Guitarist David Russell, recognized for his "evident mastery" of the Spanish guitar repertoire, releases a new album featuring distinctive works by master Isaac Albéniz. With movements from the critically-acclaimed Doce Piezas Caracteristicas and the picturesque Cantos de España to enchanting, Gypsy-inspired dances like the Zambra Granadina, the album celebrates the best of Albéniz' oeuvre, including works originally composed for other instruments. "The magic in Albeniz' Spanish melodies is unsurpassed. Many of his pieces sound so good on the guitar that it is amazing that they were not written for our instrument," says Russell. "I am sure that he had the sound of the guitar in the back of his mind, while he was writing them."
Isaac Albeniz: Spanish Music on Guitar joins Russell's catalogue of traditional guitar repertory, including records featuring the music of Paraguayan guitarist-composer Agustín Barrios Mangoré, Spanish composer Federico Moreno Torroba, and the three Rodrigo concerti for solo guitar (Concierto de Aranjuez, Fantasía para un Gentilhombre and Concierto para una Fiesta), along with his most recent Art of the Guitar.
Winner of the 2005 Grammy® award for best instrumental soloist, guitarist David Russell is recognized worldwide for his superb musicianship and inspired artistry. Lauded by The New York Times for his "talent of extraordinary dimension," Russell has appeared regularly at prestigious halls in main cities, such as New York, London, Tokyo, Los Angeles, Madrid, Toronto or Rome. Since 1995, he has recorded exclusively for Telarc International, with which he has recorded sixteen CDs, among them the Grammy® - winning Aire Latino.
Named a Fellow of The Royal Academy of Music in London in 1997, Russell has also won the Medal of Honor from the Conservatory of the Balearics, along with numerous international competitions, including the Andrés Segovia Competition , the José Ramírez Competition and Spain's prestigious Francisco Tárrega Competition.
In 2009, Russell was named honorary member of "Amigos de la Guitarra", the oldest guitar society in Spain, and both a street in Es Migjorn, Minorca, and an auditorium at the music conservatory of Vigo have been named after him. The town of Nigrán, where he resides, awarded Russell a silver medal in recognition of his 2005 Grammy® win.
2012 release from the Grammy-winning Classical guitarist. In a return to baroque, the repertoire that David Russell is best known for, The Grandeur Of The Baroque includes works from Bach, Handel, Coupenn, and Weiss. The disc is full of classic material masterfully performed by Russell who was called the true Guitar Hero by NPR during his Tiny Desk Concert.
The guitar is the soul of Spanish music, and it was inevitably brought to the New World by the Spanish conquistadors and colonists beginning in the 16th century. The instrument became an integral part of musical life in Latin America, and is the medium through which some of the region's finest composers have expressed their most characteristic musical thoughts. Sonidos Latinos by David Russell presents the works of four Latin American masters of the guitar.
One of the great pioneers of classical guitar, Augustín Barrios Mangoré was one of the first Latin American guitarists to appear successfully in Europe and one of the first guitarists to record. Honing his chops by transcribing works by Bach, Beethoven, and Chopin, Mangoré is thought to have written roughly 300 works for guitar. Featured on this recording is Mangoré's "Maxixe" which is based on the Brazilian dance that became popular in Rio de Janeiro in the 1870s, the repeating-note "Cancíon de la Hilandera," "Aire de Zamba" which is a concert realization of the Argentine dance, the romanza "Confesion" and "Tu Imagen" the charming waltz.
From Argentina to Mexico, Manuel María Ponce was one of the most distinguished and influential figures in Mexican music. As a gifted child, he began composition before the age of ten and was appointed chief organist in his hometown of Aguascalientes at the age of fifteen. Like so many others, Ponce's chief inspiration was Andrés Segovia and when the two met in 1923, the repertoire for guitar was still very limited. He arranged Tres Cancíones Populares Mexicanas from 1925-26 for Segovia. Jascha Heifetz later did an arrangement (for violin) of the last work in the piece, "Estrellita" and it became so popular that it was included in the 1939 Goldwyn film The Shall Have Music.
Argentine-American guitarist and composer Jorge Morel showcases his affection for David Russell in two works that were written with the guitarist in mind. On "Recuerdos del Caribe" the piece is filled with the flavors and rhythms of the West Indies and it showcases Russell's handiwork. "Mangoré" is dedicated to the guitarist as a tribute to the late Augustín Barrios Mangoré who shaped both of these guitarist's lives. The other Morel works featured are the Latin scherzo "Jugueteando," "Pampero" which shares its title with the stormy conditions that accompany a cold front moving across the plains, the "Pampas," of Argentina and Uruguay and the "Barcarole," a traditional song of the Venetian gondoliers.
Even though his career was focused on tango, Héctor Ayala still had a thorough understanding of other Latin American musical styles, as demonstrated by his "Serie Americana," which closes Russell's sublime disc of Sonidos Latinos, and comprises pieces representative of six South American countries.
David Russell was born in Glasgow, Scotland, but his family moved to Spain while he was still a young boy so he could study music in the birthplace of classical guitar. On Reflections of Spain, Russell plays the music of his childhood home with all the joy you would expect from someone revisiting a beloved place. Russell's formidable technique is powered by a keen intelligence and tempered by an emotional delivery. He plays chestnuts like Tarrega's "Recuerdos de la Alhambra" and Albeinez's "Austurias" with a fond intimacy that rescues them from cliché. Perhaps the finest moments on the CD are Russell's guitar arrangements of four of Granados's compositions. Although Granados wrote pieces like "Danza Melancolia" and "Andaluza" for piano, Russell's thoughtful versions remind us that the folk dances that inspired them were originally accompanied by the guitar. David Russell is one the finest classical guitarists to emerge in recent years, and his playing on Reflections of Spain is a near perfect wedding of technique and temperament. --Michael Simmons
On Music of Giuliani, David Russell, one of the great guitarists of the late 20th century, plays a selection of solo works by one of the great guitarists of the early 19th century. Mauro Giuliani (1781-1829) was deeply involved in many aspects of music throughout his life. He played cello in the premiere of Beethoven's Seventh Symphony, gave lessons to Napoleon's wife, and popularized a method of guitar notation that is still used today. But he is remembered today for his compositions for guitar. Russell plays five of Giuliani's solo pieces with his usual blend of intelligence and musicality. He never lets his formidable technique overpower the music. On Rossiniana No. 1, part of a fantasy based on arias from Rossini's operas, Russell plays with a lyricism that is deeply emotional without being histrionic. Russell has a rare gift: he is able to make a guitar sing. --Michael Simmons
