Born in Glasgow in
1953, David Russell spent much of his
youth on the small Spanish island of
Menorca. Initially tutored in classical
guitar by his father, at the age of
sixteen Mr. Russell moved to London
to attend the London Academy of Music.
His subsequent achievements
are impressive. He has an extensive
discography. He is held in high esteem
by guitar aficionados worldwide. David
Russell’s new recording "Spanish
Legends" may add little to the
recorded repertoire but it is most enjoyable
and does remind the listener of those
key elements upon which his international
reputation as a master guitarist was
founded.
The programme comprises
representative works of four Spanish
legends of the classical guitar- Regino
Sainz de la Maza, Miguel Llobet, Andres
Segovia and Emilio Pujol. Such music
has imbued this writer with a lifelong
passion and love for the guitar. Many
of the pieces are evocative of their
motherland, intimate and more suited
to the salon than to the concert platform
where they appear with ever increasing
rarity.
Regino Sainz de la
Maza was Professor of Guitar at Madrid
Conservatory from 1935 until his retirement
in 1969. His fame abroad grew when Rodrigo
dedicated to him the masterpiece, Concierto
de Aranjuez. Many have wondered
why the greatest orchestral masterpiece
for guitar of the 20th century
was never recorded by its most famous
guitarist. Some have correlated this
with the composition’s dedication to
Sainz de la Maza who played the inaugural
performance in 1940. (His recorded version
is available on RCA VUCS-1322.) Another
very famous composition by Rodrigo,
Fantasía Para Un Gentilhombre,
was dedicated to Segovia and coincidentally
he did record this music. Conjecture
may have in reality been truth!
The "salon"
attitude to the guitar of Catalan Miguel
Llobet was strongly reflected in his
compositions and arrangements. Perhaps
the most sublime of Llobet’s contributions
are the beautiful arrangements of Catalan
folk songs of which a particular favourite,
El Noy de la Mare is conspicuously
absent on this recording.
Llobet considered the
guitar a salon instrument, unsuited
for larger concert venue recitals and
this view he promoted with missionary
zeal. Andres Segovia found this disposition
inhibitory to his vision of the guitar
as a true concert instrument.
The items by Segovia
are typical of his composing style -
charming and often with didactic components.
The Five Anecdotes from 1947 are rarely
recorded, but the versions of two and
five here are preferred performances
over those of Pablo Sáinz Villegas
(Naxos 8.557596). Through enormous dedication
and decades of global concertising Segovia
was able to surmount the "salon
myopia" typified by Llobet and
during his own lifetime establish the
guitar as a recognised concert instrument.
Emilio Pujol shared
with Llobet discipleship of Francisco
Tarrega, the "modern awakener"
of the guitar. Pujol’s contributions
to guitar literature are significant
and his compositions characteristic
of the period. The Impromptu, track
[19] is quite spell-binding and having
listened to track [21], those less familiar
with the works of Pujol will not be
perplexed as to his reason for naming
it " El Abejorro"- the bumble
bee.
Mr Russell’s performance
of these period masterpieces is laudable,
but given the large number of tracks
it would be surprising if the odd one
did not compare with a cherished favourite
e.g. Llobet’s Scherzo-Vals [13] receives
a preferred rendition by Anabel Montesinos
(Naxos 8.557294). A rather older but
outstanding version of Segovia’s Study
Without Light [14] is that of Eduardo
Abreu, Decca SDD 219. However, all in
all, the playing and interpretations
are splendid - just what we have come
to expect from this master guitarist.
And finally - a very
first impression. The instrument used
in this recording has a rather cold
sound - big, voluminous but reminiscent
of the "proverbial witch’s elbow".
This is not an observation of relative
inferiority but one of difference representing
a trade-off. The instrument used on
the review disc is from the workshop
of luthier Matthias Dammann. He is famous
for innovations in lutherie which often
sacrifice warmth for the "big sound"
fashionable among many of the younger
generation players. In relation to the
observed lack of warm on this recording
the particular choice of instrument
may be causative or coincidental. If
you are interested in a "temperature
check" listen to the relatively
warm sound from the guitar used on David
Russell’s recording of works by Francisco
Tárrega, Opera tres CDS 1003/4
"Spanish Legends"
may have insufficient programme "grunt"
for hardened aficionados but if you
have a smouldering penchant for the
classical guitar it will be a catalyst,
turning smoke into flame.
Zane Turner
David Russell (guitar) 
