Octo_Russ

Various Composers - Road To The Sun 'Latin Romances For Guitar' [Isbin] 

I bought this disc in 1995, from a second hand shop in 1995, at the time i was deeply into solo Classical Guitar music, Classical music certainly fits perfectly within the guitar medium, however the real Classical greats [Beethoven, Bach, Schubert, Chopin etc] really didn't know the Guitar [ok maybe Bach with the Lute], it almost comes across as a modern instrument, only used by later Composers, harps are part of the orchestra, but never guitars, and of course it has the Folk, Blues, Rock idiom attached to it, no wonder it seems unwelcome, Rodrigo changed that with his Guitar Concerto [Aranjuez], but solo it's still something which many people avoid, who love say solo Piano Music, i can't understand peoples reticence of this genre, Composers like Tarrega, Ponce, Barrios, Sor, Pujol, Villa-Lobos etc compose marvellous music for this instrument, it cannot sustain the sheer time lengths that a piano can, that's why it's perfectly suited to the miniature, and yet when searching possible discs to buy, there's a dearth of recordings to satisfy my thirst, this disc goes some way towards getting me excited again, i haven't played this disc for ages, but it was good to delve into it again, and there were surprises too, makes me want to explore things further.

Sharon Isbin born in America, she's now 56, and she recorded this disc in 1988, the front cover picture [by Stuart O'Shields] is a nice portrait, i like the bodice she is wearing, however the rose is quite obtrusive, but the gentle grey-green background is very nice, i recommend her Bach Lute Suites [15th June 2011].

Here's Alexia Knopp playing Barrios's 'La Catedral' on YouTube, the second part Allegro Solemne starts at 1:48.