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