When I reviewed Miloš
Karadaglić’s previous album of short Latin American pieces,
I expressed the hope that he would record some of the larger works
for guitar and orchestra. On this new disc, entitled Miloš
Aranjuez, he has given us the two most popular compositions
for this combination. It was inevitable that he would contribute his
interpretation of the Concierto de Aranjuez, the most famous
of all guitar concertos, and also Rodrigo’s other popular work,
the Fantasía para un gentilhombre. There have been
so many recordings of Aranjuez that every listener attracted
to it will have his or her own favorites. It’s not that the
piece plays itself by any means, but it is a milestone for all classical
guitarists. Miloš — as he is widely known by his first
name alone — measures up to the best of his predecessors. Yannick
Nézet-Séguin and the London Philharmonic prove to be
ideal partners and bring eloquence to their performance. Neither guitarist
nor orchestra overplays their hand and this team demonstrates a real
joy performing together. The same is true for the Fantasía
para un gentilhombre, which Miloš has taken up more recently.
The English horn soloist, Sue Böhling, deservedly receives mention
in the CD booklet for her performance in the Adagio movement
of Aranjuez.
As good as these two performances are, though, I think the album is
even more worthwhile for its solo works. This is especially true of
the third Rodrigo piece, the composer’s homage to Manuel de
Falla, Invocación y danza. I had not heard it before,
but it is more complex and modern than his other works on the disc.
It has real depth of feeling and is haunting in its themes. It requires
a great deal of virtuosity and Miloš performs it superbly.
Appropriately enough, Invocación y danza is paired
with two works by Falla himself. The first of these, Homenaje,
was Falla’s tribute to Debussy, who had died two years prior
to the composition. It also has the distinction of being the first
work for guitar by a major classical composer. I am glad to have heard
the original version of the piece here, as I knew it before from Falla’s
later orchestration as one of five Homenajes comprising an
orchestral suite. The other Falla piece is an arrangement for solo
guitar by Michael Lewin of the Miller’s Dance, the farruca,
from the Three-Cornered Hat ballet. As one would expect,
this works rather well as a guitar solo.
Everything is first-class about this production: wonderful performances,
recorded with real presence and a glossy booklet with plenty of color
photos mostly of the charismatic guitarist. Gramophone’s
James Jolly provides the succinct and well-written note.
Leslie Wright
Previous review: Brian
Wilson
