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Francesco Molino - I trii per flauto, viola e chitarra. Presented on this CD are 3 complete opus works by the guitar composer Francesco Molino (1768-1847), all for flute, viola, and guitar. It contains the Grand Trio Concertant op. 30 (4 movements), Three Trios op. 4 (3 trios of 3 movements each), and the Second Grand Trio Concertant op. 45 (3 movements), a total of 66 minutes of music. The CD is on the Italian "Tactus" label and features notes in Italian and English. The performances are first-rate, bringing out finer nuances in each composition. It features the first violist and first flutist of the S. Cecilia Orchestra in Rome (Flute: Carlo Tamponi, Viola: Raffaele Mallozzi), and the noted professor of guitar and performer Gianluigi Giglio. Molino was not only an important guitar composer, but also accomplished on the violin and oboe, where he held important posts. Much of Molino's output, and possibly his best output as with many other 19th century composers, was for ensemble, thus making this CD a good representation of the composer's music. Featured on the cover, is a well-known depiction of the rivalry between followers of Carulli and Molino - both of whom were Italian ex-patriates living in Paris. |
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Mauro Giuliani Complete works for guitar duo: Duo Maccari-Pugliese. This CD is a must-have recording of essential listening for anyone interested in the early romantic guitar. It consists of a 3-CD set and over 3 hours of music, with an attractive cover and liner notes. Giuliani needs no introduction, as one of the most important guitar composers of all time, and these duo works comprised a large portion of his total output, and much of his best material. The Duo Maccari-Pugliese is recognized as a leading ensemble in the field, and are sought out for their expertise by performers and researchers world-wide, including John Williams. The performances are magnificent, capturing the operatic nature of many of the works and played in a style appropriate to the time period. The duo plays with dynamics, tightness, and blazing speed where required to serve the music. All of the guitars used are period instruments, including museum-quality guitars by Guadagnini, Pons, and Fabricatore, and the CD notes indicate which guitars were used. The period guitars are strung with gut strings and tuned to A430, in order to closely reproduce the instrument timbre of the day. The guitars themselves also contribute substantially to the ambiance and the interpretation, as they respond very differently than the modern guitar. As a complete set, it features the full range of Giuliani's output: concert virtuoso works such as the Concert Variations op. 130 and 35, operatic fantasies (where Giuliani had unprecedented access to Rossini in person and to his manuscripts, and wrote probably the best rendition of Rossini works for guitar by anyone), and the many short "Landler" pieces on CD 2 probably intended for the popular audience, as well as such gems as the "Three Rondos" op. 66, and the 3 Polonaises op. 137, among others. The only omissions from being a "complete" work, are two of Giuliani's reduction arrangements of his own orchestral works, as the full versions can be heard on the duo's "Complete Guitar Concertos" CD. In addition to listening for enjoyment, guitarists who are looking for duet works to play will appreciate being able to sample the complete output. |
Sections Below:
Solo Guitar - Various Artists
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The Century That Shaped The Guitar James Westbrook assembled this CD to accompany the book of the same title (reviewed on the "Accessories" page of this site). It features performances on historical instruments by Ulrich Wedemeier, Taro Takeuchi, and Paul Gregory. The performances are good, and each player brings a different angle, as Ulrich and Taro are early music specialists, while Paul is more of a modern classical guitarist (and is as good as anyone I've heard). The choice of instruments and choice of repertoire is to be commended. Instrumentation includes many important historical guitars: 9 different instruments (1798 and 1830 Fabricatore, 1802 Juan Pages 6-course, 1828 Panormo, 1830 Lacote, 183x Staufer-Legnani, c1833 CF Martin, c1880 Boullangier/Pratten, and an 1889 Torres). Music includes rare and probably debut recordings of Nuske, Ferandiere, Janon, Holland, and Pratten. Also included are more familiar pieces by Sor, Aguado, Giuliani, Legnani, Huerta, Arcas, and Tarrega - but here, the historical instruments and interpretation makes them unlike nearly any other recording. The Panormo was owned by Huerta, and here we have a recording of Huerta on his own guitar. The 1802 Juan Pages is an early Spanish 6-course (double-strung) instrument as probably played by early Sor - thus the inclusion of the early Grand Sonata opus 14 on double-course was an eye-opener. The Ferandiere with strummed double courses strongly hails the Baroque guitar in this transitional period, and Takeuchi does full justice to the music. The Lacote is a special double-top guitar (probably where Contreras got the idea) outfitted for a tripodison as Aguado specified; thus this may have been Aguado's guitar or one of his students. The Lacote sounds amazing, as does Paul Gregory's rendition. The Torres also stands out as a highlight: a mahogany-backed Torres; it sounds sweet and yet more close to the sound of the other 19th century guitars than today's modern guitar. The Torres tone is resonant, sweet and full, and again Paul Gregory gives a superb performance of an extended operatic fantasy by Julian Arcas (a welcome addition to recorded repertoire), and Tarrega's arrangement of the Malats Serenata Espanola which was transcribed from Tarrega's own hand via the Leckie manuscripts. Very highly recommended. Limited edition available from the author. |
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Jens Bang Rasmussen: Romantic Guitar Sonatas This CD of Sonatas consists of 3 complete works and all of their movements. The selection is among the guitar's best repertoire: Sor's Grand Solo Op. 14, Giuliani's Sonata in C op. 15, and Sor's Sonate op. 22. Although there are many recordings of these works available, it is nice to hear all of the movements. Jens plays these works in a very musical manner with excellent interpretation; indeed it brings out the phrasing in ways that I felt it should be played. The guitar is a modern instrument, and although it exhibits slight buzzing in certain passages, this is a trivial issue on an otherwise well-played CD. Although titled "Romantic Guitar Sonatas" all of these works are actually from the Classical period. |
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Lorenzo Micheli - Dionisio Aguado Guitar Music. Lorenzo Micheli is a major artist in the world of classical guitar; a major competition winner (including GFA), professor, and concert artist. Lorenzo has recorded an exceptional CD entirely of Aguado's music, including his best works - the entire opus 2 Rondos, opus 15 Menuet affandango, opus 16 Fandango variations, and selections from the studies. Long overdue, this CD is a standout effort, with impeccable musicianship and style of the period, and recorded on an 1850's French romantic guitar. The guitar was well-chosen; from the period, made in Paris, in excellent playing condition, and with the distinctive French / Lacote tone very suited to the music. This is on the "Stradivarius" label, and I was able to find copies on most major online CD retailer sites. These works are virtuosic and operatic, fiery and idiomatic, and Lorenzo plays them with finesse, excitement, and precision. Liner notes were well researched and informative, under the direction of Frederic Zigante. |
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Jens Bang Rasmussen: Henrik Rung - Danish National Composer and Guitar Virtuoso Jens has researched, catalogued, and notated works of this previously unknown Danish guitar composer. The CD consists of solo guitar works, voice and guitar works, and works with strings and guitar. The solo works are miniatures, some of which bear a strong resemblance to Sor's works - and indeed Rung played Sor's pieces (more bio details on the Composers page or Tecla). The Polonaises, opus 2, stand out as the best of these works. The CD is well-played and gives the listener a sense of how this music should sound: Sor inspired, and yet with a uniquely Scandanavian soul. |
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John Doan - The Lost Music of Fernando Sor. This CD is aptly titled "Lost Music" because for nearly 2 centuries, these compositions by Sor - perhaps the guitar's most important composer - have been ignored or unavailable because they were written not for the guitar, but for a close relative called the "Harpolyre". According to Richard Long in GFA Soundboard Magazine, Vol. XXXIV, No. 3, 2008 on page 86-87, "The new instrument had 21 strings on three necks; the central neck (manche ordinaire) was tuned like a standard guitar... Above the central neck was the chromatic neck, with seven silk strings with metal windings. Below the central neck was the diatonic neck, with eight gut strings.... the designations or, di or ch above certain notes [refer] to the neck on which the notes are played." This recording contains all of the known pieces Sor wrote for Harpolyre: Six Progressive Pieces, Funeral March, and "Three Pieces for Harpolyre" - for a total of 45 minutes of music. As an added treat, the music is played on a very rare original antique period instrument from around 1830, through which Doan takes us back to another time period. The very occasional fret buzzing is easily forgiven due to the rarity and originality of the instrument employed, and while perhaps noticeable to a classical guitarist listening closely, it is probably not noticeable to other listeners. Sor makes use of the instrument's resources, using the low basses and resonant chromatic strings to full effect. The pieces are very characteristically Sor's, and I very much look forward to a standard guitar transcription of these works, especially one which indicates the low basses which can be realized to a fuller extent on 8-10 string guitars. To hear the pieces as written, we have Doan's excellent reference recording, and there is probably no other person living today who has mastered the original Harpolyre. Although the instrument was never a commercial success, reviving an enjoyable suite of pieces by Sor that have not been heard in our time, is reason enough to hear it today. John Doan has solid credentials as a professional performer and plays these works with sensitivity and mastery. The packaging, booklet, and art work were informative and well produced. |
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Mauro Giuliani Complete works for guitar duo: Duo Maccari-Pugliese. This CD is a must-have recording of essential listening for anyone interested in the early romantic guitar. It consists of a 3-CD set and over 3 hours of music, with an attractive cover and liner notes. Giuliani needs no introduction, as one of the most important guitar composers of all time, and these duo works comprised a large portion of his total output, and much of his best material. The Duo Maccari-Pugliese is recognized as a leading ensemble in the field, and are sought out for their expertise by performers and researchers world-wide, including John Williams. The performances are magnificent, capturing the operatic nature of many of the works and played in a style appropriate to the time period. The duo plays with dynamics, tightness, and blazing speed where required to serve the music. All of the guitars used are period instruments, including museum-quality guitars by Guadagnini, Pons, and Fabricatore, and the CD notes indicate which guitars were used. The period guitars are strung with gut strings and tuned to A430, in order to closely reproduce the instrument timbre of the day. The guitars themselves also contribute substantially to the ambiance and the interpretation, as they respond very differently than the modern guitar. As a complete set, it features the full range of Giuliani's output: concert virtuoso works such as the Concert Variations op. 130 and 35, operatic fantasies (where Giuliani had unprecedented access to Rossini in person and to his manuscripts, and wrote probably the best rendition of Rossini works for guitar by anyone), and the many short "Landler" pieces on CD 2 probably intended for the popular audience, as well as such gems as the "Three Rondos" op. 66, and the 3 Polonaises op. 137, among others. The only omissions from being a "complete" work, are two of Giuliani's reduction arrangements of his own orchestral works, as the full versions can be heard on the duo's "Complete Guitar Concertos" CD. In addition to listening for enjoyment, guitarists who are looking for duet works to play will appreciate being able to sample the complete output. |
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Francesco Molino - I trii per flauto, viola e chitarra. Presented on this CD are 3 complete opus works by the guitar composer Francesco Molino (1768-1847), all for flute, viola, and guitar. It contains the Grand Trio Concertant op. 30 (4 movements), Three Trios op. 4 (3 trios of 3 movements each), and the Second Grand Trio Concertant op. 45 (3 movements), a total of 66 minutes of music. The CD is on the Italian "Tactus" label and features notes in Italian and English. The performances are first-rate, bringing out finer nuances in each composition. It features the first violist and first flutist of the S. Cecilia Orchestra in Rome (Flute: Carlo Tamponi, Viola: Raffaele Mallozzi), and the noted professor of guitar and performer Gianluigi Giglio. Molino was not only an important guitar composer, but also accomplished on the violin and oboe, where he held important posts. Much of Molino's output, and possibly his best output as with many other 19th century composers, was for ensemble, thus making this CD a good representation of the composer's music. Featured on the cover, is a well-known depiction of the rivalry between followers of Carulli and Molino - both of whom were Italian ex-patriates living in Paris. |
 Arte en Parte | - A duet on Panormo copies by Kresse, specializing in music of the period. They have recorded a CD with Sor music for two guitars, using two Panormo guitars for the recording, on the Italian label Nuova Era. |
 James Buckland | Doctorate thesis in Terz guitar. Buckland has compiled the most comprehensive list of Terz guitar repertoire to date, and has researched instrumentation, compositions, and style. Buckland is also a luthier who features his own instruments on his recording. Currently a professor of guitar, recording artist, performer. |
 Dennis Cinelli | Dennis is featured on 2 recordings listed here, and is an expert in early music and 19th century early romantic guitar. Dennis is very knowledgeable of guitar history and identification. As a consultant for La Bella strings, he spent 4 years developing the "String Catalogue for Early Instruments" with strings for practically every form of lute, archlute, vihuela, theorbo, renaissance and baroque guitars, and the "Early Romantic Guitar" series of strings of which Dennis is the inventor. |
 Duo Ghiribizzo | - Specialized in 19th century guitar repertoire, and period instruments, musically this duo consistently ranks as one of my personal favorites. Tonally, the sound is full and rich, the playing is tight, and the interpretation is spot on. Upcoming plans are to add an 8-string guitar - copy of Ries - to be built by Kresse, and a new cd recording coming up in February 2008. |
 Lex Eisenhardt | Lex Eisenhardt is a European experts on early guitars, like the Vihuela, the Baroque- and Romantic guitars. He currently teaches both classical guitar and historical plucked instruments at the Conservatory of Amsterdam. Lex Eisenhardt has also made recordings of music by Fernando Sor on an original period instrument. |
 Izhar Elias | With degrees in music and a career in music, Elias has specialized in authentic interpretation of 19th century repertoire, including study with guitarist and conductor Carlo Barone at the Accademia l'Ottocento (www.accademia800.org). Elias also studied with the violinist Kees Hendrikse, who played for many years in the Concertgebouw Orchestra, and worked with many great solists and conductors. As an approach to the interpretation, Elias studied many guitar methods from the early 19th century like Sor, Aguado, Carulli, Molino, Giuliani, Carcassi, etc., but he is also especially interested in non-guitarist methods, in order to find and recreate the general musical language of that time. Important early sources were Quantz, C.P.E. Bach and Leopold Mozart, and later methods like Türk. Elias realised that the Italian opera had a very big influence on the instrumental music all around Europe, especially on guitar music, which is something in his opinion is very much underestimated today. In order to sing and to pronounce / articulate words on the guitar, Elias studied phrasing in singing methods like Garcia and Delle Sedie. In these methods and other methods (including guitar methods), Elias found also many examples of how to play slurs, embellishments and cadenzas. Elias studied ochestral scores and opera scores (arias), trying to create an orchestra and a singer on the guitar. For the more romantic music (by Mertz) Elias finds the information about the music of Chopin and Schubert very useful. In order to make decisions about interpretation, Elias finds it important to know also about other composers and their musical style and life. Elias also states that at the end, with all this research, the most important thing is to feel the music. (Text based on Correspondence with Elias). |
 Douglas James | Douglas James is a professor of the guitar and an expert in the 19th century style, particularly the early Italian style. |
 Maccari-Pugliese Duo | An Italian duo specializing in period guitars and repertoire. The duo uses original antique guitars with gut strings, A430 tuning, and historically-informed performance practice - working in duo and also with chamber orchestra. They feature mostly early Italian Guadagnini guitars, which sound radically different from the modern guitar: I describe it as inbetween the lute (airy) and mandolin (bright and short) in sound, but also with harp-like qualities. |
Agustín Maruri | Agustín Maruri has an extensive discography covering important yet less well-known 19th century guitar repertoire. Maruri has several CD's of solo guitar, and guitar with violin, cello, viola and flute. The recordings of Von Call, Matiegka, and other minor composers of the era are ground-breaking and welcome additions to expand the available recorded music. Maruri has several recordings on period instruments, including a Lacote circa 1825 and Fuentes circa 1858. Original manuscripts were utilized, and the CD biographical notes are well-researched. Click for Discography. EMEC is a Spanish label which carries the Maruri catalog and other works. |
 Leopoldo Saracino | Leopoldo Saracino has pursued a varied career as a recitalist, concerto soloist and chamber musician. He studied with Ruggero Chiesa in Milan and had subsequent studies with David Russell, Oscar Ghiglia, Leo Brouwer, and David Tanenbaum. His particular interest is the original music of the 19th century played on an original instrument of Louis Panormo. He regularly tours Europe with concert programs including works by Rossini, Paganini, Giuliani among others. His love for chamber music brought forth recordings of chamber repertoire in the classic style, including the first modern recording of the complete works of Ferdinando Carulli for guitar and Fortepiano in 8 CD's with original period instruments, and chamber works by Filippo Gragnani and Anton Diabelli. As a solo player he recorded the 36 Capricci for solo guitar by Luigi Legnani. |
 Richard Savino | Extensive discography, performing and teaching career. Noted authority on early music and romantic guitar. |
 Raphaella Smits | Raphaella Smits is best known as an 8-string classical guitarist, having won a number of competitions world-wide. She has two CD's of 100% early romantic guitar, listed above. |
 David Starobin | Starobin splits his artistry between 19th century guitar played on a period replica by Southwell, and modern compositions. Starobin is a maestro virtuoso. |
 Pavel Steidl | Pavel Steidl has made several recordings of 19th century music which have set a new standard of excellence; indeed they are among the best I have ever heard. Several professional guitarists, some well known, have come away from Pavel's concerts saying that it was the best concert they've seen and it affected their musical interpretation profoundly. |
Erik Stenstadvold | Noted authority in 19th-century guitar music, its history and performance practice. His research has lead to the rediscovery of previously neglected guitar music, such as the de Fossa/Haydn "Quartets", and the music by Antoine de Lhoyer. |
 Robert S. Trent | Specialist in 19th century guitar, through a dissertation on the subject at The Peabody Conservatory, a contract and release with Dorian records (next release will be solo 19th-century works for the 10-string Viennese guitar), contributions to Mel Bay's collection of 19th Century Sonatas ed. by Anthony Glise and performances both here and abroad. He is currently Director of Guitar and Lute Studies at Radford Univeristy in Radford, VA. |
 Brigitte Zaczek | A native of Vienna, BZ performed in master classes with Andrés Segovia and Alirio Diaz in Spain, Italy and Venezuela as part of a comprehensive musical education. Her main interest has been the repertoire and playing techniques of historical plucked instruments. After an intensive study of the lute music of the 17th and 18th centuries (especially the Baroque lute and archlute), she has mainly worked on the guitar repertory of the 19th century during the last few years - with its stylistic questions and the technical problems of playing original instruments of the first half of the 19th century. The original instruments in her collection are from Vienna, Naples, Paris and London and were built by masters such as J.G. & J.A.Staufer, N. G. Riess, G. B. Fabricatore, F. & C. Rhoudloff, R. Lacote, L. Panormo and others. BZ has released 2 superb CD's on period guitars mentioned in the reviews above. |
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If you have a CD for sale that you want listed here, it must be 100% early romantic guitar, solo or with ensemble. A couple of Sor pieces on the CD mixed with other material from different time periods does not count. I request a free copy of the CD to evaluate before listing, which is mine to keep. The decision to list is entirely the editor's.