Joaquín Rodrigo - Piano Music Vol. 1 (Artur Pizarro)

Information

Composer: Joaquín Rodrigo

• (01) A l'ombre de Torre Bermeja
• (02) Cuatro piezas para piano
• (06) Pastoral
• (07) Preludio de añoranza
• (08) Deux Berceuses
• (10) Bagatela
• (11) Cuatro estampas andaluzas
• (15) Sonata de adiós
• (16) Serenata española
• (17) Air de ballet sur le nom d'une jeune fille
• (18) Zarabanda lejana
• (19) Cinco piezas del siglo XVI
• (23) Fantasía que contrahace la harpe de Ludovico

Artur Pizarro, piano

Date: 2005

Label: Naxos

https://www.naxos.com/catalogue/item.asp?item_code=8.557272

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Review

When I interviewed Rodrigo for The Gramophone a few years before his death in 1999, he told me that one of his concerns was the almost total neglect of his piano music. He acknowledged its style was influenced by the French Impressionist school but felt the music was still very much his own. Although the repertoire still appears infrequently in the recital room, excellent two-CD surveys have appeared: Gregory Allen on Bridge (7/92) and Sara Marianovich on Sony (A/02).

Now comes a first-class collection from the perceptive and sympathetic Artur Pizarro. He opens brilliantly with Rodrigo’s evocation of Albéniz, A l’ombre de Torre Bermeja, here, as elsewhere, bringing out its affinities with the guitar. Cuatro Piezas include a glittering ‘Fandango’ and a touchingly pensive ‘Prayer of the Princess of Castille’, while among the Andalusian Pictures (Cuatro Estampas andaluzas), ‘Twilight over the Guadalquivir River’ makes a reflective contrast with the quirky bravura of the devilish ‘Seguidillas’. Among the simpler items, the nostalgic Preludio, and delicate Pastorale, the rippling Serenata española and charming Air de Ballet are all highly beguiling.

In sum, Pizarro captures the varying moods of this music very well. If you have not discovered Rodrigo at the piano I urge you to try this generous collection, vividly recorded and with excellent booklet-notes by Graham Wade: you won’t be disappointed.

-- Ivan March, Gramophone

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Joaquín Rodrigo (November 22, 1901 – July 6, 1999) was a Spanish composer and a virtuoso pianist. Rodrigo studied music with Francisco Antich and Paul Dukas, and musicology with Maurice Emmanuel and André Pirro. Rodrigo's music is among the most popular music of the 20th century. In particular, his Concierto de Aranjuez, composed in 1939, is considered one of the pinnacles of Spanish music and of the guitar concerto repertoire. None of Rodrigo's works, however, achieved the popular and critical success of the Concierto de Aranjuez and the Fantasia para un gentilhombre.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joaquín_Rodrigo

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Artur Pizarro (born 1968 in Lisbon) is a Portuguese pianist of international acclaim. Pizarro began his early piano studies in Lisbon with Campos Coelho. At age five, he began studying with Sequeira Costa, and continued working with him until 1990. Pizarro also worked with other teachers, including Aldo Ciccolini. He performs internationally in solo recitals, in duos, with chamber music groups, and as a soloist with the world's leading orchestras. Pizarro has an extensive discography available on Linn Records, as well as on Naxos, Hyperion, Collins Classics, and other labels. He is a Yamaha-International Artist.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artur_Pizarro

http://www.arturpizarro.pt/

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