Luis Orlandini
CPO : 999 103-2
This 2 CD set from this Chilean player is no lightweight. The smallest of the 6 pieces (No5) is a mere twelve minutes , while the largest (No3|) is approaching 19 minutes, so the total 6 pieces here play for over 91 minutes, and each of the six pieces is , as you may well know, a huge undertaking, for Giuliani was no lightweight, for he came from an era where the flashier the player, the more notes he could play evenly, correctly and musically , then the more attention he got. Unlike his compatriot Fernando Sor, whose music , although often very virtuosic, more often than not relied on its musicality, than the number of notes the composer /performer could write / play, Giuliani’s style was more Lisztian in that he tended to put huge masses of very small notes into a piece to create the most immediate effect.
These 6 pieces here definitely fall into that category, for here Giuliani uses many of Rossini’s famous tunes (too many to compile here and now) and put them into these extended works called Rossiniane. Interestingly I have seen the six pieces listed as Opus 119, Nos 1 to 6, as on this recording, and also Opuses 119, to Opus 124, which is slightly confusing for I have no idea which of these two options is correct.
As for Luis Orlandini, his playing is stunning from the outset. He most certainly has all the necessary technique to make these pieces sound as they should. His product ion of the extended runs of very virtuosic small notes is perfectly clean and without the slightest hint of any difficulty, and when it is necessary to put some emotional quality into the music he is absolutely up to the challenge.
All these pieces are wonderful examples of Giuliani at his guitaristic best and I can think of no better way to purchase these on recordings’ would doubt however that you would want to play all six in one long string because I feel that that would be just too much but certainly I can give this my heartiest recommendation as a lovely pair of CDs.
Chris Dumigan
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