Search - Isaac Albeniz, Guillermo González :: Albéniz: Iberia; Suites españolas

Decision 2000 is Resolved: The Piano Won the Guitar Wars

Karl Henning | Boston, MA | 12/08/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is great piano music. Period. And it is unabashedly likeable, even by, er, laymen's standards. It is said that "Carmen" is the perfect opera to introduce to someone who is convinced he hates opera. If you know someone who thinks he hates classical pianism, this could be his "Carmen."I would love this music just for the pianism, which is exactly where it should be, bordering on Liszt, Debussy and Spain; would love it just for the rightness of the music's Spanish character; would love it just for González' brilliant playing. I would love this music just for any one of these three, but they are all here, perfectly, brilliantly, joyously blended. The piano dances, it sings, it cries, compels, entrances. The piano convinces you it is as light and nimble as a guitar, but doesn't weary the ear after two hours and twenty minutes, where the ear might suffer after such an uninterrupted stretch of the six-stringed instrument.This performance would have been well worth the ticket of a fully-priced two-disc set. But it prices much, much lower. In many respects, a miraculous outpouring of music.There are a lot of guitar discs with the "Asturias (Leyenda)" in transcription. I have no quarrel with the guitar transcription; it is one (albeit minor) proof of how right the music is for Spain, for the quintessential flamenco instrument. And we were mesmerized watching (and listening to) Eliot Fisk play the "Asturias" at Borders one fine afternoon. But if you like the guitar transcription of the "Asturias" (and to hear it is to love it) try a compare/contrast with this performance, as the piece was originally composed.You won't have to choose between them. There can be ample room in your heart for both."