Search - Seelye Todd :: Sheer Plucks: Contemporary Solo Guitar Works

Difficult works played well

Classical Guitarist | Raleigh-Durham, NC | 02/01/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Todd Seelye gains the distinct pleasure of being the second person to release a recording of the amazingly virtuosic Sequenza XI, by Luciano Berio. Seelye's performance stands firmly in the shadow of the recording made by Eliot Fisk, for whom the work was written. Although, in my opinion, he does not seem as confident in this work as Fisk (how could he? Fisk worked one on one with Berio in the composition of this piece), he performs a rather difficult piece well.



Sequenza XI, requires a level of virtuosic playing that transcends "fast fingers and an empty brain" as Berio describes it. Seelye has achieved a level of mental virtuosity in this performance that makes him more than a the type of physical virtuoso that Berio abhored.



Out of personal preference, I would recommend Eliot Fisk performing on the Deutsche Grammophon 20/21 series of Berio's complete Sequenzas. However, Seelye's performance adds a new interpretation to a work that is not well-known, or often played. I would say the same thing for the recordings of Carter and Babbitt. Seelye's performance lends a new perspective on the works that were previously recorded by David Starobin, the dedicatee of the two pieces. However, Starobin's recording would be good to have in addition to Seelye's for an different perspective. The other pieces Seelye attacks in this recording are well done and his efforts are not to be taken lightly."

Excellent recording

deadly_frog | Indianapolis, IN | 02/14/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"One of my favorites. I actually prefer Seelye's recording of Sequenza XI to Fisk's. Seelye's seems slightly more controlled, and while that can be a disadvantage in a piece that demands such intensity, I find that it opens up the piece, allows it an uncluttered balance that does not need excessive bangs and thumps to speak. I've made the difference between the two recordings sound larger than it actually is, but regardless of whether preference lies with Fisk or Seelye, this is still a very high quality recording. The Wuorinen piece premiered on this recording is exeptional writing that fits the instrument extremely well. Having heard this, I hope that Wuorinen will write more for the guitar."