Klassik Aps (DK)
Upcoming releases: Record news by Andrew Mellor.
A major work in the guitar repertoire

Never heard of Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco? Think of him as an Italian counterpart to Korngold. After making a name for himself as a composer in his homeland — especially within guitar music, but also with a significant body of orchestral works — he left Mussolini’s Italy in 1936 and travelled to Hollywood to write film music. However, this did not put an end to Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s strong and productive collaboration with the legendary guitarist Andrés Segovia, which led the composer to write 35 works for guitar, including two full guitar concertos. Among these works is Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s Platero y Yo (Platero and I), regarded as a major work in the guitar literature. A cycle consisting of 28 movements, divided into four suites of seven movements each, with a total playing time of 1 hour and 49 minutes. The work was originally intended as an accompaniment to readings of poems by Juan Ramón Jiménez, but the composer later allowed it to be performed without the spoken text. Guitarist Niklas Johansen has recorded the entire cycle on this release from OUR Recordings, which includes English translations of Jiménez’s texts as well as illustrations for each piece, created by Halfdan Pisket and commissioned specifically for this recording. Platero y Yo, Op. 190 Niklas Johansen (guitar). OUR Recordings 8226930 [CD]

Klassisk Aps (DK)
Kommende udgivelser: Pladenyt af Andrew Mellor.

Hovedværk i guitarlitteraturen
Aldrig hørt om Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco? Tænk på ham som en italiensk pendant til Korngold. Efter at have gjort sig bemærket som komponist i hjemlandet – især inden for guitarmusik, men også med en betydelig produktion af orkesterværker – forlod han Mussolinis Italien i 1936 og rejste til Hollywood for at skrive filmmusik. Det satte dog ikke en stopper for Castelnuovo- Tedescos stærke og produktive samarbejde med den legendariske guitarist Andres Segovia, som førte til, at komponisten skrev 35 værker for guitar, herunder to komplette guitarkoncerter. Blandt disse værker finder man Castelnuovo-Tedescos ‘Platero y Yo’ (Platero og jeg), som regnes for et hovedværk i guitarlitteraturen. En cyklus bestående af 28 satser, opdelt i fire suiter a syv satser, med en samlet spilletid pa 1 time og 49 minutter. Værket var oprindeligt tænkt som akkompagnement til oplæsning af digte af Juan Ramon Jimenez, men komponisten gav siden tilladelse til, at det også kunne opføres uden den talte tekst. Guitarist Niklas Johansen har indspillet hele cyklussen på denne udgivelse fra OUR Recordings, som indeholder engelske oversættelser af Jimenez’ tekster samt illustrationer til hvert nummer, skabt af Halfdan Pisket og bestilt specifikt til denne indspilning.
Platero y Yo, op. 190 Niklas Johansen (guitar). OUR Recordings 8226930 [CD]