Espana

Par NEWMAN MICHAEL. Hailed by The New York Times as Fresh, Hot and Headed for Fame, The Newman and Oltman Guitar Duo explores the farthest reaches of the ensemble literature, performing and recording the premieres of many new works. As the ensemble-in-residence at New York's Mannes College of Music, the duos concert tours have taken them to forty-nine states as well as to Asia, Europe, South America, Canada, and the Caribbean. Newman and Oltman have collaborated with such diverse artists as mezzo soprano Frederica von Stade and folk singer Sally Rogers, violinist Arnold Steinhardt and fiddler Jay Ungar, Celtic artist Seamus Egan, and the Lark and TurtleIsland String Quartets. The duo's ten critical praised recordings for MusicMasters/BMG and Sheffield Lab Audiophile reveal the extraordinary stylistic and cultural breadth of their repertoire. For this Artist series video Newman and Oltman perform eight Albeniz masterpieces: the complete original Suite espanola (Grandad, Sevilla Cuba,Cataluna), Tango, Rumores de la Caleta (Malaguena), Prelude (Asturias/Leyenda) from Cantos de Espana and the hauntily beautiful Asturie. The music for all of the pieces preformed here is available from Mel Bay Publications as well as with additional selections on the Music Masters BMG CD: Cantos de Espana/Songs of Spain. / Classic - Concert/Documentary / Accessoire / Guitare Classique

Par ALBENIZ ISAAC. Isaac Albeniz (1860-1909) began his musical life as a piano prodigy in Barcelona at the age of four, and it is as a prolific composer of solo works for the pianoforte that we must celebrate him most. This Dover edition presents two of Albeniz' best known works in authoritative editions: the piano suite Iberia, generally considered to be his masterpiece; and the album leaves Espana, which contain the 'Tango', his most popular individual work. Iberia is a collection of twelve musical scenes of Spanish life, principally Andalusian, written between 1906 and 1909. Its brilliant and complex character is suffused with the rhythms and harmonies of Spanish popular music, to which Albenizturned for inspiration in the last years of his life. Espana, an earlier work first published in 1890, is made up of six piano pieces that subtly reflect the influences of the piano literature of the 19th century-salon, and, like Iberia, the harmony and style of Impressionism, which Albeniz undeniably helped to establish./ Répertoire / Piano

Tango - No. 2 from the 'Espana' suite by I. Albeniz transcribed for the guitar by R. Balaguer.

Cordoba de cantos de espana by Albeniz transcribed for the guitar by Ernest Bitetti.