Schubert & Giuliani
Today's guitar repertoire thrives on transcriptions, and this program makes for fascinating comparison for that very reason. The Giuliani is real guitar music. Williams plays it superbly, of course, and the composer's inspiration in this work is high on charm, with the last two movements consisting of elegantly stylized dances. Schubert's sonata, however, here arranged for guitar and string orchestra, is another matter entirely. The problem is that the music makes no sense at all with a guitar as soloist. The instrument has none of the sustaining qualities of a viola or cello (instruments that take the part of the obsolete arpeggione in modern performances). And while lots of guitar music has been transcribed from piano originals, pitting a guitar version of the original piano part against a full string orchestra completely reverses Schubert's balance of tone, making hash of the musical argument. Don't get me wrong--it's not unpleasant in any way, and it is very well played. Fans of Williams who don't know Schubert's original might not care or notice anything wrong, and so it is to them that this disc can be most strongly recommended.--David Hurwitz