Reflections of Spain: Spanish Favorites for Guitar

David Russell (Composer), Isaac Albeniz (Composer), Enrique Granados (Composer), Joaquin Malats (Artist), Francisco Tarrega (Artist), Antonio Ruiz-Pipo (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Composer: David Russell, Isaac Albeniz, Enrique Granados
• Audio CD (January 22, 2002)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Telarc
• ASIN: B00005V0WV
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,430 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #1 in Music > Classical > Opera & Vocal > Vocal Non-Opera > Barcarolles
  • #7 in Music > Classical > Instruments > Strings > Guitar
  • #7 in Music > World Music > Latin Music > Flamenco

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

David Russell was born in Glasgow, Scotland, but his family moved to Spain while he was still a young boy so he could study music in the birthplace of classical guitar. On Reflections of Spain, Russell plays the music of his childhood home with all the joy you would expect from someone revisiting a beloved place. Russell's formidable technique is powered by a keen intelligence and tempered by an emotional delivery. He plays chestnuts like Tarrega's "Recuerdos de la Alhambra" and Albeinez's "Austurias" with a fond intimacy that rescues them from cliché. Perhaps the finest moments on the CD are Russell's guitar arrangements of four of Granados's compositions. Although Granados wrote pieces like "Danza Melancolia" and "Andaluza" for piano, Russell's thoughtful versions remind us that the folk dances that inspired them were originally accompanied by the guitar. David Russell is one the finest classical guitarists to emerge in recent years, and his playing on Reflections of Spain is a near perfect wedding of technique and temperament. --Michael Simmons

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

72 of 76 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars David Russell, Reflections of Spain, March 2, 2002

By 

Jeff Place - See all my reviews

This review is from: Reflections of Spain: Spanish Favorites for Guitar (Audio CD)

Russell's superb performance and the incredible Dammann guitar bring out the very best in each, and that combination is breathtaking. Russell's two tracks composed by Tarrega are, in my opinion, the best recordings of those compositions, which shouldn't be a surprise as Russell won the Francisco Tarrega Competition in Spain. The beauty of the tremelo on track three is hard to describe except that I stop whatever I'm doing each time I hear it, and I've played this CD often. A lot.
The recording quality is impressive but drifts into subtle significance after listening to an hour plus of rich full-bodied Russell/Dammann genius. (How does Russell do so much without any string sqeeks?)

43 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Delicious music, December 16, 2003

By 

Susan W. Meehan "MaireRua" (Washington, DC United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Reflections of Spain: Spanish Favorites for Guitar (Audio CD)

This is probably my favorite CD of all time. I play it nearly every evening, sending me off to sleep dreaming of the perfume of the orange blossoms in the gardens of the Alcazar in Cordoba some moonlit summer night. (Been there, done that!) This album is exquisite - David Russell is a magnificent guitarist in terms of technique, style and taste equally, and the recording is crystalline. You can't go wrong with this one.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Yet another Spanish guitar music...., March 8, 2006

By 

jojo "nevagich" (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Reflections of Spain: Spanish Favorites for Guitar (Audio CD)

Like every one else I have probably heard all other worthy versions of most of these tunes....I happened to find out about David Russell via reading a bio of Barrios and recommended recordings....it said...Dave Russell is the man...I had not heard of him before that...I got the CD...and WOW...!!then I got interested in his music so I bought anything I could from him including the Aire latino , plays Bach and this one....this guy was born to play the classical guitar...

This is the first artist that I hear uses proper dynamics in his performance...the rest of the pack do not nearly use the guitar as a guitar they use it just another vehicle to play a composition....David's strumming...pulling pushing the music and his singing tone is above all others...not as controled as other classical players....if people played the guitar as a guitar not as a lute..or harpsicored or a piano...then this is what it should sound like...acoustic guitar's range is very limited ...but in the hands of a master...there are no limits....