MusicWeb International One of the most grown-up review sites around 2024
60,000 reviews
... and still writing ...

Search MusicWeb Here Acte Prealable Polish CDs
 

Presto Music CD retailer
 
Founder: Len Mullenger                                    Editor in Chief:John Quinn             


Some items
to consider

new MWI
Current reviews

old MWI
pre-2023 reviews

paid for
advertisements

Acte Prealable Polish recordings

Forgotten Recordings
Forgotten Recordings
All Forgotten Records Reviews

TROUBADISC
Troubadisc Weinberg- TROCD01450

All Troubadisc reviews


FOGHORN Classics

Alexandra-Quartet
Brahms String Quartets

All Foghorn Reviews


All HDTT reviews


Songs to Harp from
the Old and New World


all Nimbus reviews



all tudor reviews


Follow us on Twitter


Editorial Board
MusicWeb International
Founding Editor
   
Rob Barnett
Editor in Chief
John Quinn
Contributing Editor
Ralph Moore
Webmaster
   David Barker
Postmaster
Jonathan Woolf
MusicWeb Founder
   Len Mullenger


 
REVIEW


Advertising on
Musicweb


Donate and keep us afloat

 

New Releases

Naxos Classical
All Naxos reviews

Hyperion recordings
All Hyperion reviews

Foghorn recordings
All Foghorn reviews

Troubadisc recordings
All Troubadisc reviews



all Bridge reviews


all cpo reviews

Divine Art recordings
Click to see New Releases
Get 10% off using code musicweb10
All Divine Art reviews


All Eloquence reviews

Lyrita recordings
All Lyrita Reviews

 

Wyastone New Releases
Obtain 10% discount

Subscribe to our free weekly review listing

 

 

alternatively
CD: AmazonUK AmazonUS
Download: Classicsonline


Francesco TÁRREGA (1852 – 1909)
Guitar Music
Preludios [16:40]
Las Dos (Dos valses) [4:27]
Adelita (Mazurka) [1:41]
Marieta (Mazurka) [2:32]
Mazurka (in G) [2:44]
Maria (Gavota) [1:38]
Recuerdos de la Alhambra [5:40]
Rosita (Polka) [1:46]
Pepita (Polka) [1:43]
Capricho arabe (Serenata) [5:19]
Paquito (Vals) [2:29]
Gran vals [3:24]
Alborada (Capricho) [2:21]
Isabel (Vals) (Johann Strauss II) [1:49]
Vals (in D) [2:32]
Pavana [2:32]
Estudio brillante de Alard [2:28]
Mats Bergström (guitar)
rec. Nilento Studio, Källerud, Sweden, 20-21 October 2008
NAXOS 8.572365 [61:45]

Experience Classicsonline


Francisco Tárrega’s compositions are well known to lovers of guitar music and even those with a fleeting interest in the instrument must have heard Recuerdos de la Alhambra, or Tremolo Etude, as it is also called. It is a wonderful melody and there are lots of the same kind in his oeuvre. Though he was breaker of new ground when it came to guitar technique his compositions were far from daring or innovative, rather deeply rooted in the mid-19th century Romantic currents. But they are wonderful to listen to – provided the listener has a sweet tooth. They are equally useful as background wall-paper in company with a medium-rare steak and a bottle of Estremadura, as for concentrated listening with headphones.

I have some CDs with quite a lot of Tarrega pieces but none entirely devoted to his music. There are, however, at least two ‘complete’ Tarrega sets, one with Giulio Tampalini, reviewed a couple of years ago by my colleague Zane Turner (see review), and one with David Russell, which Zane also discusses in the review. There is also a disc with twenty-nine pieces played by Fernando Espi (see review). I have heard none of these but have long been an admirer of David Russell. Why do I write ‘complete’ with quotation marks? Well, Tampalini’s collection contains 58 works, Russell’s 62 and, as ZT writes ‘What represents the entire corpus of his original compositions appears to be the subject of academic debate’. ZT was not exactly overwhelmed by the Tampalini volume but concluded ‘In isolation this new offering of Tárrega’s music capably addresses the key components that have made him a most celebrated composer of guitar music’ while ‘David Russell still represents the gold standard for overall excellence.’ The verdict for Espi’s compilation was that his ‘capable approach is very "period', among other things observing the glissandos. He is playing an instrument that is very close in design to the guitars by Antonio Torres, which Tarrega played. But Mats Bergström’s guitar, made by Swedish luthier Lars Jönsson, is a replica, of the Torres instrument built in 1888 which became Tarrega’s favourite.

Mats Bergström is a Swedish guitarist who studied at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm and the Juilliard School in New York. He has been a professional player for more than twenty-five years, making his recital debut at Wigmore Hall in 1983. He is one of the most versatile of guitarists as soloist as well as ensemble musician in a wide variety of genres. As accompanist he has worked with numerous Swedish instrumentalists and singers, including baritone Olle Persson (they have recorded Schubert’s Die schöne Müllerin, which he also arranged), Anne Sofie von Otter, Tommy Körberg (of Chess fame) and Barbara Hendricks. He has a large discography but this seems to be his first solo record. Since Francisco Tárrega died one hundred years ago it was natural for Mats to record this tribute to him.

Several of Tarrega’s pupils, including Llobet and Pujol, have described him as ‘a charismatic romantic and a dreamer, unpretentious, kind and thoughtful’. Llobet even called him ‘angelic’. If these descriptions are anything to go by concerning his own playing, I believe Mats Bergström is very close to the mark. Take the ubiquitous Recuerdos de la Alhambra as an example. From my collection I picked two earlier Naxos recordings, one with David Martinez, the other with Norbert Kraft. Just have a look at the timings:

Martinez 3:44
Kraft 4:18
Bergström 5:40

Before I had read Mats Bergström’s liner-notes with the descriptions of Tarrega, I had written on my notepad: ‘A dreamy reading, which seems absolutely right´. ‘Recuerdos’ means remembrances and suchlike tend to be ‘dreamy’. It is slow, in real time, but one doesn’t get the impression it is. Martinez’s version – almost two minutes shorter, which is a sensational difference for so short a piece – is nervous and almost aggressive with heavy accents. His is a reading of the roaring 1990s, Mats Bergström’s is of the more genial 1890s. Norbert Kraft, always a reliable interpreter, is somewhere between, though considerably closer to Martinez than to Bergström. He uses more rubato and is a bit heavier. Mats Bergström’s is now my favourite version. Well, isn’t he eccentric with that tempo? Andrés Segovia, who was the one who established this piece and made it the favourite it has been for so long, takes 5:13 – an indication that Bergström is rather close to the original. And to round off this exposé: Fernando Espi takes 5:48! Case closed – but I must try to get hold of Espi’s disc.

Recuerdos de la Alhambra, which is the longest piece here, can stand as a symbol for the rest of the programme. ‘Dreamy’ may not be a keyword for everything on the disc, but the beauty of the playing, the care over nuances and the technical assurance, which is no end in itself, are all the time in evidence and makes this one of the most satisfying guitar recitals I have heard for a long time. Readers who have no further acquaintance with Tarrega’s music, apart from Recuerdos, will find a treasure trove here: Endecha (prelude No. 15 in D minor), Lagrima (Prelude No. 11 in E), Adelita, the lovely Mazurka in G, Maria and Capricho arabe are only a few of the pieces here that I have loved for so long and which will hopefully be friends for life once one has heard them. I don’t expect to hear them played with more elegance, warmth and charm – and the recording leaves nothing to be desired. I hope Naxos will ask him for a volume two before long. As a bonus we are also treated to ‘one of the most frequently heard tunes of our time’: measures 13-16 of Gran vals is the ring tone for Nokia mobile phones!

Göran Forsling

Track listing:
1-16. Preludios [16:40]
   No. 1 in D minor [1:29]
   No. 2 in A minor [1:50]
   No. 3 in G [0:46]
   No. 4 in E [0:47]
   No. 5 in E [1:51]
   No. 6 in B minor [1:01]
   No. 7 in A [0:50]
   No. 8 in F sharp minor [0:44]
   No. 9 in B minor on a theme of Mendelssohn [1:04]
   No. 10 in B minor [0:32]
   No. 11 in E ‘Lágrima’ [2:01]
   No. 12 in A minor [0:25]
   No. 13 in G [1:04]
   No. 14 in D [0:29]
   No. 15 in D minor ‘Endecha’ [1:13]
   No. 16 in D minor ‘Oremus’ (Robert Schumann) [0:34]
17. Las Dos (Dos valses) [4:27]
18. Adelita (Mazurka) [1:41]
19. Marieta (Mazurka) [2:32]
20. Mazurka (in G) [2:44]
21. Maria (Gavota) [1:38]
22. Recuerdos de la Alhambra [5:40]
23. Rosita (Polka) [1:46]
24. Pepita (Polka) [1:43]
25. Capricho arabe (Serenata) [5:19]
26. Paquito (Vals) [2:29]
27. Gran vals [3:24]
28. Alborada (Capricho) [2:21]
29. Isabel (Vals) (Johann Strauss II) [1:49]
30. Vals (in D) [2:32]
31. Pavana [2:32]
32. Estudio brillante de Alard [2:28]

 
 


EXPLORE MUSICWEB INTERNATIONAL

Making a Donation to MusicWeb

Writing CD reviews for MWI

About MWI
Who we are, where we have come from and how we do it.

Site Map

How to find a review

How to find articles on MusicWeb
Listed in date order

Review Indexes
   By Label
      Select a label and all reviews are listed in Catalogue order
   By Masterwork
            Links from composer names (eg Sibelius) are to resource pages with links to the review indexes for the individual works as well as other resources.

Themed Review pages

Jazz reviews

 

Discographies
   Composer
      Composer surveys
   National
      Unique to MusicWeb -
a comprehensive listing of all LP and CD recordings of given works
.
Prepared by Michael Herman

The Collector’s Guide to Gramophone Company Record Labels 1898 - 1925
Howard Friedman

Book Reviews

Complete Books
We have a number of out of print complete books on-line

Interviews
With Composers, Conductors, Singers, Instumentalists and others
Includes those on the Seen and Heard site

Nostalgia

Nostalgia CD reviews

Records Of The Year
Each reviewer is given the opportunity to select the best of the releases

Monthly Best Buys
Recordings of the Month and Bargains of the Month

Comment
Arthur Butterworth Writes

An occasional column

Phil Scowcroft's Garlands
British Light Music articles

Classical blogs
A listing of Classical Music Blogs external to MusicWeb International

Reviewers Logs
What they have been listening to for pleasure

Announcements

 

Community
Bulletin Board

Give your opinions or seek answers

Reviewers
Past and present

Helpers invited!

Resources
How Did I Miss That?

Currently suspended but there are a lot there with sound clips


Composer Resources

British Composers

British Light Music Composers

Other composers

Film Music (Archive)
Film Music on the Web (Closed in December 2006)

Programme Notes
For concert organizers

External sites
British Music Society
The BBC Proms
Orchestra Sites
Recording Companies & Retailers
Online Music
Agents & Marketing
Publishers
Other links
Newsgroups
Web News sites etc

PotPourri
A pot-pourri of articles

MW Listening Room
MW Office

Advice to Windows Vista users  
Questionnaire    
Site History  
What they say about us
What we say about us!
Where to get help on the Internet
CD orders By Special Request
Graphics archive
Currency Converter
Dictionary
Magazines
Newsfeed  
Web Ring
Translation Service

Rules for potential reviewers :-)
Do Not Go Here!
April Fools






Untitled Document


Reviews from previous months
Join the mailing list and receive a hyperlinked weekly update on the discs reviewed. details
We welcome feedback on our reviews. Please use the Bulletin Board
Please paste in the first line of your comments the URL of the review to which you refer.