| Martín
Guijarro, August 2007
Cañizares
(Photo Amancio Guillén) |
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It isn't the first time that
flamenco leans toward classical music. Nor is
it the first time that Cañizares tackles
the work of Isaac Albéniz. However, ‘Suite
Iberia - Albéniz por Cañizares’
is definitely something new. These aren't two
sonatas like on the 1999 album, but the full ‘Suite
Iberia’, dissected to bring it onto the
Catalan guitarist and composer's home turf. It
took him no less than three years' work to adapt
the original score for piano to the flamenco guitar.
The true worth of the project is not to be found
in this procedure, though, but rather in the result.
Cañizares has drawn out
all the flamenco essence of the famous legacy
that the Girona-born composer left at the beginning
of the 20th century. And he's transported it to
his guitar. Well, to two guitars that he plays
himself on the album. There are no other instruments
and no other musicians. The execution is absolutely
brilliant, and once again confirms Cañizares
as the great guitar virtuoso of our time.
But there's something else too.
He injects a large dose of the vanguard, of boldness,
of creative impulse into Albéniz's work.
And it's this approach that gives added value
to this album, and indeed to contemporary flamenco
guitar scene in general. The most surprising thing
is that the innovations sit comfortably with tradition,
with the mellow, vintage flavor, with the popular
essence which inspired Albéniz and which
inspired Cañizares a century later. His
Iberia Suite is destined to become not only a
classic, but an example of rigor and commitment
to music for generations of guitarists to come.
Contents
Interview
with Cañizares, guitarist (February, 2007)
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