Rodrigo: Tres piezas españolas

Multi-award winner Anabel Montesinos returns to the Naxos label with the ‘graceful flexibility’ and ‘flawless technique’ (MusicWeb International) of her earlier acclaimed recital (8557294). She has since become 1st Prize Winner at the prestigious 2010 Michele Pittaluga Guitar Competition in Alessandria.

This programme is emblematic of the ‘Spanish guitar’, ranging from Pujol’s and Rodrigo’s respective Tres piezas españolas which descend from traditional folk styles, to Fernando Sor’s Variations on a Theme of Mozart, a showpiece which turns the guitar into a ‘miniature orchestra’.

Previously released, here's a guitar recital that deserves a second hearing! In addition to Berkeley's modestly titled “Sonatina” (actually one of the most difficult compositions ever composed for the instrument) and an arrangement for guitar solo of the slow movement from Villa-Lobos' Guitar Concerto are several less well known works from that most popular of composers for the guitar, the late Joaquin Rodrigo. The perfect gift for your favorite guitar enthusiast.

Joaquin Rodrigo (1901-99) composed for the guitar for over 75 years. Over his long and productive life he produced some of the best loved music ever written for the instrument – Concierto de Aranjuez and the Fantasia para un gentilhombre. His output for solo guitar and guitar duet form the bulk of his compositions and this 3CD encompasses all these works from the earliest in 1926 up to the late Ecos de Sefarad of 1987.

Strangely for one who devoted so much of his creative energies to the guitar, Rodrigo was not a guitarist, but a pianist of considerable technique. His flair for exuberance, display of technique and the combination of popular styles and great refinement ensure that all the works on these CDs are full of delightful surprises, and typical of this composers unpretentious style.