INSTRUMENTAL REVIEWS
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quite unlike anyone else’s, his compatriots included. The ineffable blend of driving power, disarming lyricism and formal balance she brings to the composer exude the sort of authority than can only be the result of conviction. The performance is thrilling from beginning to end. Would that the piece were longer. In the spirit, perhaps, of the artisan who introduces some secret flaw into his work, lest the gods be jealous of its perfection, this two disc set is just short of ne plus ultra. The sound has that boxed-in quality that one encounters in radio broadcast recordings, particularly of this vintage, and unfortunately the first movement of the Beethoven suffers from some apparently irremediable distortion. That said, the true aficionado’s ears adjust quickly enough. Besides, any new music from the fingers of Argerich is surely cause for celebration. P H O T O G R A P H Y: * - 4 & # 6 ) 4 % (
Patrick Rucker
The Soldier’s Return’ ‘Guitar Works Inspired by Scotland’ Giuliani Blue Bells of Scotland. Coming through the rye. Jenny’s Bawbee, a Reel. The Old Country Bumpkin. Two Preludes and Scotsoises. The Soldier’s Return. This is no my ain lassie gramophone.co.uk
Legnani Variations – on Rossini’s ‘La marcia’; on Rossini’s ‘Oh quante lagrime’ (both from La donna del lago) Mertz Fingal’s Cave Sor Variations on a Scottish Theme James Akers gtr Resonus F 3&4 s %%%
What happens when the expansive romantic visions of an ‘exotic’ Scotland such as one finds in Beethoven, Rossini, Mendelssohn or Verdi are reduced to the tiny sound world of the Romantic period guitar? Quite a lot, as it turns out. For those 19th-century guitarists who sometimes moved in the same circles as the above composers, the novels of Walter Scott, the poems of Robbie Burns and indeed all things Scottish were an equal source of inspiration. Mauro Giuliani, Luigi Legnani, Johann Kaspar Mertz and the great Fernando Sor all arranged Scottish songs and dances or wrote sets of variations on Scottish themes. And far from feeling disadvantaged by the modest means of expression at their disposal when compared
with a piano or a symphony orchestra, they relished their instrument’s ability to portray the bittersweet qualities of Scottish melodies while realising the music’s potential for metamorphosis and subtle drama. Scottish lutenist and guitarist James Akers, who here plays three original or copies of Romantic period guitars, is an experienced continuo player in both orchestral and operatic contexts. It could therefore be said that this music is his not only by birthright but by dint of his ability to bring the lyrical, cantabile and colouristic aspects of, say, Baroque opera, to the table when performing such music. And so it comes to pass, with Akers imbuing, for example, the insouciant virtuosity of Legnani’s Variations on Rossini’s ‘Oh quante lagrime’, the wistful beauty of Giuliani’s Coming through the rye and the melancholic theatre of Mertz’s Fingal’s Cave with all the warmth, colour and expressive richness one could hope for. William Yeoman
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GRAMOPHONE AUGUST 2016 71