LA ACEPTACIÓN Y LA COMPRENSION DEL OTRO

An authoritative book on the evolution. technology. and materials of plucked string instruments which will become an essential reference lext for craftsmen. students, and amateurs. The standard source of information on the guitar family first

I publish d in German in 1963 is now available in English translation.

Based on the autho(s lifelong work with guitar makers and students of musical instrument technology.

Analyses all the aspects of the subject - history. design, materials, scientific principles.

Size 24 cm x 33.5 cm, 240 pages.

Copiously illustrated - there are 166 illustrations. including 18 _design pla,ls (1: Z) of aciual instrulllents. Price £45.00 _-Postage £2.00

ISBN 3920 112717

The History and Technology of Plucked String Instruments

Available from

Ashley Mark Publishing Company

Saltmeadows Road Gateshead NE8 3AJ

lorge Morel

JORGE MOREL

College of Art & Technology, Newcastle upon Tyne. 25 May 1983

lorge Morel has become a regular visitor to Newcastle and he has inevitably built up a nucleus of admirers. The fact that he was presenting a completely new programme was an added attraction. Morel is known for his prowess as an arranger and composer as well as a performer; his arrangements of the Albeniz works were as effective as any I have heard. His Gershwin Suite retained all of the essential elements of the com­ poser's score; the Rossini piece became a virtuoso showpiece for guitar. These works had the hallmarks of successful arrangements They transferred the beauty of the originals to the guitar and they sounded as though they had been written for the instrument. If they had any weakness it was that few performers could play them nearly as convincingly as lorge Morel.

The programme was a little short on original compositions, but those there were demonstrated what aficionados already knew, that Morel is a composer of Latin American music at once idiomatic and original. Although the works are light and accessible, they display a flair for melody, harmony and rhythm that ensures an almost universal appeal. Some, such as Pampero, are evocatively impressionistic, others, such as the Andante from Latin Impressions (published in the lan/Feb issue of this magazine) are sweet and lyrical with bags of saudade, yet others, such as the Allegretto from the same suite, are spicy and humorous, this one making extensive use of 2nds. The 'piece de resistance' must be the Danza Brasilera which should be a hit single. It is one of the catchiest sambas ever.

The audience have come to expect a fine show from lorge Morel and he delivered the goods in no uncertain terms. From the opening number, Pampero, he showed an easy virtuosity which remained with him all evening. He went on to demonstrate a dazzling proficiency

at scale work in Canciller (composed by his one time teacher, Pablo Escobar).

The Barrios selection was a happy choice, with the artist totally at home with this music. His renditions were based more on the recordings of Barrios himself than on published editions, and one could really imagine that Barrios himself was playing, so well was Morel's temperament attuned to the music. His own Latin Impressions, which followed highlighted the parallel between himself and Barrios. If you wished you had seen Barrios in his prime, go to see lorge Morel now and witness a similar legend in the making.

Morel has a powerful empathy with Gershwin (and. other great US com­ posers) and the three songs from Porgy and Bess were, for me, the highlight of the second half. Once again the performer was completely at home with the idiom.

The Tarantella by Rossini displayed breathtaking speed, musical drive and technical skill. It was a showstopper that failed to stop the show. An enthusiastic ovation from the audience was rewarded by two encores; the audience would have liked still more, but Morel was exhausted having spent all day in a recording studio (good news, that means another record in the offing).

lorge Morel is one of a handful of truly compelling performers on the guitar. He is, in fact, unique. He grabs your attention and you are swept along by his verve. He has a truly virtuosic technique which is always geared to musical purpose. He has a great musical skill and the ability to convey his concept of the music to the audience with an apparent ease reminiscent of a really good singer. Every lover of the guitar (no matter of what persuasion) should make an effort to see him in concert, or at least to obtain his recordings; this audience was positively thrilled by the evening's

entertainment.

Brian T. Arthur

PAUL GREGORY and GABRIEL ESTARELLAS

Purcell Room, London. 21 May 1983 The Spanish guitarist Gabriel Estarellas has done a lot for contemporary British music. Eleven years ago I heard him give two first performances in one evening - Richard Stoker's Improvisations and L e n n o x B e r k e l e y ' s T h e m e a n d Variations. As i f that were not enough, he included Tom Eastwood's Amphora, premiered the previous week by Thomas Hartman.

Eleven years on, at this 1983 recital, he gave the first performances of Stephen Dodgson's 3rd Partita as his solo con­ tribution to the duo performance. It was an intelligent, highly charged reading of a highly accessible work that seems destined for a permanent place in the repertoire.

The Great British Guitar Public's reward for Mr Estarellas's skilful perfor­ mances of their native music is to stay away in large numbers from his concerts. The handful of people who attended this recital, on a not very wet night, was small even by Purcell Room standards. Recent solo recitals, even when indifferent music was being played (certainly not the case on this occasion), have been much better attended. Either the GBGP doesn't go to a guitar concrt to hear good music, or it just doesn't like duos.

Paul Gregory's solo contribution consisted of the Suite Valenciana by Vicente Asencio, preceded by his own graceful tribute to the Spanish composer. 'The rising tones of the coda create the effect of an ascent to Heaven' says the h e l p f u l p r o g r a m m e n o t e a b o ut Zarabanda; it may be a play on words, but the sincerity of both conception and execution was transparent. The Suite Valenciana showed a similar commit­ ment, unifying the muted colours - unusual for Spanish music - into an elo­ quent whole.

Stephen Dodgson's 3rd Partita is full of melodic ideas, compressed so as to make the maximum effect in the shortest space of time. This is one of the things the guitar does well, and I think Mr Dodgson knows it. The liturgical feeling of the 2nd movement, with the harmony changing on virtually every beat, is broken by an animato long enough to count as a separate movement, before the Adagio returns with some melodic interjections to form the fourth movement. The fifth, Allegro, is marked con umore - light­ hearted and robust, says the composer in his programme note. And also very English, he might have added. Despite some beautiful moments, I did not feel that any significant new ground was being broken, but perhaps that was not the intention. There are bound to be many more performances; meanwhile there is no doubt at all that an attractive and enjoyable piece of music has been added to the repertoire of play able con­ temporary music.

The duo has improved a lot since their preview at the October Gallery last year. The ensemble is well balanced and clear; their ability to anticipate. each other's movements finely developed. Bach's French Suite No. 3 exemplified their general approach: tidy, well-chosen tempi, relaxed, nothing sensational, but good, thoughtful playing. The ponticello in the Minuet was well managed, putting the change of tone in a proper musical perspective. After some excellent con­ trapuntal work in the Gavotte; the Gigue was fast without being rushed. If short on immediate excitement, the musical integrity of this performance more than

compensated. Sor's Fantasy in E produced some fine tone, and an agree­ able idiomatic style was achieved.

O l i v e r H u n t ' s n e w w o r k , Introduction and Toccata, was originally for solo guitar, but it seemed over­ ambitious to the composer after the first draft. He rewrote it, finding two guitars better than one for the purpose of exploit­ ing his 'musical figuration', to borrow a phrase from the programme notes. The long melodic line was received with pleasure by an audience already made grateful by Dodgson's digestible tonality. A good climax was achieved, beginning on one guitar and ending on two, and the energy generated in the closing passages made an impression that was more than fleeting.

The last work, Ca stelnuovo­ Tedesco's Sonatina Canonica, served mainly as a vehicle for the duo, by now operating smoothly in top gear. The Fandango had some of the best playing of the evening by a richly talented duo, who on this occasion achieved musical results of a satisfying order. It only remains for them to find a satisfactory audience.

One word about the encore, Pujol's arrangement of the Intermezzo from Goyescas, by Granados: Paul Gregory's stretch is so great that he can rest the side of his hand on the saddle while his thumb operates over the soundhole, out of which he charms the richest and roundest pizzicato ever to roll around a London concert hall. An extraordinary effect, complemented by Gabriel Estarellas's sensitive but crisply formed melodic line. If the depressing experience of a too-small audience does not deter them, we may expect much good work in the future from this accomplished duo.

Colin Cooper

MARTIN MYSLlVECEK

Wig more Hall, London. 20 June 1983 Opinion was divided about the first half of the programme chosen by the Czech guitarist Martin Myslivecek, who was making his London debut. The following descriptions are intended to reflect both points of view.

The two Pavanas by Luis Milan have been heard and played so often that it is hardly necessary to play them yet again. They are well-constructed examples of early Spanish contrapuntal writing, and well worth reviving to show modern audiences what the guitar can do with them. There is always someone hearing them for the first time.

Abel Carlevaro's arrangements of Gaspar Sanz's Spanish Dances are fussy and superfluous. Cleverly adapted for six­ string guitar by a contemporary master of the fingerboard, they reveal the Baroque age of guitar music in all its glory. Sor's Four Minuets are insubstantial salon pieces with a certain romantic charm, useful as encores but scarcely suitable for playing in groups of four as if they somehow constituted an important sonata. They have established themselves as firm favourites in the guitar repertoire, and no true guitar recital is complete without at least some Sor. These characteristic pieces have considerable

charm, the second in particular, with its pizzicato trumpet-like tune and delicate filigree work.

Turimi's Sonata Op. 61 is a pleasant enough little work by a minor composer, useful enough for starting a recital with, but not really up to occupying the centre of the stage in the most important part of a recital, the twenty minutes before the interval. It is a beautiful and charac­ teristic work by a master of great refine­ ment; dedicated to Segovia, it contains abundant poetry and emotion in a classical framework that makes it a worthy addition to any guitarist's repertoire.

Well, take your pick. There can be no argument about Martin Myslivecek's superb playing of these masterpieces or minor works. He is not always careful with his tone, but his dynamic range is impressively wide and his sense of rhythmic structure rock -solid so that he is able to project a piece of music as an entity with satisfying shape and form. Myslivecek gives the impression that no notes ever written are beyond his ability, though there were one or two minor and forgive able fluffs. His real strength comes from his unerring ability to pinpoint tempo and rhythm with the precision of a ballet dancer, achieving a unity that must put him into the class of great or potentially great guitarists. Attention to detail is exemplary - the way he handled a crescendo in the fourth Sor minuet, for example, and an equally sensitive diminuendo in the last Soliloquy of Tucapsky in the second half. At times the strong contrasts of his essentially dramatic playing tended to resolve themselves into pure black and white, whispers and shouts, but general clarity of expression made the experience one to be enjoyed. The full-blooded rasgueado in the last movement of the Turina would have done credit to any flamenco player.

The second half found the guitarist on pretty unassailable ground, with three works by contemporary Czech com­ posers. Petr Fial, born in 1943 and the youngest, dedicated his Five Epigrams to Myslivecek. Short and pithy, they exploit the guitar's resources in a competent way without doing anything particularly disturbing or strikingly new. The last of them, an allegro energico, seemed the best, with some interesting ideas une­ quivocally clothed in contemporary techniques. Peter E be n ( b.1929) represents an older generation. His rhapsodic variations Tabulatura Nova were prefaced by the delightful experience of hearing a classical guitarist actually sing on the Wigmore Hall platform. Myslivecek did it quite well, all things considered. It took courage, but he is the sort of born performer who could probably play and sing while standing on his head, if he thought the circumstances required it. Eben's work uses the full range of the guitar, but it was slightly disappointing that more was not made of traditional Czech forms. Soliloquies, by Antonin Tucapsky (b. 1982) had more to

hold on to in the way of melody and harmony, and produced some graceful playing where it was needed - in the Allegretto Grazioso - and an expansive grandeur of tone in the final allegro.

'I will play the programme from the beginning again', announced the guitarist in response to a request for an encore, bringing to mind Vladimir de Pachmann's reply to a similar request after he had played the Hammerklavier: 'You like? Pachmann play it again'. But Pachmann did play it again; Myslivecek was only joking, something at which he is as adept as playing the guitar. In the event we got the now-familiar Villa-Lobos Study No. 1, a busy Toccata by Eben and a sonata by Carlos de Seixas.

Colin Cooper

Carlos Bonell

CARLOS BONELL

Wigmore Hall, London. 5 _{June 1983}

There is more than a hint of the showman about Carlos Bonell. Indeed, there are echoes of Liszt or Paganini in the long hair, the fanciful attire and the expansive gestures with which the instrument is attacked. However no ladies fainted in the aisles at this recital for rather than the demoniac poise of the nineteenth century virtuoso, Bonell's manner on the concert platform is relaxed and warm, chatting uninhibitedly between works and over­ coming technical difficulty not only with ease but with pleasure. Nor can he be accused of vapid exhibitionism, for underlying his technical mastery is a strongly felt poetic spirit most at home in music that allows a measure of expressive licence.

The evening began with works by Napoleon Coste, possibly receiving their first performance for over a century. The Grande Serenade is not an easy work for the audience; rather long and highly virtuosic, it too often appears to deteriorate into mere gesture. The Andante opus 39 and Polonaise opus 1 4 contain more of the fine melodic sense that is Coste's greatest asset. The polished and romantic performance these works received will undoubtedly add to Coste's growing reputation.

Ginastera's Sonata is turning up quite frequently in programmes at the moment so one wonders whether Bonell's apologia for its more unusual sonorities was really needed. Those who did find the 'special effects' troubling would do well to shut their eyes for they are far more disturbing visually than aurally. Bonell played with such conviction and unstopp­ able energy that even the most conserva­ tive listener must have been won over. In the Sonata Ginastera has created a musical language in which pitch has become secondary to colour and texture. What lies beneath the exciting and innovative exterior only time will reveal. After the fireworks of the first half Walton's Five Bagatelles were surpris­ ingly reserved. It was probably to the good that Bonell tempered his poetic feel­ ings a little in this work which certainly does not benefit from an excess of romanticism. It is to be feared that the year of Walton's death will bring many second-rate performances of the Bagatelles, so it was gratifying to hear a

good one.

Granados' Spanish Dance No. 6 was heard in a new arrangement for guitar and electronic watch alarms. Despite the interruptions Bonell was completely in his element with this piece, exploiting to the full his remarkably fluid approach to tone. Likewise Barrios' Armonias de America and La Catedral were ideally suited to Bonell's temperament. If Barrios is remembered for one work and no other it will surely be La Catedral which so remarkably evokes the sound of a mighty organ thundering away. In this work Bonell's virtuosity and romantic spirit were in perfect balance creating a perfor­ mance that was, for this reviewer at least, the high point of the recital.

Encores of a Paganini Menuet and a Mudarra Fantasia rounded off a recital that combined the popular and the unusual. Though a little inclined to let his hands run away with him Bonell dis­ tinguished himself as a musician of con­ siderable gifts not the least of which is the ability to give pleasure to his audience.

Nicholas Hudis

NEIL SMITH

Bristol Polytechnic. 3 June 1983

This concert was an important event for guitarists and one which drew an audience from many miles around. It marked the return to Bristol after an absence of two years of the ever popular Neil Smith to give the latest concert in the marvellous season promoted by the Bristol Spanish Guitar Centre. The audience was treated also to the first performance of a new work by the English composer Gareth Waiters so it was in all an auspicious occasion.

The recital began with the Pavanas, Espanoleta and Canarios by Gaspar Sanz before moving on to a group of pieces by Sor. The first of these was the perennial Variations on a theme of Mozart in which Neil Smith displayed

some marvellous phrasing and virtuosity. Some of the last variations were played at a phenomonal speed but the performance was nothing short of excellent. Neil followed this with a thoughtful interpreta­ tion of the Andante Largo Op. 5 and finished the group with the Gran Solo Op. 14. _{I have heard Neil Smith play this} work several times and was most impressed by the way his interpretation of the piece has grown over the years. His performance showed plenty of dash and verve but in the few moments of repose