50th Anniversary Michele Pittaluga Guitar Competition, Alessandria

Buono, Emanuele, Ceku, Petrit, Cherouana, Lazhar, Csaki, Andras , Dervoed, Artyom, Kulikova, Irina, Mamedkuliev, Rovshan, Montesinos, Anabel , Perera, Cecilio, Süalp, Eren

8.573850

Somewhere in the world every week, there is a classical music competition taking place, the annual Michele Pittaluga being held in high regard in the guitar world. Celebrating its Fiftieth Anniversary this year, Naxos has issued a release of their recordings of winners between 2006 and 2015 with extracts from recordings already issued. With a judicious choice we have a compilation of nicely varied music from the Baroque represented by Rameau to today’s compositions by Leo Brouwer, and are typical of the ear-catching competition offerings from the technical challenges of Rodrigo’s Elogio to the more relaxing excerpt of Bach’s Partita. Where we are short-changed by the release is in its total lack of artist biographies which is fundamental to such a release, competitions only as important as the competitors who enter them. So what happened to them after their Pittaluga competition success? That requires going to Internet where you will find that they have made big careers collecting several more competition awards on the way. Those details would have done a great deal to promote the competition for the future. In outstanding recorded sound—all made in the same Canadian venue by the great guitarist Norbert Craft—this is a pleasurable release. • © 2017 David’s Review Corner..

CD x 1

Naxos

8/18/17

0747313385072