Customer Reviews

Music of Moreno Torroba

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

 

 

Probably one of the best things about this recording is that its a great collection of most of Torroba's great solo guitar music. Russell hits all the important pieces and plays them all with flair and accuracy. Russell's playing is very expressive and he tends to capture the esssence of the music. The playing is clean, beautiful and precise. Good tone, dynamic contrast, all the basics that guitar students spend years perfecting. However, Russell does play a little too heavy sometimes. I like to think that if Torroba were playing electric guitar today he would sound a lot like Pat Metheny with a little Spanish flavor. His music should never be too bombastic or heavy. Not to say that Russell never lightens up, but he doesn't always back off when he needs to. Some of the slower, more lyrical Castles of Spain especially aren't as effective as they could be. The other issue about this recording is that the track listing is WRONG! It should go like this:

Sonatina for Guitar in A Major

Burgalesa

Suite Castellana

Castles of Spain

Madronos (Not "Madranos")

Nocturno

Aires de la Mancha

Because of this glich in the track listing, all of the Castles of Spain tracks are off by one track as they are listed on the CD liner. It isn't even correct on David Russell's website.

The only other thing that I don't like about this CD is that some of the notes are a little weird. I know that there were differences between Torroba's original manuscript and Segovia's editions of the pieces, but some of the notes are either wrong or different from anything I've ever played from (and from what I remember that Segovia originally recorded). It's only a very minor detail as there may be some note decisions where Russell decided to preserve some original notations by Torroba, and I am always in favor of preserving the composer's original intentions over Segovia's rewrites if possible. It's not overly important, it's merely just a yellow flag to the guitarists out there saying that your edition may be slightly different from what Russell plays.

This is a great recording providing interesting contrast to Segovia's original Torroba recordings. While Segovia is the original "performance practice" version of these pieces, Russell's interpretations are for the most part very good. I would recommend listening to Segovia's recordings of Torroba as you would be cheating yourself to only listen to this recording.

I think this recording is very relaxed for the most part. He kind of breezes through these with speed and doesn't take enough time on some pieces but David Russell is the cleanest guitar player around and these recordings are flawless. He lets you hear every note. Burgalesa is an amazingly beautiful, melancholy piece which Sevogia loved. Montemayor is haunting and tremelo is exquisite. Alba de Tormes is a popular and beautiful piece which sounds great. Fandango is probably the most popular piece here which overwhelmingly captures the Spanish feeling and which Segovia recorded extremely well (probably the most famous recording of Fandango) on his "Favorite Spanish Encore" LP and Russell sounds great in this piece, too. I'd rather listen to Russell play these than Yepes, Segovia or the Romeros.

Moreno Torroba is maybe one of the best composers for guitar, unfortunately little known. David Russel brings to life some magnificent pieces with his wonderful tone and phrasing. Impeccable production and sound as well. An absolute must for guitar lovers and a good beginning for those who are not.

It's about time! Moreno-Torroba has been absent from catalogue for too long (with the exception of Spain, of course, where one can find recordings of his Zarzuelas (basically Spanish light opera), piano music, etc. David Russell is without doubt a virtuoso - you won't hear wrong notes, string squawking or fret buzzes. However, he tends toward a constant brilliance when at times something more restfully expressive would seem appropriate. I have some familiarity with this music, playing it as well as recording-wise, and I found his tendency to faster tempi a little jarring at times, notably in quiet, laid-back or expressive works like the Burgalesa; the middle portion of the Notturno and the Andante from the Sonatina. David Russell's Burgalesa is simply too strident, the central section pressing and noisy. The middle section of the Notturno has none of the warmth and dreaminess of Bream's early performance (alas, not currently available but I refer to his 1956 recording). Similarly the Andante. On the other hand, Russell's bravura truly brings out the fire in the outer movements of the Sonatina, the Suite Castellana and the Castillos. In summary, this is an excellent disc, worthy of any collection embracing Spanish/Latin guitar music. For all my gripes, I've heard performances, recorded and live, well inferior to David Russell's, and unless you're familiar with the works I singled out in the magical hands of Bream or Segovia, this recording will not disappoint in any way.

Moreno Torroba's compositions, commissioned by Segovia, belie the assertion that the classical guitar repertoire is less rich than that of other instruments. These pieces are complex yet accessible. David Russel is a virtuoso and communicates the nuances of the music with magic. I find it hard to believe that any objective listener would not rate this as one of the best classical guitar CDs ever recorded.

Music of Moreno Torroba What a wonderful and vibrant stroke of colors which too embraces the ears of pleasure to describe the appeal of ones greater scents.

Any serious student of classical guitar who wants to learn the music of Torroba and has unanswered questions about how to play these pieces needs this CD.

The reviewer "ivorx" has hit the essence of this performance right on. David needs to relax when the music calls for it. Torroba is not an intense composer and needs to flow in a more relaxed state. However, this is a very good CD of great guitar music by one of the guitar's greatest composers. I really wish more of Torroba's guitar concertos would be recorded by quality musicians.