This is a 'special edition' of young Montenegrin guitarist Miloš
Karadaglić's
big-selling 'Latino' album. It features eight new tracks plus a
re-arrangement
of Piazzolla's Libertango to incorporate an accordion. In
Karadaglić's
effusive words, it was doing the global 'Latino' tour that he "realised
that
I had some more to say. Whether it is the four famous Latin songs arranged
so
masterfully by Sergio Assad, Steve Goss' magical version of the soundtrack
from
The Motorcycle Diaries, legendary 'Aria Cantilena' and the incomparable
voice
of Anna Prohaska, or the brand new recording of 'Libertango' with my
gorgeous
friend Ksenija Sidorova, Latino GOLD aims to add new tone and colour to
the
repertoire which has become such a big part of my musical life."
It is easy to be cynical about an album like this. Much recycled material
from
an already very recent release, the latest pin-up 'classical' superstar,
another
collection of three-minute lollipops in dodgy arrangements - all of this
is
a path well trodden by Deutsche Grammophon and its marketeers.
On the other hand, Karadaglić - simply "Miloš", in industry
parlance
- is without question a very fine guitarist, and although there are a few
old
chestnuts to be found in this recital; although this is a supremely
relaxing
hour's worth of music that will please the crossover hordes who will rush
off
as DG intended to buy this, the recital is a thoroughly genial one, with
even
the opening half a dozen pieces, all drawn from various levels of pop
culture,
dignified by Karadaglić's charismatic tone-colourings and thoughtful
phrasing.
The arrangements too are actually unfailingly elegant, coming as they do
from
two eminent guitarists, Sérgio Assad and Stephen Goss. That
elegance
even extends to a highly concertinaed version of Ravel's Bolero "as you
have
never heard it before." About which: "When you think of Ravel’s
Bolero,
it is not something you would ever think of on the guitar …" No one
will
be more surprised by Karadaglić's 'revelation' than the countless
guitarists
that have been playing the Bolero in a multitude of arrangements for
decades
- there are even commercial recordings!
Though 'Latino Gold' does contain, unaltered, a good deal of what appeared
on
'Latino', there is also an extra 20 minutes of music on the CD, which can
also
be bought with a 35-minute bonus DVD - this presumably for those that want
to
swoon over Karadaglić. On the other hand, his DG-debut disc, rather
unimaginatively
titled 'The Guitar' (4779693, released in 2011), remains a better bet for
those
wanting to hear something more substantial - Albéniz,
Tárrega,
Granados, Domeniconi and more.
Sound quality is excellent, apart from the ensemble strings, which have a
rather
'lossy' edge. The featured orchestra is not one of the big names, to put
it
mildly, but in fairness, its contribution is minimal and what it is asked
to
do, it does fairly well.
The booklet notes provide detail on the music that may exceed a cynic's
expectations,
but there are interwoven Karadaglić soundbites to contend with, such
as
the
de rigueur assurance that art music is by nature strict and
academic:
"When I was a student at the Royal Academy, everyone was totally mad about
Piazzolla,
perhaps because his music felt like an escape from the rigours of
classical
training."
The photography
is over the top: eleven colour pictures, all
showing
much the same thing - a pensive or smiling Karadaglić in a black or
white
shirt or jacket in black or white trousers, with or
sans guitar.
These
may well leave the buyer wondering whether DG's CDs would come a bit
cheaper
if less money were spent in that particular department. On the other hand,
as
Karadaglić never seems to go anywhere without a photographer, DG do
have
to do something with all those images. Ironically, one thing the label did
not
spend money on was a translation of the notes into Spanish or Portuguese
for
Latino listeners.
Byzantion
Collected reviews and contact at artmusicreviews.co.uk
Track listing
Ástor PIAZZOLLA (1921-1992)
*+Libertango (arr. Christoph Israel, Stephen Goss and Ksenija Sidorova)
[3:04]
*Oblivion (arr. Christoph Israel and Stephen Goss) [4:17]
Jorge BEN (b.1942)
Mas que Nada (arr. Sérgio Assad) [3:08]
Consuelo VELAZQUEZ (1916-2005)
Bésame Mucho (arr. Sérgio Assad) [3:29]
Antonio Carlos JOBIM (1927-1994)
The Girl from Ipanema (arr. Sérgio Assad) [3:19]
Armando Manzanero CANCHE (b.1935)
Somos Novios (arr. Sérgio Assad) [4:07]
Gustavo SANTAOLALLA (b.1951)
De Ushuaia a la Quiaca (from: 'The Motorcycle Diaries' soundtrack, arr.
Stephen
Goss) [3:23]
Isaias SAVIO (1900-1978)
Batucada [2:59]
Jorge MOREL (b.1931)
Danza Brasilera (sic) [3:12]
Heitor VILLA-LOBOS (1887-1959)
Prelude no.1 in E minor [4:33]
#Aria (Cantilena) [5:42]
Jorge CARDOSO (b.1949)
Milonga [4:47]
Roland DYENS (b.1955)
Tango en Skaï [2:26]
Carlos GARDEL (1890-1935)
*Por una Cabeza (arr. Christoph Israel and Stephen Goss) [2:35]
Agustín BARRIOS (1885-1944)
Un Sueño en la Floresta [7:21]
Una Limosna por el Amor de Dios [3:21]
Leo BROUWER (b.1939)
Un Día de Noviembre [4:26]
Osvaldo FARRÉS (1903-1985)
*Quizás, Quizás, Quizás (arr. Christoph Israel and
Stephen
Goss) [3:15]
Manuel PONCE (1882-1948)
Scherzino Mexicano [2:47]
Andante [4:10]
Gerardo MATOS (1900-1948)
La Cumparsita (arr. Stephen Goss) [3:48]
Maurice RAVEL (1875-1937)
Bolero (arr. Steven Baker and Stephen Goss) [3:02]
