Federico Moreno Tórroba - Guitar Concertos Vol. 1 (Pepe Romero; Vicente Coves)

Information

Composer: Federico Moreno Tórroba

• Concierto en Flamenco
• Diálogos entre guitarra y orquesta
• Aires de La Mancha
• Suite castellana

Pepe Romero & Vicente Coves, guitars

Málaga Philharmonic Orchestra

Manuel Coves, conductor

Date: 2015

Label: Naxos

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Review

The Spanish composer, conductor and impresario Federico Moreno Torroba (1891-1982) was hugely prolific throughout his long life, writing in a tuneful, nationalist style which drew on both folk and classical traditions. In his day he was most famous for his zarzuelas; in ours, he is most famous for his nearly 100 guitar works, most of which were written for Andrés Segovia. Of those guitar works, 10 were concertos. The present recording, the first of three volumes devoted to the guitar concertos, presents two of them, along with two suites for solo guitar.

Torroba wrote two concertos dedicated to flamenco guitarists, the first of which was the Concierto en Flamenco of 1962, written for the legendary flamenco guitarist Sabicas and which here receives its first recording. By contrast, the Diálogos entre guitarra y orquesta, written for Segovia in the 1960s but revised in 1977 and first recorded, by Pepe Romero, in 1980, is more strictly classical, if not neo-classical, but with flashes of Spanish fire.

In the first, Pepe Romero again proves himself a master of both flamenco and classical, relishing the lyricism of the ‘Allegrías de Cádiz’ as much as the rasgueado, tremolo and rapid triplets which thunder and streak across a rich orchestral backdrop, realised with equal passion by the Málaga Philharmonic Orchestra under Manuel Coves; in the second, Vicenete Coves echoes Torroba’s orchestration by clothing the somewhat wistful guitar-writing in muted washes of colour. Aires de La Mancha and the oft-recorded Suite castellana, sensitively performed by Romero and Coves respectively, make atttractive pendants.

— William Yeoman

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Federico Moreno Tórroba (3 March 1891 – 12 September 1982) was a Spanish composer, conductor and impresario. Trained by his father, organist José Moreno Ballesteros, and later by nationalist composer Felipe Pedrell and Conrado del Campo, Moreno Tórroba developed a distinctive Spanish style for himself. A leading zarzuela composer, with Luisa Fernanda (1932) remaining especially popular, his output also included ballets, symphonic and piano works, and operas, including the opera El poeta (1980) written for Plácido Domingo. He promoted Spanish musical culture by touring widely with his own zarzuela company.

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Pepe Romero (born 8 March 1944 in Málaga) is a Spanish guitarist. Trained exclusively by his father, the legendary Celedonio Romero, he debuted at age seven and later moved with his family to the United States, becoming part of the famed ensemble The Romeros. As a soloist, he has performed with major orchestras worldwide and appeared at prominent international festivals. Romero has recorded over 60 albums, earned numerous awards, and inspired many composers, such as Joaquín Rodrigo and Federico Moreno Tórroba to write works for him. He has also held teaching positions at several leading American universities.

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Vicente Coves (born 1982 in Jaén, Spain) is a guitarist and protégé of Pepe Romero. He has performed as a soloist with major orchestras including the Buenos Aires Philharmonic, RTVE Symphony Orchestra and BBC Philharmonic, touring widely across Europe, Asia and the Americas. Coves has appeared in prestigious venues such as the Moscow Conservatory's Great Hall, Teatro Colón and the National Auditorium of Madrid. He has released 9 solo albums on Naxos, and is founder of the European Guitar Foundation. He received the Moscow Conservatory's Rubinstein Medal in 2008.

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