This week Geoff Adams listens to sombre and moving pieces by
Shoenberg and guitar prodigy Rafael Aguirre Minarro.
> Pelleas und
Melisande; Erwartung. Schoenberg: Philharmonia
Orchestra (Robert Craft). Naxos.
The polyphonic tone poem Pelleas und Melisande Op.5 provoked
audience riots in 1905.
One critic suggested putting Schoenberg in an asylum with
music paper out of reach! But six years later it was a
success - now it's easy to take.
A very large orchestra builds complex layers of dark and
sombre sound; the death of Melisande is deeply moving music.
Erwartung (Expectation) Op.17 a "monodrama" for soprano (Anja
Silja in this performance) and large orchestra shows
Schoenberg's growing fascination with the 12-tone serial
method as he continually varies orchestra textures and tempi.
Highlight: originally recorded in 1999 (Koch label)
the Philharmonia in superb form under Robert Craft, a great
Schoenberg as well as Stravinsky exponent.
> Guitar Recital, Rafael
Aguirre Minarro. Naxos.
Minarro, winner of the 2007 International Francisco Tarrega
Guitar Competition, is a prodigy who entered the Malaga
Conservatory at the age of 7.
The Spanish virtuoso presents a widely varied programme by
eight cosmopolitan composers: from Sor in the early 19th
century to Finland's Rautavaara and Spain's Clerch of the
present day, from the simplicity of Poulenc's Sarabande to
the virtuosity of Villa-Lobos and Tarrega.
I particularly enjoyed Maurice Ohana's Tiento, a serious
flamenco form.
The recital ends with Variations on Carnival of Venice (the
melody made famous by Paganini) which deploys almost every
technical device known to the guitar in an exuberant,
light-hearted display.
Highlight: dexterity displayed delightfully by a
brilliant guitarist, beautifully recorded.
- By Geoff Adams
