was written and received its premier in 1939, the
year he left Italy and as Segovia put it "a tender farewell to the hills of
Tuscanny...."
Tedesco describes his music as being a combination of neo-classicism and neo-
romanticism and in this case presents music that requires a considerable
amount of restrained virtuosity. While avoiding the sentiment of the romantic
style Tedesco utilizes classical formulas to enrich the lyrical expression of
his music. In this case the woodwinds carry most of the orchestral color
while balancing the guitar at the edge of too much gloss. This tension
creates a marvelous tapestry of sound that will keep this concerto fresh while
maintaining its place in the repertoire.
Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887-1959) is represented with his often recorded Concerto
for Guitar and Small Orchestra. The *violao* - or guitar - is the national
instrument of Brazil and the most zealous of Brazilian patriots is one of the
guitars most distinctive voices. This is ironic indeed since although it is
the original instrument of choice for Villa-Lobos he did not begin writing for
the instrument until much later in life. Now, many of his guitar works are
standard repertoire for the guitarist - the twelve etudes; the five preludes
and the Suite populaire brezilienne. Also, other works are being transcribed
for the instrument as is the case with the famous Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5
recorded by Chistopher Parkening with Kathleen Battle.
At the instigation of Segovia the concerto was written in 1951 but was not
performed for five years. Segovia protested that Villa-Lobos had given the
guitar a less favored treatment by the lack of a cadenza. Through the
intercession of Segovia's wife a Cadenza was included and the work was given
its premier and has been included within the standard repertoire since.
This leaves only Joaquin Rodrigo (1901-) who is represented by two brilliant
pieces for guitar and orchestra: the Concierto de Aranjuez and the Fantasia
para un Gentilhombre. Blind since the age of three Rodrigo is the living
national composer of Spain and is a Professor of music history at Madrid
University since 1946. In 1927 he began studying orchestration with Paul
Dukas (the same time as Manuel Ponce) and was encouraged by Falla to write
Spanish music. Along with Falla, Albeniz, Turina and Granados Rodrigo was to
take up the banner for the expression of a Spanish national music.
Rodrigo's output is represented by concertos written for piano, violin, cello,
harp, flute and guitar as well as a tone poem, Per la flor del Uiri blau, and
many choral works. Of the works for guitar the most popular piece in the
repertoire is the Concierto De Aranjuez. This piece has been recorded and/or
performed by every professional classical guitarist in the world, it seems.
Even Chet Atkins with a trio of world class guitarists - Leona Boyd, John
Knowles and John Pell transcribed the beautiful second movement for four
guitars.
To borrow from the liner notes by John Williams the "outer movements are
characterized by rhythmic figures of 2-beat and 3-beat measures - regular in
the first movement and irregular in the last; the second movement is memorable
for its ornamented dialogues between the wind instruments and the guitar and
for the solo cadenzas."
The Fantasia para un Gentilhombre was written for Segovia and first performed
in 1954. It is built upon original music of the seventeenth-century guitarist
Gaspar Sanz. While the music is not as readily charming as the Concierto de
Aranjuez it is indeed captivating and retains a often performed/recorded
status among guitarists. The piece is more dissonant in nature in comparison
to the Concierto and is, instead, a showcase of the dances of Spain.
As stated at the opening these pieces represent the core of the repertoire for
guitar and orchestra and feature the solo instrument in all of it's capacity.
This release by John Williams is available in a two CD set with 74 minutes on
each CD. The performances and sonic quality are very good with the two
Rodrigo selections listed as DDD and the rest as ADD. Performances are by
the English Chamber Orchestra with Sir Charles Groves and Daniel Barenboim;
the Philharmonia Orchestra with Louis Fremaux and the London Symphony with
Andre Previn.
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