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Home » Reviews » Just Like Giuliani? Tamayo Plays My Heart Out (M. Giuliani-Guitar Music Vol. 2, Naxos)

Just Like Giuliani? Tamayo Plays My Heart Out (M. Giuliani-Guitar Music Vol. 2, Naxos)

Wednesday, 7 January, 2009

Let's talk about Naxos 8.555850. Let's be specific, let's be technical. Let us also be colorful, inspired, and utterly beautiful. We would have to be, since Marco Tamayo has done the same for us with his playing on Naxos 8.555850.
"Giuliani - Guitar Music Vol. 2" is the title of this record, and what better musician to present the material than Cuban born Tamayo? He meets and exceeds all expectations of his musicianship, technique, and interpretive ability. Fans of ol' Mauro himself, of Tamayo's playing, of late-Classical/early Romantic guitar, I can assure you of a pleasant experience - and one that is also sustainably listenable.
The works presented on this CD are Potpouris 1 - 3, some Variations, and the Grand Sonata Eroica, which is described in the liner notes as only 'eroic in length. One would think that even a hardened music writer would find more to this piece that just another cold factor of an observable whole. I, however, to whom this music is an emotional experience, aside from my years of musical studies, find these performances bottomless. There is always a different sublety to focus on during a listening session.
The stand-out of stand-outs here is track 5, Giuliani's First Potpouri, op. 18. This is a tastfully crowded combination of various popular themes of MG's day and variations thereof. Like the other two here, it is long and busy, and requires virtuosic technique. But what separates op. 18 from the other tracks on this disk is not its length or breadth, but its intensity. The piece starts slowly, natural cathedral reverb filling the speakers behind the music, Tamayo lightly tickling every epidermal cell on his fingertips with his strings, sound flowing pianistically into ears balanced on razors of anticipation. But when the page gets black with script, and enormous brackets encapsulate tens of notes in prestissimo scale runs and arpeggiations, we are presented with a performance that more closely resembles my conception of the Maestro himself than any other recording of Giuliani's work that I have heard. The quicker passages and "notey" parts in this piece get stacked up pretty heavily, and Tamayo skates from section to section with alacrity. It is very easy to feel your heart and lungs following his meter, and the expressive quality of his technique can bring tears to your eyes, nevermind the chills and gooseflesh. When the piece gets to its climax, Tamayo's blisteringly fast linear triplets breath like chemical fire.
What better way to listen to the best guitarist of one generation than to have one of the best of another as your interpreter? I am serious here, folks, Tamayo is VERY good. And not the often criticized TOO good, that variety of soulless perfection that makes romantic Segovia sound like my 5th grade recordings. There is REAL feeling here. This is a versatile player; his Naxos recordings of Paganini and Cuban guitar composers are equally brilliant. 'Point is, if Giuliani is not your taste, Tamayo will be.

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