In the Beginning: Eugène
YSAŸE (1858-1931) Prelude from Sonata No.2 in A Minor for
solo violin (arr. Adam Levin) [2:15] J. S. BACH (1685-1750)
Prelude in E Minor from BWV 1006a [3:31]; William WALTON (1902-1983)
Five Bagatelles [13:46]; Jan FREIDLIN (b.1944) Kafka
Sonata for Guitar and Violin* [15:08]; Mario CASTELNUOVO-TEDESCO
(1895-1968) Platero y Yo, Op.190 -Golondrinas [4:22], Los Gitanos [3:39],
Platero En El Cielo De Moguer [4:33]; Joaquín TURINA (1882-1949)
Fandanguillo [4:25], Sevilliana-Fantasia [5:46].
Adam Levin (guitar); William Knuth (violin)*
rec. no details provided.
ADAM LEVIN RECORDS ALR1001 [58:23]
The classical guitar is a relative newcomer to the concert stages of the world.
Even in its country of origin, formal academic training for the instrument
was only initiated in 1935 with the appointment of Regino Sainz de la Maza
as Professor of Guitar at the Madrid Conservatorium. Prior to this, students
were taught by their fathers, relatives or virtuosi who established their
own discrete schools of tuition.
Andrés Segovia worked tirelessly to have the guitar introduced into institutions
of formal musical training throughout the world, realizing that without that
support, the guitar was destined to remain in relative obscurity as a concert
instrument. Regrettably, not everything that academia conferred on the guitar
was to its ultimate betterment; much of what we hear today while technically
sound, is musically barren and devoid of the style and panache that characterized
its early virtuosi.
Adam Levin is a young guitarist from Chicago, USA. Prior to pursuing formal
academic training in the instrument, at age seven Levin commenced guitar studies
with his father. He subsequently completed a B.A. and B.M. at the Northwestern
University of Evanston, Illinois, and an M.A. at the New England Conservatorium
of Music in Boston. His principal teachers include Elliot Fisk, Oscar Ghiglia
and Gabriel Estarellas. Levin is currently on the staff of the Amadeus
Escuela De Música in Madrid.
The review disc is Levin’s inaugural recording. The artist describes it as:
‘the first in a planned series of recordings celebrating new and modern
virtuosi works for the classical guitar alongside contemporary interpretations
of established repertoire.’ It also appears on his own label: Adam Levin
Records.
The programme ranges from J. S. Bach to the world-premiere recording of Jan
Freidlin’s, Kafka Sonata for Violin and Guitar. Levin is joined
by violinist William Knuth with whom he regularly performs as the Duo Sonidos,
based in Boston and Madrid. Freidlin was born in Russia and educated in composition
and theory at the Odessa State Music Academy under Prof. A. Kogan. He is a
pianist, musicologist and prolific composer with three symphonies, a ballet,
several concertos, a lot of chamber music, and the music for seven movies
and twenty-six theatrical shows to his credit. Freidlin migrated to Israel
in 1990. When asked about the Kafka Sonata, he reflected on his sense
of familiarity with Franz Kafka and the artist Vincent van Gough - seemingly
distant personalities committed to different disciplines, but whose fragile
and broken worlds were connected by a common aspiration to perfection.
Adam Levin is also a champion of commissioning new works for the guitar. Composers
co-operating with him in expansion of the guitar’s repertory include, among
others: Jan Freidlin (Israel, b.1944); Mario Gosalvez-Blanco (Spain, b.1965);
Eduardo Morales-Caso (Cuba-Spain, b. 1969); Carlos Perón Cano (Spain b. 1976)
and David del Puerto (Spain b.1964). Currently, as many as ten new commissions
from such composers will find their way into the repertory of Adam Levin and
ultimately to the guitar’s repertory at large, depending on what they have
to offer.
The programme chosen by Levin is interesting, entertaining and allows him
to demonstrate a prodigious technique but not at the expense of the music.
Whether it is the music of Bach, Walton or Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Levin exhibits
musicianship that defies classifying him as aligned with any one composer
or period. While his Turina sounds very Spanish - and that cannot be said
about a number of other guitarists who record this music - it is uncommon
to hear the Bagatelles by Walton played better than on this occasion.
May we attribute the style of Levin, at least in part, to the fact that, as
with earlier Spanish masters he received initial tutelage from his father?
In true Spanish style, the great Jose Luis Gonzalez Julia (1932-98) received
his initial training from his father, a capable and accomplished player. This
was followed by tutelage from such luminaries as Salvador Garcia, Regino Sainz
de la Maza, and Segovia. His academic studies were completed at the Valencia
Conservatorium under the inimitable Professor of Guitar, Raphael Balaguer.
One may also conjecture that such highly individual styles of playing may
be a product of this type of training?
On the matter of Levin’s style of playing it is difficult to empathize with
the comments of his past teacher Oscar Ghiglia who described Levin as: ‘reminding
him of a young Eliot Fisk.’ In possession of both older and more recent
recordings by this guitarist, I fail to hear any similarities; it is more
a matter of the student excelling the teacher.
While not mentioned in the liner-notes, the instrument played on this occasion
by Adam Levin was made by the American luthier Stephan Connor from Cape Cod.
Those familiar with the classical guitar will note from the accompanying photographs
that this instrument does not have the traditional rosewood back and sides.
While some luthiers employ maple for this role, on this occasion Connor used
cypress, a wood more commonly associated with flamenco guitars. Levin describes
this unusual combination as: ‘providing the beefiness of a cypress top,
but the clarity and punctuality of a cypress flamenco guitar.’ The internal
bracing is in the shape of a Star of David and while a permutation of lattice
bracing, it does not exhibit the ‘nasal’ sound, typical of so many lattice-braced
instruments. It also has a portal sound hole on the top side near the neck-junction
that is claimed to make the sound louder. Certainly the overall sound
is distinctive and, as personal preference plays such a large role, individual
opinions will vary. What can be said, confidentially, is that the combination
of instrument, player capability and recording technique, produces a sonically
delightful result.
Adam Levin has an excellent website, and for those who seek more information
about this fine young guitarist it comes well recommended.
Zane Turner
A refreshingly individual style, and an interesting, well-played programme