{"id":6169,"date":"2017-02-21T11:04:53","date_gmt":"2017-02-21T19:04:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/classicalguitarmagazine.com\/?p=6169"},"modified":"2017-10-30T11:36:05","modified_gmt":"2017-10-30T18:36:05","slug":"recent-releases-tuesday-cds-by-james-akers-gary-branch-karol-samuelcik-josef-mazan-and-john-lehman-haupt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/classicalguitarmagazine.com\/recent-releases-tuesday-cds-by-james-akers-gary-branch-karol-samuelcik-josef-mazan-and-john-lehman-haupt\/","title":{"rendered":"Recent Releases Tuesday: CDs by James Akers & Gary Branch, Karol Samuel\u010d\u00edk, Josef Mazan, and John Lehman-Haupt"},"content":{"rendered":"

Here’s our bi-weekly listing of some of the CDs that have come into the\u00a0Classical Guitar<\/em>\u00a0office recently.<\/p>\n

If you have a CD you\u2019d like to submit to us, here\u2019s our address:<\/p>\n

Classical Guitar
\n501 Canal Blvd. suite J
\nRichmond, CA 94804-3505<\/p>\n

Some of these will be reviewed in the magazine, some not. But we want to at least mention them here. You can listen to some of these on various of streaming services, but we always encourage you to support the artists by actually\u00a0buying<\/em>\u00a0anything you like!<\/p>\n

To see our previous listings, scroll to the bottom of the page.<\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u2014Blair Jackson<\/em><\/p>\n

\"akers\"
\nClassical Vienna: Music for Guitar and Piano
\n<\/em><\/strong>James Akers (guitar) and Gary Branch (piano)
\n<\/strong>Resonus Classics<\/p>\n

Yes, this is all music from Vienna in the first quarter of the 19th century, but, with a single exception, it is an all-Italian program, with pieces from Ferdinando Carulli, Mauro Giuliani, and Anton Diabelli, (the fourth composer is Bohemian pianist Ignaz Moscheles)\u2014all of whom thrived in Vienna during that era. Still, there is nothing here that \u201csounds\u201d Italian; rather the pieces are standard Classical-era pieces, redolent with the influence of Mozart and others, and in the case of Moscheles\u2019 moody\u00a0Fantasia<\/em>, Beethoven. Akers plays a pair of Romantic guitars\u2014one an 1820 instrument by Saumier, the other a 2015 Panormo replica by James Cole. The pianoforte dates back to 1826. The piano tends to dominate the sound, though the distinctive \u201cperiod\u201d guitar adds much throughout, and also gets its solo slot on the Giuliani Sonata Brillante<\/em>. A wonderful disc that will brighten anyone\u2019s day!<\/p>\n

Nocturne No. 1<\/em> (Carulli); Sonata for the Piano Forte & Guitar, Op. 71<\/em> (Diabelli); Fantasia on \u2018Potem Mitzwo\u2019<\/em> (Moscheles); Nocturne No. 2<\/em> (Carulli); Sonata Brillante, Op. 15<\/em> (Giuliani); Variations on \u2018Nel cor pi<\/em>\u00f9 non mi sento\u2019 & Polonaise<\/em> (Giuliani); Variations on Themes by Rossini<\/em> (Carulli)<\/p>\n

Listen to tracks and purchase CD or downloads via Resonus Classics<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"samuelcikCD\"
\nGuitar
\n<\/em><\/strong>Karol Samuel<\/strong>\u010d\u00edk
\n<\/strong>Diskant<\/p>\n

This is a very appealing first-CD surprise from a young Slovakian guitarist I\u2019d never heard of. It consists of confident and expressive renditions of four of the seven parts of Alb\u00e9niz\u2019s lovely Recuerdos de Viaje<\/em>, two from his Suite Espa\u00f1ola<\/em>, the apparently requisite Bach lute suite (nicely handled as well), and closes with a stimulating five-movement work by Spanish composer Vicente Asencio (1908\u20131979) called Collectici intim<\/em> (the components of which are \u201cSerenity,\u201d \u201cJoy,\u201d \u201cCalm,\u201d \u201cDelight,\u201d and \u201cHaste\u201d). Judging by YouTube, the Asencio piece seems to be gaining favor among guitarists, though it still has not been recorded a lot.<\/p>\n

Recuerdos de Viaje, Op. 71: Rumores de la caleta, En la playa, Puerto de Tierra, En la Alhambra<\/em> (Alb\u00e9niz); Suite espa\u00f1ola: Cuba, Cadiz<\/em> (Alb\u00e9niz); Suite in C Minor, BWV 997<\/em> (Bach); Collectici intim<\/em> (Asencio)<\/p>\n

Purchase through the Slovakian Diskant<\/a> label.<\/p>\n

Below,\u00a0Samuel\u010d\u00edk plays Alb\u00e9niz’s “Rumores de la caleta,” the “Gigue & Double” from the Bach suite, and “La Frisan\u00e7a” (“The Haste”) from the Asencio.<\/em>
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