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My first encounter with the name of Dale Kavanagh was at the International Guitar Festival in Esztergom, Hungary. Even then her choice of repertoire was adventurous. None of the established favourites but new and imaginative pieces like "Jalanga" and "Walking on Water" by Earl Klugh and Larry Cooperman, both new imaginative composers for the guitar. Since then I have been aware of her growing reputation within the guitar scene. Going by the programme on this CD it appears that she has continued the policy of playing fresh and exciting music in a fresh and exciting way. The performances here are strong and authoritative and all of them are first recordings.

The composing talents of Carlo Domeniconi have fast gained him a well deserved reputation, mainly from his "Koyunbaba", which is becoming a concert favourite (by those guitarists capable of playing it). On this disc Dale Kavanagh presents premiere recordings of two new pieces by Domeniconi, both of which sound fiendishly difficult. "Toccata in Blue" with its opening of high drama, eases into a more lyrical vein but towards the end there is a flurry of arpeggios and pedal point. Reminiscent of his "Variations after an Anatolian folk song", "Trilogy" demands the unusual guitar tuning of c-g-d-a-b-d. The piece bears all the hallmarks of the composer’s very individual style.

Jaime Mirenbaum Zenamon’s "Demian" is a personal view of characters in a novel by Hermann Hesse. More approachable is "Reflexes No. 7", written for the great guitarist David Russell. It has three movements. A somewhat relaxed "Lento" leads into a Leo Brouwer-like "Vivissimo" and then a "Molto lento" which has just a hint of Zenamon’s South American background. He was born in Bolivia and now lives in Brazil.

The remaining pieces on this disc were composed by Dale Kavanagh herself, and stand up exceeding well given the eminent composerly company she keeps on this disc. With development in this area she could well have quite a reputation not only as an accomplished and insightful guitarist, but also as a fine composer.

Andy Daly

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C. DOMENICONI

Toccata in Blue

Trilogy - Calata
Trilogy - Adagio, lirico
Trilogy - Ragtime

J. M. ZENAMON

Reflexos no. 7 Lento
Reflexos no. 7 Vivissimo
Reflexos no. 7 Molto lento

D. KAVANAGH

Three Pieces-Melissa
Three Pieces - Contemplation
Three Pieces - Fueco

J. M. ZENAMON

Demian - Dos Mundos
Demian - El senal de Caim
Demian - Krommer
Demian - Abraxas
Demian - Eva
Demian - Pistorius
Demian - El principio del fin

D. KAVANAGH

Fundy

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