The basic premise of All the Cool Parts is to introduce recent classical music recordings through some light commentary (with my own feelings and opinions thrown in) with excerpts from the CDs. It's my hope that you'll take what I present as a springboard for your own further discovery of this music.
This week on All the Cool Parts we continue our series of podcasts on the CD's of the Naxos label - their Laureate Series. Thomas Viloteau was the winner of the 2006 Guitar Foundation of America International Guitar Competition, and the CD he recorded for Naxos as part of his prize turned out to be one of the best classical guitar CDs I've ever heard. Journey through the music with myself and my guitar cohort Dr. Jonathan Kulp, and experience some awesome music and even more awesome-er (yes that's right - awesome-er) playing!
I will also embed some videos below - a few of Thomas and also one I mentioned on the show of Brazilian musician Egberto Gismonti.
Check out Viloteau playing Llobet's Variations on a Theme of Fernando Sor, and especially the "left hand" variation at 6:10 - Eddie Van Halen eat your heart out!!
Here is Viloteau playing the second movement from Leo Brouwer's Ritos de las Orishas:
Here is the video of Egberto Gismonti that I talked about in the show:
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau sings Schubert - Der Erlkönig! The fantastic tale of a father racing through the forest (on horseback - represented by the repeated notes in the right hand of the piano) with his ill son. Only the boy can hear the calls of the evil Elf King, trying to lure the boy away from his father. In the end, the father reaches home but too late - the boy dies.
Also, if you can do anything with this much intensity and sincerity, you are as awesome as Dietrich.
