FRESH RELEASE: You Must Remember This Too

Click here to read the first part of the interview.

How were the works to be featured selected for the CD (both classical and film)?

Most of the music that I selected, with the exception of the Guitar Sonata had not been released before. They were largely digitally recorded in the early 1990's. The "Suite in the Olden Style" was newly recorded in February of this year - February 19th to be exact. I wanted to select music that either linked to the guitar or would perhaps benefit by being associated with the guitar. In all cases, I was able to go back to the composer's original scores and sketches - the original "urtext" so to speak. The result were arrangements as close as possible to the composer's original musical intentions, phrasing and articulations. No musical "take-downs" or guesswork. I wanted to be as accurate and as musicologically correct as possible.

What are your personal thoughts on the 1946 piece, Kaleidoscope?

Rózsa’s Kaleidoscope, Op. 19c (1946), composed originally for piano, is a six movement suite written for his children, Juliet and Nicholas. It begins with March¸ a jaunty parody of toy soldiers. Zingara (Gypsy woman) evokes folk themes, the guitars imitating the cimbalom, the Hungarian box zither. Musette, a pastoral dance, creates the effect of bagpipes with their characteristic drone bass, featuring a melody also used by the composer in the film The Red House (1947). Berceuse is a lyrical lullaby flavored with harmonics and an ostinato bass. In Chinese Carillon the tiny bells ring out, enhanced by harmonics, a delightful guitaristic sonority. Burlesque is believed to have been originally intended for Jerome Robbins’s Fancy Free (1944), a ballet set in New York involving arguments over girls among three sailors. This movement certainly encapsulates the essential mood of such a scenario.

In the case of the film music selections, what kind of preparations did you need to adapt a piece for guitars?

The guitar duo is a versatile medium capable of encompassing a more complex repertoire than a single guitar. In particular the duo lends itself to imaginative arrangements from a wide variety of sources, including the pianoforte and even orchestral scores. If, as Andrés Segovia maintained, the guitar is ‘a miniature orchestra in itself', it could be argued that two guitars double the instrument's tonal and interpretative resources. The music on these recordings demonstrate the duo's capacity to present a wide range of transcriptions with authority, sensitive musicianship, and virtuosity.

In the case of a massive orchestral piece like the "El Cid Overture", how do you make sure that an ensemble arrangement will still contain the essence of the piece?

In making the arrangements I try to look at both the composer's sketches and, if available, orchestral scores. I will listen to the music in its orchestral guise many times and then try, in both the musical distribution of the notes and in the fingering and other technical matters, to approximate and suggest various orchestral timbres that are present in the music. For instance, although the music of EL CID is unmistakably its composer’s own, it was shaped by Rózsa’s careful study of music from the film’s period, eleventh century Spain. The opening fanfare, with its polytonal chords spread between the two players, sets the excitement of the scene. With the appearance of the EL CID theme, a castanet effect is created by one guitarist strumming the accompaniment on the lower strings, while his fingernails add a percussive rhythm.

How much time goes into the preparation and recording of an album like these Rózsa collections?

I probably spent about 3 months between gathering the music, making the arrangements, rehearsing, recording over several days and editing.

What is your personal favorite Rózsa compositions (concert work and film score)?

Naturally I am biased towards the solo Guitar Sonata but, aside from that I would have to say the Viola or Cello Concerti (for their sheer energy and audacity) and Ben Hur for its opulence.

If you had to recommend an obscure Rózsa piece which would deserve more attention, what would it be?

I am hoping that the "Suite in Olden Style" will win many new enthusiastic converts. There is a far more limited amount of chamber music involving Rózsa, and this helps to fill in that gap, although the subject matter from The VIPs is far removed from a costume drama such as Diane. A very light quas Baroque piece was written for the film depicting a the simewhat dottering and eccentric state of the lead actor and works very well as a short Interlude in the Suite.

What can you tell us about your current musical projects?

Well in a totally different direction, I have just released a new CD called "Magnificent Orchestrations for Weddings" (guitar and orchestra) which takes well-established classics and "Hollywoodizes" them for a fantasy bridal wedding. It is for a different sort of market but hopefully is enjoyable on its own paraphrased terms and as a purely listening experience. Check it out!