Search - Robert Martin, William Anderson, Mark Delpriora :: Diary of a Seducer / Sta for Guitar & Pno

Complexity at its Best

marsyas | Chicago | 10/12/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This CD consists of the title track, Diary of a Seducer, composer Robert Martin's 40 minute collection of guitar solos, duos and trios; followed by Charles Wuorinen's Sonata for Guitar and piano, Milton Babbitt's Sheer Pluck, and Elliott Carter's Changes. William Anderson is the guitarist throughout, joined by pianist Joan Forsyth and guitarists Oren Fader and Mark Delpriora. These are the first recordings of the Diary and of the Sonata for Guitar and Piano, which was written for Anderson and Forsyth. Of all of Anderson's various recordings now on the market, this recording contains the most heavy-duty, old guarde complexity, which Anderson performs with irresistable power, subtlety, and charm. The new name among the composers on this collection is Robert Martin. One immediately wonders if Martin's work holds up next to the three giants whose works follow his. Martin's Diary of a Seducer is a collection of 36 miniatures, and each makes its own unique point, teaching the listener the language as the music progresses. This is a language which explores the range between melody and pointillism through a seemingly endless profusion of means. For me the climax of the work is the first trio, number 31, where the guitars are playing chromatic notes pointilistically against one another so fast that the texture bubbles into a froth, yet Martin achieves a sense of progression and evolution in this texture which culminates in transfomations to completely new textures. The cumulative effect of the set is very strong and the work stands proudly amongst the in perfectly with the other three. Martin is obviously influenced by Carter in the manner in which he establishes musical activities taking place on different planes--some activity recedes into the background, while other activity is thrust into the foreground. Wuorinen's Sonata for Guitar and Piano is powerful and driving in the outer sections, tender and Romantic in the slower middle section. It is a tour de force in its employment of two instruments which are somewhat similar, but have utterly incompatible dynamic ranges. The guitar is too soft for the piano. Wuorinen makes the combination work by designing beautiful interweaving among the two instruments, and through a masterful use of register.The Babbitt and Carter works are well known, but Anderson brings to them qualities which have never been brought to these pieces before. The counterpoint has remarkably clarity in the Babbitt, and the Carter's mercurial contrasts and transformations have never been given so much character."

Check out track #31

marsyas | 10/29/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Track 31 justifies the cost of this disc-- This track is the first trio in Robert Martin's epic 40-minute collection of guitar solos, duos and trios. This music teaches us how to hear in new ways as the collection proceeds. Throughout we hear melodies melting into pointillism. Number 31 is the pointillistic climax, and yet there is harmonic motion--it is not static like Ligeti or Penderecki. The music moves and culminates in a new order. In this listing, Robert Martin's piece is left off--Where it saysOn This CDThe first piece should be1. Diary of a Seducer by composer Robert Martin/ book 1 for guitar solo (William Anderson)/ book 2 for two guitars (Anderson and Fader)/ book 3 for three guitars (Anderson, Fader Delpriora)/2. Sonata for Guitar and Piano by composer Charles Wuorinen/ with William Anderson, guitar and Joan Forsyth, piano."

Diary of a Seducer

chin-chih yang | new york, ny United States | 10/14/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"It's strange -- When I received the CD, I discovered that Diary of a Seducer was not written by Babbitt (or Anderson, the guitarist). Nevertheless I thought it was brilliant."