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Review: Four by Quaternaglia

"Four" is the latest CD from this quarter of guitarists.

I can sum up this CD in one word: Fun!

Quaternaglia contacted me and asked me if I would like a CD and I said sure! They sent it to me and I popped it in the CD player not knowing what to expect.

I had never heard the group before even though they have some nice stuff on youtube (I have chosen a youtube video for you below).

 

 

Will's review

I tend to be a traditionalist when it comes to classical guitar. Almost everything I play, and listen to, is from the old composers and masters. That's pretty much how I learned and I stick to that, even occasionally taking in a classical guitar concert with a traditional repertoire . I guess you could say I have been raised on the old masters like Segovia and Bream. So I don't know a lot about the current scene when it comes to classical guitar.

But you can imagine how tickled pink I was when I played this cd and heard something contemporary.

It starts out with a whole series of Leonard Bernstein pieces from West Side Story! And I got to tell you that it is a whole lot of fun. I remember the music and the movie pretty well. The compositions are familiar to me. And I was just so very pleased to hear these pieces on the classical guitar.

Segovia called the guitar "The Little Symphony" because it is capable of so much. And this is so readily apparent in this cd. West Side Story on classical guitars - and extraordinarly well done. It's a great combination.

The cd entitled "Four" is for a couple of different reasons. Quaternaglia is a quartet of four guitars and the second reason is that they have chosen four composers featured on the CD: Leonard Bernstein, Leo Brouwer, Javier Farias and Astor Piazzolla.

The cd has nine symphonic dances from West Side Story, a piece by Leo Brouwer, a piece by Astor Piazzolla, and a suite in three movements by Javier Farias.

If you tend to listen to a lot of the old masterwork classical guitar stuff and would like to hear something new then get this cd. You will enjoy it for it's freshness and for it's fun!

How to Buy the Music

You can purchase/download the whole cd or individual pieces on amazon.com right here: Four by Quaternaglia or through the guitar coop label here

Want to hear some free samples? The guitar coop has some free samples you can listen to of each track right here . Be sure to listen to the Prologue from West Side Story sample.

 

What's on the CD:

LEO BROUWER (1939)
1. Así era la Dancita Aquella! (Divertimento) (2018) 6:24
Dedicated to Quaternaglia Guitar Quartet / first recording

LEONARD BERNSTEIN (1918-1990)
SYMPHONIC DANCES FROM WEST SIDE STORY (1961)

Arrangement by Thiago Tavares
2- Prologue (Allegro moderato) 4:33
3- Somewhere (Adagio) 3:45
4- Scherzo (Vivace e leggiero) 1:20
5- Mambo (Meno presto) 2:29
6- Cha-cha (Andantino con grazia) 1:09
7- Meeting Scene (Meno mosso) 0:42
8- Cool Fugue (Allegretto) 4:12
9- Rumble (Molto allegro) 1:55
10- Final (Adagio) 2:35

ASTOR PIAZZOLLA (1921-1992)
11- FOUR FOR TANGO (1988) 7:01
Arrangement by Fabio Ramazzina

JAVIER FARÍAS (1973)
MEMORIAL PARA UN REGRESO (2017)

Dedicated to Quaternaglia Guitar Quartet / first recording
12- Brava mar 4:26
13- España en el corazón 5:03
14- Exilio 4:59 Total time: 50:33

 

About Quaternaglia

They are one of the most distinguished guitar quartets of our time and have been performing and recording for twenty five years now. Their concert tours have taken them to half a dozen different countries and over a different venues in the United States. Four is their seventh album and the first album reeleased by GuitarCoop.

Visit their website for more information: Quaternaglia

 

 

Quaternaglia on Youtube: