Customer Reviews

Artistry: American Landscapes

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Without question, Sharon Isbin is one of the finest classical guitarists of all time, regardless of gender or nationality. Her mastering of many different styles and pieces from many different times marks her as one of the all-time best. And on this recording, made during 1993 and 1994, Ms. Isbin takes on three unique American guitar concertos that she herself commissioned to expand the guitar concerto repertoire.

With "Troubadours", a series of variations for guitar and orchestra composed by John Corigliano, Ms. Isbin explores the music of medieval troubadours from a uniquely 20th century perspective. In "From Afar", a fantasy for guitar and orchestra composed by Joseph Schwantner, she opts for a mesmerizing and dreamy approach to the form. And with Lukas Foss' "American Landscapes", Ms. Isbin goes for what might be called a Classical Americana approach. This last concerto borrows a few pages from traditional Appalachian bluegrass stand-bys like "Poor Wayfaring Stranger", "Stay A Little Longer", and "Cotton-Eyed Joe."

All three pieces are performed superbly by Ms. Isbin, and she is greatly aided by conductor Hugh Wolff and the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra. For anyone interested in guitar concertos, American classical music, or both, this is a can't-miss recording.

This cd ranks among the best in contemporary orchestral music. It features incredible depth of emotion and intellectual stimulation. Listen to it a few times and you will be very pleased. Isbin is the most innovative and daring classical guitarist performing today. A++

American and British composers have tried

for decades to move the guitar away fron

its Spanish, and Latin-American connections

and in their effort have written works of great

ingenuity. This recording has three concertos

all written for Sharon Isbin, by three different

American composers. In "Troubadors" John Corigliano

takes us back to the middle ages with a tune by

Beatriz de Dia, who was a lady troubador from

the middle ages, Mr. Corigliano uses her original

tune "A Chantar" and developes it into something very

special. "From Afar" by Joseph Schwanter is a work

of genius, and inventiveness. The last work in the

CD is a guitar concerto by Lukas Foss, in which Foss

uses several American folk tunes, in some aspects

brings to mind the Americana works of the

past generation of American composers. Mrs.

Isbin does a wonderful work as always, and

the Saint Paul chamber is equally up to the

task. Wonderful recording.

When I first started listening to this cd I said to myself "a bunch of noise." When my wife came upstairs to where I was listening she spontaneously asked "what is all that noise"? It wasn't until the fourth track that I even recognized the Americana in this piece. I do not fault Sharon Isbin; indeed she is a fine guitarist. But music should not be mere noise, which I think much of this cd is.