Cobo is a revelation
Mr. R. Van Schelven | Leidschendam, The Netherlands | 03/01/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I think Ricardo Cobo is THE best Brouwer performer in the world. Technically great, but what feeling in his play. It is a joy to listen to him. As for the Brouwer compositions. I love them. Especially the Interlude from Concerto Elegiaco which has a a lot of elements of Etude Simple No. XVII. This is a great CD. A must for a all Brouwer, and now Cobo, fans!"
Recording Quality, Disappointing - Performance, Very Good
J. Poss | Pahrump, Nevada | 05/27/2004
(2 out of 5 stars)
"I'm glad these rarely heard Brouwer guitar concertos have been recorded. Currently, Concert Elegiaco has only 2 other recordings available; one by Sergio Puccini on the Klavier Label (KCD-11093 ASIN: B00000G3W5) and one by the dedicatee, Julian Bream on RCA. The Concerto de Toronto only has one other recording available by the dedicatee, John Williams on Sony #63173 (ASIN: B0000062E6).Let's start with the Concerto Elegiaco. I have not heard the Julian Bream recording but I have heard the Sergio Puccini's recording on the Klavier label. Both performances are very good. Cobo is a little bit more polished than Puccini, but both are very good. My major compliant is with the quality of the ESSAY recording, which lacks detail and intimacy. These guitar concertos were composed for small orchestra and require a more intimate recording with there colorful instrumentation including marimba. The Klavier recording is warm, intimate and detailed with all instruments clearly audible which makes it very easy on the ears and satisfying . Even though the performance on the ESSAY label was a little better it was not satisfying because of the below average recording. Too bad, Ricardo Cobo and Brouwer deserve better.The Concerto de Toronto is a more interesting concerto in my opinion but is again plagued by below average recording quality. The Concerto de Toronto preformed by John Williams on Sony is a better performance and a much better recording.In the end I recommend that you get the Williams and Puccini recordings over this one. I have to give this recording a 2 star rating for recorded quality and 4 stars for performance which comes out to 3 stars overall."