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Phillip T Young Recital Hall
September 20, 2015
The classical guitar - nylon strings, cedar or spruce top, no amplification - is an instrument that is defined as much by its constraints as by its capabilities. It lacks the dynamic range of the violin, and the compass of the piano. Guitarists and composers writing for guitar have, as a consequence, creatively explored timbres and effects within the instrument's capabilities.
Another constraint confronting guitarists is the number of works written specifically for guitar. Until the twentieth century no major composer wrote anything specifically for the instrument. The Spanish guitarist and composer Francisco Tarrega (1852-1909) was the first modern guitar recitalist, and tackled this problem head-on; his transcriptions of the works of major composers (Bach, Chopin, Beethoven...you get the idea) for guitar outnumber his own compositions. And so it has been ever since; many of the most familiar classical guitar pieces are transcriptions, from lute pieces by Dowland, via cello suites by Bach, to piano works by Granados.
Both of these limitations were confronted head-on in the solo recital presented by Jorge Caballero. He performed three works, all transcriptions of pieces originally written for piano.
Caballero opened with transcriptions of four pieces by Isaac Albeniz, drawn from his Iberia collection. While originally written for piano, these are well-established in the guitar repertoire, and the impressionist evocations of Spain work very well. The opening Evocacion was a wonderful virtuosic demonstration of technique, and the fandango elements make a strong case that it is more idiomatic on a guitar, rather than piano. The fourth and final piece, Malaga, was the best of the quartet. Caballero seemed at ease with the technically demanding music, but it was a most musical performance, full of brilliance, nuance, and zest.
The transcription of the Mozart D major piano sonata K.311 was, at least for two-thirds of its structure, not at the same level. While the melody and supporting counterpoint were there, Mozart's writing exploits the capabilities of the piano. In the movements that bookend the sonata, the writing is quasi-orchestral, or perhaps more accurately concerto-esque, with the right-hand solo part supported by a vibrant left hand part that is quite simply beyond what a guitar - even in the hands of a player with Caballero's skills - can completely replicate. The andante second movement was a completely different story; the lovely melody (or, this being Mozart, melodies) works well on the guitar, and with the supporting arpeggiated chords, sounded lovely. Caballero's musicianship - that ability to translate the notes on the page into sound, and those sounds into evocations of mood and emotion - was clearly on display.
In the second half of the concert, Caballero played the (in-)famous Kazuhito Yamashita transcription of Mussorgsky's Pictures from an Exhibition. When Yamashita's own recording appeared in 1980, it divided critics, and I must confess that Caballero's performance left me similarly ambivalent. The virtuosity, necessary to even attempt the piece left me astounded.
But this music does not suit the guitar in the least. I believe that Ravel had the right idea; his virtuosic orchestration makes Mussorgsky's piano original sound like a reduction (rather like Stravinsky's piano reduction of, say, his The Firebird). To take the music in the opposite direction and reduce it still further to accommodate the constraints of the guitar, ultimately leaves us witness to dazzling virtuosity in service of music that calls out for more.
Jorge Caballero is undoubtedly a very talented guitarist and musician. He demonstrated his prodigious talents as a performer and interpreter in his renditions of the Albeniz and Mozart transcriptions. The Mussorgsky? Let me just say that when the Victoria Symphony Orchestra performs it on January 23 and 24, 2016, I will be there.
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