{"id":8538,"date":"2017-12-08T13:34:25","date_gmt":"2017-12-08T21:34:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/classicalguitarmagazine.com\/?p=8538"},"modified":"2017-12-08T13:54:58","modified_gmt":"2017-12-08T21:54:58","slug":"recent-album-releases-new-zealand-guitar-quartet-joel-karlsson-and-alan-rinehart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/classicalguitarmagazine.com\/recent-album-releases-new-zealand-guitar-quartet-joel-karlsson-and-alan-rinehart\/","title":{"rendered":"Recent Album Releases: New Zealand Guitar Quartet, Joel Karlsson, and Alan Rinehart"},"content":{"rendered":"

Most weeks we take a peak at recent albums or sheet music releases. Here are three 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 the albums we talk about online will be reviewed in the magazine, some not. But we want to at least mention most of 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! Obviously we cannot research and report every outlet or online business where these albums are sold, so check your favorite places that sell CDs and downloads!<\/p>\n

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

\u00a0<\/em>\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

\"\"
\nThe Passing of a Black Star<\/strong><\/em>
\nNew Zealand Guitar Quartet<\/strong>
\nRattle<\/p>\n

A couple of years ago, in writing about the New Zealand Quartet’s album The Storm<\/em><\/a>, I noted that four of the large suites on the album had first been recorded by the LAGQ, who have, it’s fair to say, set the modern standard for guitar quartets (post-Los Romeros). Even then, the NZGQ\u2014Owen Moriarty, Christopher Hill, Jane Curry, and John Couch\u2014had its own identity, but with this magnificent new album, they prove without a doubt that they are now masters of their own destiny and in the top echelon of ensembles.<\/p>\n

Once again, their recording is dominated by a diverse selection of multi-movement pieces, including a sparkling version of Bach’s instantly recognizable\u00a0Brandenburg Concerto No. 3<\/em> (the LAGQ recorded only the opening “Allegro” many years ago; this arrangement is by the NZGQ’s Owen Moriarty); contemporary composer Bruce Paine’s six-part\u00a0Aortearoa Suite<\/em> (that’s the M\u0101ori name for New Zealand), which has structural and specific allusions to Bach, yet still feels refreshingly contemporary with its jazz and folk flourishes; Alb\u00e9niz’s wonderful\u00a0Spanish Rhapsody\u00a0Op. 70<\/em>, arranged by for guitar quartet by Moriarty from a two-piano score (destined to become a guitar quartet classic; mark my words!); and NZ composer Craig Utting’s evocative Onslow Suite<\/em>, written for three pianos and arranged by Moriarty\u2014a bracing dash of modernity after the Bach, full of surprises and many moods and colors.<\/p>\n

The one free-standing piece is the 10-minute title track, The Passing of a Black Star<\/em>, written by Slovakian-born Australian composer\/conductor\/guitarist\u00a0Mari\u00e1n Budo\u015d as a tribute to rock star David Bowie, whose excellent final album, released two days before he died of cancer in January 2016, was called Blackstar<\/em>.\u00a0Budo\u015d inserts fragments of a couple of songs from that Bowie album into the piece but surrounds it with original material\u2014as he writes in the liner notes, “the piece is an homage to the eclectic qualities of Bowie’s final masterpiece, in which pop, rock, and jazz are interwoven with classic music techniques.” It’s exciting and unpredictable, which is a comment you could make about this superb album as a whole.<\/p>\n

Aotearoa Suite<\/em> (Paine); Spanish Rhapsody Op. 70<\/em> (Albeniz; arr. Moriarty); The Passing of a Black Star<\/em> (Budos); Brandenburg Concerto No. 3<\/em> (Bach); Onslow Suite<\/em> (Utting; arr. Moriarty)<\/p>\n

This NZGQ album can be streamed and purchased digitally through iTunes\/AppleMusic<\/a>, bought on CD through the group’s website<\/a>, streamed on Spotify<\/a>,<\/p>\n