Various Composers - Aranjuez (Thibaut Garcia)

Information

• (01) Joaquín Rodrigo - Concierto de Aranjuez
• (04) Regino Sainz de la Maza - Guitar Works
• (08) Alexandre Tansman - Musique de cour d'après Robert de Visée
• (16) Robert de Visée - Pèces de théorbe et de luth, Suite en la mineur (transcr. Thibaut Garcia)

Thibaut Garcia, guitar

Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse

Ben Glassberg, conductor

Date: 2020

Label: Erato

https://www.warnerclassics.com/release/aranjuez

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Review

Is 26-year-old Franco-Spanish guitarist Thibaut Garcia’s account of Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez one of the finest ever recorded? Quite possibly. Rarely has such a combination of virtuosity, intelligence, character and flair been brought to bear on this most popular of all concertos, such that it sounds as fresh as the aural equivalent of a restored Watteau, all sparkle and sadness.

The Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse under talented British conductor Ben Glassberg are the ideal companions for Garcia’s journey, not just through this work but through Tansman’s darker, rarely heard suite after the Baroque guitar music of Robert de Visée. Garcia’s ability to meticulously mould the trajectory of a strum as much as a phrase, without the slightest hint of premeditation, stems from locating the emotional epicentre of the Rodrigo in the Adagio’s cadenza and working outwards. The result is mesmerising. By contrast, the Tansman – which recalls not only Rodrigo’s Fantasía para un gentilhombre but similarly backwards-looking works by Stravinsky, Grieg and Respighi, for example – boasts some gorgeously wistful string- and wind-playing stippled by Garcia’s exquisitely executed ornamentation.

But wait, there’s more. Four pieces for solo guitar by Regino Sainz de la Maza, including the beautiful ‘Sacrificio’ from La frontera de dios and oft-performed Zapateado, make a fitting pendant to the Rodrigo (Sainz de la Maza premiered the Concierto de Aranjuez in 1940). Likewise, Robert de Visée’s A minor Suite from his 1716 Pieces de théorbe et de luth makes the perfect pendant to the Tansman. And a perfect end to this imaginatively conceived and brilliantly executed programme.

-- William Yeoman, Gramophone

More reviews:
https://www.classical-music.com/reviews/concerto/aranjuez-thibaut-garcia/

https://theclassicreview.com/album-reviews/review-aranjuez-thibaut-garcia-guitar/

https://www.allmusic.com/album/aranjuez-mw0003403785

https://www.amazon.com/Aranjuez-Thibaut-Garcia/dp/B08CM5F8Y9

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Thibaut Garcia (born 26 May 1994, Toulouse, France) is a French classical guitarist. He obtained s guitar diploma in the class of Paul Ferret, then studied with Olivier Chassain at the Conservatoire de Paris, and in private lessons with Judicael Perroy. At the age of 16, he was awarded First Prize at the Ana Amalia competition in Weimar, Germany, and since then, has won first prizes in several other international competitions. Garcia made his concerto debut with the Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse in 2016, and signed an exclusively recording contract with Warner Classics/Erato the same year.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thibaut_Garcia

https://www.thibautgarcia-guitarist.com/

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