The Seville Concert [Expanded Edition]

One of my favorite CDs. It's got good variety and great playing by Williams. Starting with "Sevilla," the main theme is charming enough, but it's the slow and quieter middle section that's exquisite--turn up the volume on that part to get the full ethereal effect. The Bach and Scarlatti are played with typical clarity and coloring by Williams. The Vivaldi concerto with strings is lively, although I've heard a more moving version of the largo section before. The "Sakura" variations adds some cultural music variety while including several guitar techniques (chords, harmonics, tremolo, etc.). The diabolical "Usher Waltz" has Williams appropriately racking nerves with string twanging and raking of chords. Of course, no collection could be without "Leyenda;" but I prefer an earlier (1960s?) recording by Williams, which has more power and intensity. "Sueno en la Floresta" by Barrios is a real beauty, and Williams gets to demonstrate his outstanding tremolo among other superhuman guitar techniques. Finally, there's the adagio of Rodrigo's "Concerto de Aranjuez." Although I've only heard a few recordings of "Aranjuez" among the dozens out there, I am extremely content with listening to just this one. Williams plays with the proper intensity in the right places. I also like the strong performance from the accompanying orchestra. The video of this concert is a treat also. I can "see" why some critics say Williams' plays without much emotion: his whole body seems always rigid while playing. But that shouldn't matter because all the emotion is channeled into those powerful fingers to produce rich, pianoforte-like sounds. Anyway, I strongly recommend this CD for lovers of classical music and guitar. Comment |