----- Original Message -----
From: "howard posner" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "Lute Net" <[email protected]>
Sent: Sunday, September 28, 2008 8:18 PM
Subject: [LUTE] Re: Respighi
| On Sep 28, 2008, at 12:24 PM, Arthur Ness wrote:
|
| > He argued that Segovia was lying
| > when he bragged to have commissioned the first guitar concerto of
| > the 20th
| > century.
|
| What was this concerto Segovia was supposed to have commissioned?
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Good morning, Howard!
It was the Castelnuovo guitar concerto that Segovia (or his biographer)
claimed was the first guitar concerto of the 20th century. It dates from
1939. The concertino dates from 1930.
And even so, one suspects that surely, some place someone wrote a guitar
concerto before that. As far as I know the work has never been recorded,
and I cannot find the composer listed in either the New Grove or Slonimsky
dictionaries, or Austin (20th century music).
Slonimsky mentions him in his book on music in Latin America (just four or
five lines, iirc), and if you read between the lines (and Slonimsky was
very skilled at back-handed compliments), he did not think much of his
music: "An academic composer," or words like that. So being first is not
neccessarily best. The guitarist/editor falsely claims Slonimsky
championed the work, remarking that Adame held an honored place at the
head of his list of Latin American composers. Sure. And he would be
last if his name was Zebra.<g>
In fact it was Slonimsky who brought the manuscript of the concerto to the
U.S. He had been commissioned to travel trough Latin America and collect
music from local composers. Someone thought we should be more familiar
with music south of the border. All of the _*manuscript*_ music went to
the Fleischer Collection at that library in Philadelphia, a lending
library of orchestral
music for performance (scores and parts).
Found in: Free Library of Philadelphia
Title: Concertino 3^o [=terzo] : Estilo mariache / Rafael G. Adame.
Author: Adame, Rafael, 1905-
ms score 29 pp. + parts
Notes: 1. Preludio -- 2. Andantino ; fuga.
solo guitar, 1 fl, 1 ob, 1 cl, 1 bsn and strings
BIB Call Number: 985M ENTIRE WORK
All of the _*printed*_ music that he collected is now in a basement
somewhere. I know where but I'm not saying.<g> Maybe Eugene will find a
peer-reviewer to test the truthfulness of my statement.
More interesting to my way of thinking would not be "firsts" but "bests."
My vote for the best guitar concerto of the 20th century would certainly
include as first place the recently discovered Concerto for Two Guitars by
Germaine Tailleferre, the female member of "Les Six.". The guitars tend
to be in the background, so perhaps it might not appeal to some guitar
types. But the harmonies and orchestral sonorities are so wonderfully
transparent. Lots of bi-tonal passages. Cross rhythms. A piano reduction
with two guitars and full score was published about five years ago (Lagny
sur Marne: Musik Fabrik, 2002 & 2008). It is thought the concerto was
composed for the Presti/Lagoya duo.
It's on a CD featuring Chris Bilobran, "Compositon Féminine" Verlag Klaus
Juergen Kompread VKJK 0422. See www.jklk.de
The CD includes a nicely performed concerto-like overture with solo lute
(played on guitar) by Camilla dei Rossi (d. ca 1710). A delightful
Italianate work. She was active in the Vienna Court, where the lutenist
Francesco Conti was Kapellmeister. She composed oratorios, often
including prominent parts for lute, and had some contact with
Handel. Many of her scores are published by Clar-Nan Editions in
Arkansas. Apparently (iirc) the original lute parts are in pitch
notation.
The CD also has some virtuoso opera variations composed by Mauro
Giuliani's daughter, Emilia Giuliani-Guglielmi. Now that must be another
furst of sorts.
=====AJN (Boston, Mass.)=====
This week's free download from Classical Music Library is Schubert's
Symphony No. 3 in D, D. 200
performed by the Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana, Alain Lombard,
conductor.
To download, click on the CML link here
http://mysite.verizon.net/arthurjness/
My Web Page: Scores
http://mysite.verizon.net/vzepq31c/arthurjnesslutescores/
Other Matters:
http://mysite.verizon.net/arthurjness/
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