Thibaut Garcia: Aranjuez
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Genre:
Orchestral
Label: Erato
Magazine Review Date: AW20
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 63
Mastering:
DDD
Catalogue Number: 9029 52357-1
Tracks:
Composition | Artist Credit |
---|---|
Concierto de Aranjuez |
Joaquín Rodrigo, Composer
Ben Glassberg, Conductor Thibaut Garcia, Guitar Toulouse Capitole Orchestra |
La frontera de Dios, Movement: Sacrificio |
Regino Sainz De La Maza, Composer
Thibaut Garcia, Guitar |
Zapateado |
Regino Sainz De La Maza, Composer
Thibaut Garcia, Guitar |
Rondeña |
Regino Sainz De La Maza, Composer
Thibaut Garcia, Guitar |
El Vito |
Regino Sainz De La Maza, Composer
Thibaut Garcia, Guitar |
Musique de Cour |
Alexandre Tansman, Composer
Ben Glassberg, Conductor Thibaut Garcia, Guitar Toulouse Capitole Orchestra |
Pièces de théorbe, Movement: Suite in A minor |
Robert de Visée, Composer
Thibaut Garcia, Guitar |
Author: William Yeoman
Is 26-year-old Franco-Spanish guitarist Thibaut Garcia’s account of Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez one of the finest ever recorded? Quite possibly. Rarely has such a combination of virtuosity, intelligence, character and flair been brought to bear on this most popular of all concertos, such that it sounds as fresh as the aural equivalent of a restored Watteau, all sparkle and sadness.
The Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse under talented British conductor Ben Glassberg are the ideal companions for Garcia’s journey, not just through this work but through Tansman’s darker, rarely heard suite after the Baroque guitar music of Robert de Visée. Garcia’s ability to meticulously mould the trajectory of a strum as much as a phrase, without the slightest hint of premeditation, stems from locating the emotional epicentre of the Rodrigo in the Adagio’s cadenza and working outwards. The result is mesmerising. By contrast, the Tansman – which recalls not only Rodrigo’s Fantasía para un gentilhombre but similarly backwards-looking works by Stravinsky, Grieg and Respighi, for example – boasts some gorgeously wistful string- and wind-playing stippled by Garcia’s exquisitely executed ornamentation.
But wait, there’s more. Four pieces for solo guitar by Regino Sainz de la Maza, including the beautiful ‘Sacrificio’ from La frontera de dios and oft-performed Zapateado, make a fitting pendant to the Rodrigo (Sainz de la Maza premiered the Concierto de Aranjuez in 1940). Likewise, Robert de Visée’s A minor Suite from his 1716 Pieces de théorbe et de luth makes the perfect pendant to the Tansman. And a perfect end to this imaginatively conceived and brilliantly executed programme.
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