Love the little scale hammered on in the last section of the 2nd movement. Very sensitive playing. Makes the work less robotic and more like a fantasy composition. Great stuff.
Nothing against the young Maestro Gabriel Bianco, who is immensely talented and plays everything splendidly, but he got the 3rd Movement pretty mixed up in here, wrongly repeating for the third time the first Variation and making it into an imbroglio that's not noted in the original sheet. Apparently, nobody in the comments ever played/read this piece or they'd have noticed it as well. Just in case Gabriel decides - literally - to "set the record straight", would be lovely if he play that 3rd Movement with that fabulous extended version recorded by John Williams, from the manuscripts left by Barrios in Central America, which Richard Stover discovered and published in 1979. I hope this gifted young Maestro does the honors to the great Barrios. Cheers!
I, myself, have played this piece for a long time. I enjoy listening to different approaches of it, specially the last movement. Since it is a very popular piece it is inevitable, it gets old when everybody plays it the same way. I'm aware not everybody likes when someone does big changes to how works are written but I also think that's the beauty of interpreters, different ideas every time. Taking musical "risks" is something very new in my opinion in the guitar world. Old recordings are great but for my taste there was just not enough exploration in the musical aspects, playing without mistakes was an approach, I have to say not my preference. There is another Bianco recording of this piece, a little bit more professional, also better audio quality (because here it's very dry). Also to have in mind, this video is 10 years old now. I can't say I've had the opportunity to listen to him very recently but one thing I know for sure, you can only get better, right? hehe.
+Emanuel Estrada Yarce You're right to those bones in the bridge & neck of your guitar, dear Emanuel! ;) I myself was and still am a huge fan of interpreters exploring the possibilities of the music they decided to play - but in the so-called "classical music" world that's "taken with a pinch", rather, "a Kilo" of Salt! hehe Not that the "classical" public is entirely wrong there, in my view, as there's this wonderful Jazz in which "anything goes", isn't it? So people can always have a choice: to resort to play what's written to the letter, following the sheet in the "classical" way, or decide to add their own flavor, creating their variations over a given theme, whether it came from a known, famous piece or not, by playing it in a jazzistic environment and setting it up this way. I see the "classical" way as a "preserving-mode" for the music be known in the future as it was originally composed, and Jazz to allow for the human inventiveness. Both ways should be respected and loved by those who are really into Music with a capital "M". But the case here was neither, because Gabriel clearly made a mistake - which happens very often when playing it live - even though nobody can be 100% sure (well, the only "certified way" to have this "on record" would be if he himself acknowledge it, which I doubt will ever happen). But to a musician's trained ear is not a big of a deal to notice that, being a consumate pro as he is, and already was, he noticed the trick his concentration has just played on him, and simply didn't let it go out of his control. So he just played along until finishing the first repetition of the First Variation and then proceed to the Second Variation (that "Violin-like") and then to the "Grand Finale". Just notice that, if that repetition were an intentional one on his part, he surely would've played those lines TWO times - as it's written, by the way - and THEN proceeded to the Second Variation, which he didn't, clearly showing, this way, that it was a distraction from his part. But hey, who's wanting their money back here? Not me, for sure... hahaha... After all was said and done, your Honor, I just have to say that Mr. Bianco is a fabulous Guitar Player & a Musician of the first order, and I'd love for him to play and shower his immense gift over us way more often! And I'm standing in my humble request that he record that Second Variation as John Williams did, because it'd be a cherry on top of an already delicious cake! ;) Take care and thanks for your input, dear Emanuel! Cheers!
"Repeating the 1st variation for the third time." ?? Not sure what you mean by that. To me he is playing it as the Stover edition which I use (1979) has it written out and indicated. The main theme (I'm calling it) starts the piece and has a variable ending. It goes right back to it with added material and an ending that leads to the second part that contains the bass melody. The bass melody section repeats and then goes back to the main theme with a new ending on the F# dominant chord. Then it does the flamboyant middle section which only happens once. Back to main theme with F# dominant ending right into the closing material. That is the way it is written out and indicated in the score. To call it an imbroglio is pretty insulting.
Love the little scale hammered on in the last section of the 2nd movement. Very sensitive playing. Makes the work less robotic and more like a fantasy composition. Great stuff.
