Search - Antonio Lopez :: Complete Guitar Works of Manual Ponce, Vol.1

Not bad, but needs more drama to make the music work..

anonreviewer | California | 09/15/2004

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Very good guitarist, but tends to be a bit cautious in tempi and contasts. Weird sense of rubato makes a mess out of Sonata III (also too many repeats), but works pretty well in the Mexicana..

Don't know if it's the recording, but there aren't a lot of dynamic contrasts either, and these pieces really need them. Theme Varie's tempos almost all too slow (other than the slow movement!). You're better off getting Segovia's reissued recordings in spite of the lower fidelity and playing errors if you want to hear Ponce played with a little more life. Tillman Hoppstock's version of Sonata III and Theme Varie are a lot better than this one too."