Much like actors who have portrayed especially famous roles have difficulty disassociating themselves from that character, composer Joaquín Rodrigo had difficulty shifting attention away from his intensely popular and successful Concierto de Aranjuez. Composed in 1939, the Concierto has in some ways even eclipsed most of the subsequent works that Rodrigo wrote for guitar(s) and orchestra. This album presents listeners with the Concierto de Aranjuez, Fantasia para un gentilhombre, and the Concierto madrigal, performed in chronological order.
Slava Grigoryan's performance of the Concierto de Aranjuez is quite breathtaking; he and the orchestra beautifully capture the stillness and quietness Rodrigo calls for in the piece. The subsequent two pieces, which showcase
Slava's brother
Leonard, are technically sound and well-performed, but fail to capture the same level of introspection and musical refinement of the first. Putting these two works first may have helped this perception by putting the more recognizable composition last on the program. The recording quality itself is sometimes problematic. Even at its most delicate dynamic levels, the orchestra's sound often gobbles up the lower register of the guitar. The recording in general is at a rather low volume level, requiring listeners to constantly adjust playback volume to keep everything at a comfortable listening level.