Tag: Sanel Redzic

A Curated List of Recent Recordings: Villa-Lobos Complete Works

Published on by Leo Garcia1 Comment

As students begin to get serious about developing their concert repertoire, I like to recommend recordings to study and listen to with the score. So instead of scribbling on their score, I thought I would start to post suggestions on Six String Journal.

This week, I’ll suggest a few recordings of the works of Heitor Villa-Lobos. Villa-Lobos’s Five Preludes, Twelve Etudes, Brazilian Suite, and his Choro Nº1 are some of the guitar’s most beloved solo repertoire. Villa-Lobos uses the guitar so indulgently and exploits resonance brilliantly.

Julian Bream, Manuel Barrueco, and Alvaro Pierri’s recordings of these works are wonderful. But there are other recordings that really stand out to me. The first and probably my favorite is Fabio Zanon’s recording of the complete works. Zanon’s playing is beautiful, his guitar sounds heavenly, and the engineering (I think it was the legendary John Taylor) is excellent.

Another great recording is Jose Antonio Escobar’s recording of the Five Preludes, 12 Etudes, and a Modihna. I love the sound of his guitar (Paco Santiago Marin XXX) and the recording is sonically perfect.

Here is a link to Alvaro Pierri’s recording of the Choro, Five Preludes and 12 Etudes. This recording made me listen to what can be done interpretively with these great works. Pierri has a special take on these.

And last for now, here is Norbert Kraft in a recording of the Twelve Etudes. Solid from the first note to the last.

Here are a few great videos of the Five Preludes.

I know I’ve left many videos and recordings out. There are so many. Any favorites that I missed?

Sanel Redzic plays J.S. Bach’s Lute Suite Nº1, BWV996

Published on by Leo GarciaLeave a comment

Another masterful performance by guitar virtuoso Sanel Redzic of Johann Sebastian Bach’s Lute Suite Nº1 in E Minor, BWV996. From the exquisite touch to the elegantly executed ornaments, Sanel’s interpretation reflects a deep understanding and connection to what Bach penned centuries ago. There is magic in how the music propels itself forward despite the grand space of calm Sanel seems to exist in when he plays.

Tal Hurwitz plays Bach

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In this series of videos Tal Hurwitz plays Johann Sebastian Bach’s Sonata Nº2 in A Minor for violin solo, BWV1003. The videographer, Sanel Redzic, a gifted and award-winning classical guitarist, knows how to capture a both vibrant and intimate scene for such a wonderful interpretation to unfold. Beautiful on so many levels!

Grave

Fugue

Andante

Allegro

Check out Six String Journal’s interview with Tal Hurwitz.

Best of YouTube: Tal Hurwitz playing Barrios, Villa-Lobos, and Aguado.

Published on by Leo GarciaLeave a comment

Here is a moving performance of Israeli guitarist, Tal Hurwitz magnificently interpreting Agustín Barrios Mangoré’s Un Sueño en la Floresta. The elements of this video are spectacular. From Tal, who seems to invoke Barrios’ spirit effortlessly, to the hall’s acoustics, to the rich sounding guitar (Friedrich?), to the production (Sanel Redzic), all the elements of the video come together into a piece of art.

While there is no doubt of Tal’s mastery, I’ve seen very few who so effortlessly and musically perform Heitor Villa-Lobos’ Etude Nº2.

And to contrast from the south American composers, we can step back into the delightful world of Dionisio Aguado’s Rondo, Op. 2, Nº2.

Very inspiring on so many levels!