Ernesto CORDERO (b.1946)
Concierto Festivo, for guitar and string orchestra (2003) [24:31]
Ínsula: Suite Concertante, for violin and string orchestra (2009)
[16:13]
Concertino Tropical, for violin and string orchestra (1998) [10:49]
Pepe Romero (guitar);Guillermo Figueroa (violin)
I Solisti di Zagreb
rec. Vatroslav Lisinski Concert Hall, Zagreb, Croatia, 14-15 February 2009;
15-16 May 2010 (Concierto Festivo). DDD
NAXOS LATIN AMERICAN CLASSICS 8.572707 [51:33]
New York-born Puerto Rican composer and guitarist Ernesto Cordero may not
be known to many. On the other hand performers Guillermo Figueroa and especially
Pepe Romero and I Solisti di Zagreb are names that ought to grab the attention
of any music lover. No one purchasing this CD primarily to hear them play
will be disappointed by Cordero's warm, melodic music, let alone any of the
performances.
The programme gets off to a flying start with Romero, dedicatee of the Concierto
Festivo and two years older than Cordero, proving that he still has what
it takes as he swans with grace, power and expression through Cordero's shimmering,
alternately intimate and energetic Concerto. Romero himself describes the
work, admittedly somewhat flamboyantly, as "a wonderful bridal feast where
the extraordinary knowledge of the guitar and the divine inspiration of singular
composer Ernesto Cordero wed." Though there are certainly elements of Spanish
folk music, the work, against expectation perhaps, is not reminiscent
of Rodrigo, at least not his Aranjuez Concerto. The influence of his
Concierto para una Fiesta is more apparent, but it is the two blue-sky
Guitar Concertos of Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco with which it has most in common.
Incidentally, this is not the first CD of concertos by Cordero: this
one, for example, appeared well over a decade ago - perhaps where Naxos
got their idea for a title from! That disc featured Cordero's Concerto for
the Puerto Rican national instrument, an ethnic lute known as a cuatro, the
Spanish for 'four', after the number of strings it originally had. On this
recording Romero plays a standard guitar, but like no one else. In combination
with Cordero's felicitous, imaginative writing, interpolation of Caribbean
ingredients, and tastefully restrained string-orchestra scoring, the effect
is more invigorating than a siesta.
Romero naturally gave the premiere in 2003 along with the Puerto Rico Symphony
Orchestra conducted by Guillermo Figueroa, which provides a neat segue into
the other two equally impressive works on this disc, in which Figueroa stylishly
sports his violinist's hat. Ínsula ('Island') and Concertino
Tropical are quite similar to each other in length, mood and scoring,
with the former, as its full title implies, slightly less concerto-like than
the latter. The individual movements of both works deal with Puerto Rican
or Caribbean subjects, and there are consequently dance rhythms aplenty. We
also encounter reflective interludes for textural and emotional contrast,
in these harmonically colourful, soulful pieces that often call to mind Villa-Lobos,
pre-expressionist Ginastera or, in Ínsula, Piazzolla. Ínsula
was dedicated to Figueroa, and he repays the honour with a blistering performance
in both works, impressively aided by the ever-dependable Solisti di Zagreb.
Sound quality is good - perhaps a little over-reverberant in the two violin
works. Detailed notes on the works are supplied by Cordero himself. The CD
is disappointingly short, but that is just about the only cause for complaint.
Byzantion
Collected reviews and contact at reviews.gramma.co.uk
That the CD is disappointingly short is just about the only cause for complaint.
See also reviews by Brian Reinhart and Rob Barnett