MASTER OF THE TANGO

Bandoneón player Alfredo Marcucci has died June 12, 2010 in Landen, Belgium at age 81.

Alfredo Marcucci was taught the profession by his uncle, the great Bandoneón player Carlos Marcucci. Since 1947 Alfredo played in the big orchestras of the time: Raúl Kaplún, Carlos di Sarli, Julio de Caro. At the end of the 1950's, when the Tango got less popular he toured the world with the folklore group Los Paraguayos for 15 years. After meeting his Dutch wife he chose to stop playing professionally and starts working in a factory to be able to support his family. In 1986 he was able to retire and starts Orquesta Típica. He taught Leo Vervelde and Carel Kraayenhof, Sexteto Canyengue the art of the Bandoneón. A "second youth" starts and with Channel Classics he played in 6 projects like: ‘Timeless Tango’, ‘Touched by Tango’ and in 2004 - in honor of his 75th birthday, - ‘a life of Tango’.

It was a wonderful experience to work with Alfredo these last 13 years.  Put his bandoneon in his hands was like seeing a small boy with his favorite toy.  His music and musical timing was extraordinary.  For all the musicians that have worked with him, I can speak for them that Alfredo will be sorely missed.
Jared Sacks

DUTCH:

Grootmeester van de Tango

Bandoneón speler Alfredo Marcucci is op 12 juni 2010 in zijn woonplaats Landen in België op 81-jarige leeftijd overleden. 

Alfredo Mrcucci leerde het vak op 7-jarige leeftijd van zijn oom, de grote Argentijnse bandoneónist Carlos Marcucci. Vanaf 1947 speelde hij in de grote orkesten van die jaren: Raúl Kaplún, Carlos di Sarli, Julio de Caro. Het was de tijd van de dansfeesten, tango-salons, radio-optredens en 78-toerenplaten. Als eind jaren vijftig de tango in het slop raakt en Marcucci de op dat moment wereldberoemde folkloregroep Los Paraguayos ontmoet reist hij met hen vijftien jaar lang de wereld over.  Nadat hij zijn Nederlandse vrouw ontmoette besloot hij een punt te zetten achter het artiesten bestaan  en ging in een fabriek werken om zijn gezin te kunnen onderhouden. In '86 mocht Marcucci met vervroegd pensioen en richtte Orquesta Típica op. Onder meer Leo Vervelde en Carel Kraayenhof van Sexteto Canyengue gingen bij hem in de leer. Een ‘tweede jeugd’ brak aan en bij Channel Classics verschenen ‘Timeless Tango’, ‘Touched by Tango’ en in 2004 - ter ere van zijn 75ste verjaardag- ‘a life of Tango’. 

Dejan was on "Vrije Geluiden", a Dutch TV program last sunday June 6th.

We added two video's of the broadcast to the release page. 

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THE ABSOLUTE SOUND

August 2010
Brahms Piano Concerto no. 3
Dejan Lazic; Atlanta Symphony
Robert Spano. Channel Classics

Brahms was famously casual about performance instructions for his own compositions. And, following Bach and Beethoven before him, both of whom recast their violin concertos using keyboard protagonists - he wasn't at all averse to arrangements of his music in other - than- original instrumentations, and indeed reworked his late clarinet sonatas for repertoire - starved violists.
If the notion of replacing the violin with the piano in his magisterial Opus 77 concerto probably wouldn't have bothered old Johannes, it's still likely to startle today's concert audiences. Fortunately Dejan Lazic's 2008 rendering of the work as a piano concerto (here in its first recording) is amazingly effective. It leaves the orchestration untouched and transforms the solo violin part into idiomatic Brahmsian piano figurations with appropriately rich chordal sonorities, sparkling arpeggios, and a fully elaborated first-movement cadenza. Lazic plays with flair, eloquence, and, in the lovely central adagio songful poetry.
Recorded 'live in concert' the hybrid SACD conveys full throated weight and a judicious balance between soloist and orchestra, with the multichannel encoding offering extra ambience and presence.
Mark Lehman
 

Manuel de FALLA (1876–1946)
Spanish Dance (from La vida breve) (1905) [3:23]
El amor brujo (1916 version) [23:04]
Excerpts from El sombrero de tres picos (1919): Danza del molinero; Danza de los vecinos; Danza de la molinera [9:35]
Siete canciones populares españolas (1914): El paño moruno; Seguidilla murciana; Asturiana; Jota; Nana; Canción; Polo [12:16]
Homenaje (from Le tombeau de Claude Debussy, 1920) [3:07]
Tus ojillos negros (1903) [3:50]
Peter and Zoltán Katona (guitars); Juanita Lascarro (soprano); David Garcia Mir (percussion)
rec. Doopsgezinde Kerk, The Netherlands 2008
CHANNEL CLASSICS CCS SA 28809 [57:00]

Imagine well-dressed gentlemen and old ladies in furs and jewels, coming to listen in concert to some respectable Mass – Cherubini’s, for example. Suddenly they hear about a change in the program, and are presented with the Misa flamenca! A similar shock is in store for you on this disc.

Dedicated to the music of Manuel de Falla, this disc contains the entire El amor brujo (in its later, more “civilized” ballet form), the irresistible Seven Popular Spanish Songs, and a few other pieces, including three dances from The Three-Cornered Hat and the ubiquitous Spanish Dance from La vida breve. In brief, the most Spanish of all the Spanish music. So, the program is quite standard – but the arrangements aren’t! In addition to the two guitars played by Peter and Zoltán Katona, and the mezzo-soprano (in the songs and the vocal numbers of El amor brujo), there is a lot of diverse percussion. Moreover, in several parts of El amor brujo we hear electric guitars! Did I like it? Yes and no. I loved the added percussion – very colorful and inventive. But the electric guitars seem a bit out of place sometimes – and I do not feel musical unity in the cycle, since the electric guitars grab the stage in some numbers and disappear in others. The style jumps hither and yon and back again.

Manuel de Falla’s music appears born to be played on guitar. The short and frequent notes, the clear articulation, the stomping chords, the tremolos – it is hard to believe that it was not initially written for the instrument. This is especially noticeable in the Seven Songs, where the original piano arrangement imitates the guitar. These arrangements liberate the hidden spirit of the music.

The introduction to El amor brujo immediately shows the two strong points of this disc: the sonorous, strong guitar sound (the tadimm-tudamm tadimm-tudamm motif has orchestral power), and the constant presence of the percussion. The following Night in the Cave introduces the electric guitars and is all recyclable plastic, after which we go to flamenco singing in Cancion del amor dolido. All this creates a feeling of a big mix, which continues throughout the entire cycle. It’s a bit uncomfortable. I liked the arrangement solutions in the classical-guitar parts: very rhythmic, propelled by the percussion. In the vocal numbers, Juanita Lascarro does a very good job. She does not descend to the depths of the throat like an authentic flamenco cantaora, but also does not have the superficial opulence of some opera-house singers. Her voice has a natural beauty and roundness. She is recorded a bit remotely, which creates a feeling of stage action. Escena (track 10) is another dubious electric experiment, but the surrounding Danza ritual del fuego and Pantomima are well done, the former with good contrast, the latter sensitive and letting the music breathe.

Out of El Sombrero de tres picos we have three dances. The Miller’s Dance has a virile, rather arrogant, character. Some percussion effects give it a more sinister hue than usual. The Dance of the Neighbors is sunny and good-humored, relaxed, very well arranged and played. The Dance of the Miller’s Wife is, regrettably, too hard-driven and loses its voluptuous, Carmen-like appeal. The percussion try to substitute depth with quantity but lack subtlety. Instead of a dance, the Miller’s Wife seems to be enjoying an exciting horse ride. The same can be said of the opening track of the disc, the Spanish Dance from La vida breve. The guitars and percussion do not always blend well. However, the percussion effects definitely make the music more interesting, although probably less emotional.

But I can say without reservation that in the Seven Popular Songs the arrangers’ approach bears wonderful unique fruit. In the main this is due to the beautiful singing of Juanita Lascarro, her voice strong and velvety, like a clarinet. The accompaniment is well-planned and well-measured. The percussion never dominate, yet they add illuminating detail. The entire construction is open and colorful: an Eiffel Tower of music!

The two last pieces on the disc dispense with the percussion. First comes the purely instrumental Homenaje – the only piece de Falla actually wrote for guitar! It is soft and delicate, like the music of Debussy to whose memory it was dedicated. Last, Juanita Lascarro grants us a radiant performance of the beautiful song Tus ojillos negros. It has one of de Falla’s unforgettable tunes. The two guitars are like two additional singers - a perfect close for the album.

The sound of the guitars is orotund and resonant, well articulated yet not dry, without any extraneous noises, powerful when required and delicate when needed. The recording is clear, though I would prefer the percussion to have been a little more recessed: at some moments it eclipses the guitars. The insert notes speak sufficiently about the performers, but not enough about the works. And no texts of the songs, either.

The bottom line: I would not recommend this disc as the only recording of El amor brujo, but it offers a very interesting and indeed unique alternative view. The songs are first class, with some great singing and sensitive playing. I am very happy that discs like this continue to appear – giving new perspectives on ‘old’ music. This cannot be called a crossover: it’s just a fresh approach. With efforts like this, classical music will never fossilize.

Oleg Ledeniov

Read more: http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2010/June10/falla_ccs_sa_28809.htm#ixzz0rZIY9KcM