★★★★★
Sharon Isbin claims the same status as Julian Bream did in the 60's or Andrés Segovia did in the 50's - the most accomplished and skilled guitarists recording today. On disk 1 of this collection, she plays Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez, a watershed that divides the flashy virtuoso from the committed artist. She soars beyond the virtuoso category, seemingly effortlessly...
- www.classical.net
2009-06-06
★★★★★
The composers of the most popular guitar concerti didn't play the guitar. In fact, most composers don't. On the other hand, the public, given half a chance to love any modern music at all, loves guitar concerti, so composers continue to write them. Britten, who turned out several important guitar works, was given a chart and a pep talk by his performer, Julian Bream. This has both advantages and disadvantages. On the one hand, the composer can set his invention free...
- www.classical.net
2009-06-06
★★★★★
Summary for the Busy Executive: Castanets and p'i-p'a. Christopher Rouse and Tan Dun have hot careers right now, and at least one of them deserves his. I must say that no work I've heard by Tan Dun has impressed me enough to want to hear it twice, and this concerto proves no exception. The liner notes blather about both composers' "philosophies" (Right. Like Leibnizian monism, I suppose. Does anybody, other than the composers' mothers and objets d' affection really care?)...
- www.classical.net
2009-06-06
★★★★★
Kudos to Sharon Isbin for recording Nightshade Rounds, a series of challenging modern works for classical guitar. This collection of six pieces, with the exception of George Gershwin's "Preludes for Piano," was written in close collaboration with classical guitarists, with two of the compositions written explicitly for Isbin...
- music.aol.com
2008-08-28
★★★★★
Journey to the Amazon is a fascinating collaboration between classical guitarist Sharon Isbin, saxophonist Paul Winter and percussionist/composer Thiago de Mello. The three musicians explore South American, particularly Brazilian, rhythms and songs, devising a mesmerizing fusion of worldbeat, jazz and classical. While this certainly isn't music for purists, it's adventurous and evocative, and it often fulfills its grand ambitions.
- music.aol.com
2008-08-28
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