David Russell - Music of Giuliani | Classical Guitar Album (1999) | Perfect for Concerts, Study & Relaxation

Giuliani, like Paganini, drowned his best works in a plethora of merely competent pieces. Their muse was limited, but their best works stand comparison with the finest productions of the period. Giulianis sonata is a rare and exquisitely blending of the chord-based thematic style of Beethoven, and the Italianate guitar-orientated melodicism of Rossini. The only reason that it is not a famous sonata is that it is a guitar sonata - which is, suo generis, deemed to be second-class material.Being written by Rossini, the material in the Rossiniane does not really suffer any second-class status. The guitar canon is littered with diverse potpourris and sets of often predictable variations on opera arias, and rarely offers works of this quality. The reason for their distinction, is that it was Rossinini himself who approached Giuliani with the material which he had chosen personally for realisation on the guitar. The result is a serial of six mini-operas of about fifteen minutes length. The variations on Desdomonas 'Willow' aria in Rossiniana number 1 is clearly typical Giuliani: the theme is played out in variations featuring extemporisations of two-, three-, and finally four-note groups. This is the same pattern which is found in the last movement of his little Sonatina in C major , the Variations on a theme of Handel, and the vocal line of the concert aria version of Rossini's 'Di tanti palpiti' from the opera Tancredi. Otherwise, the themes in these extended solos are mostly undiluted renderings from the pen of the great opera master. Rossini was lauded as the greatest and most influential composer of his day, and was certainly much more than a scribbler of light comedies (as posterity stamped him for over a century after his death).David Russel is probably the best Scottish guitarist to date - and he has some stiff competition for the title, not least the Brahms guitar player Paul Galbraith. For several decades, Russel has been at the top of his game and is celebrated for his excellent interpretations of music from Handel and Scarlatti to the Venezuelan Antonio Lauro. Like many guitarists, Russel plays this repertoire with poise and insightful charm, but also with an infusion of his personal and characteristic touch which adds life and forward motion. We may miss a little Romantic operatic passion, but chamber music in the early eighteen hundreds was generally late in developing when compared to songs and symphonies. For camparison, check out Olav Bar's readings of lieder of the period by Weber, Spohr, Giuliani and Schubert (mostly original guitar songs - despite the 'arranged' stamp on the Schubert!) which is released on the Musicaphon label.This Giuliani album can be most warmly recommended, particularly for the opportunity to hear a true master interpret the boundless expressive range of Rossinis melodicism. A scoop at any price!