Document

  1994
    April 1994
        Orchestral
                Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Rodrigo and Villa-Lobos Guitar Works.

Castelnuovo-Tedesco Concerto for Guitar and Orchestra No. 1 in D, Op. 99.

Rodrigo Concierto de Aranjuez.

Villa-Lobos Concerto for Guitar and Orchestra. Norbert Kraft (gtr); Northern Chamber Orchestra / Nicholas Ward.

Naxos (Super budget price) (CD) 8 550729 (60 minutes: DDD).

Guitar concertos come and go but these three remain at the core of the genre, as they have been for decades; to the best of my knowledge (or memory) this is the first disc on which they are brought together. Norbert Kraft is not yet a household name but if his publicity ever matches his quality he certainly should attain that status. The time has long passed when it was possible to point to any one recording of any of these concertos (the Rodrigo in particular) as The Best; as with players, one can only discern a 'top bracket' within which choice depends finally on personal preference—or allegiance to one's favourite performer; Kraft's recording of these concertos takes its place therein.

Although guitar concertos are occasionally performed in concert without the aid of a microphone, it would be unrealistic to claim (as Rodrigo does for his works) that they succeed. The soloist's fight for aural survival negates (or at best minimizes) any effort to exploit the subtleties of nuance of which the guitar is capable, and the difficulty of reconciling the very different volume levels of the guitar and the other instruments taxes (and often defeats) the listener. In this recording Kraft is placed forwardly enough for every detail to be heard, but not to create an impression of artificiality. The Northern CO plays with the freshness of an orchestra that is still making its way in the world—and one that has not met these works too often before; they are alert to every detail and the beautifully clear recording catches it faithfully. If this super-budget-price record does not sell in gratifying quantities then Denmark will not be the only state in which there is "something rotten".

JD



		Guitar concertos come and go but these three remain at the core of the genre, as they have been for decades; to the best of my knowledge (or memory) this is the first disc on which they are brought together. Norbert Kraft is not yet a household name but if his publicity ever matches his quality he certainly should attain that status. The time has long passed when it was possible to point to any one recording of any of these concertos (the Rodrigo in particular) as The Best; as with players, one can only discern a 'top bracket' within which choice depends finally on personal preference—or allegiance to one's favourite performer; Kraft's recording of these concertos takes its place therein.



		Although guitar concertos are occasionally performed in concert without the aid of a microphone, it would be unrealistic to claim (as Rodrigo does for his works) that they succeed. The soloist's fight for aural survival negates (or at best minimizes) any effort to exploit the subtleties of nuance of which the guitar is capable, and the difficulty of reconciling the very different volume levels of the guitar and the other instruments taxes (and often defeats) the listener. In this recording Kraft is placed forwardly enough for every detail to be heard, but not to create an impression of artificiality. The Northern CO plays with the freshness of an orchestra that is still making its way in the world—and one that has not met these works too often before; they are alert to every detail and the beautifully clear recording catches it faithfully. If this super-budget-price record does not sell in gratifying quantities then Denmark will not be the only state in which there is "something rotten".