Jose Antonio Escobar: Reviews

A fresh and brilliant reading. This is a must-have record. (*****) The self published Modinha CD by the Chilean virtuoso José Antonio Escobar is not only a great addition to any self-respecting guitar player, but a joy to listen to for anyone who enjoys the romantic music of the 20th century.   Escobar's reading of this text is a must-have. Escobar is an intelligent musician, not a vain virtuoso trying to shine with sheer speed and loudness.  Escobar avoids all the traps, and equally avoids syrupy interpretation of the more romantic segments, in the slow part of Prélude 3 for instance. His choices of tempi help the music rather than demonstrating that indeed, he can play fast, as is required by the text in several places. The beautiful music of Villa-Lobos shines all the way through this album, transcending the technical difficulties. Escobar navigates brilliantly between the pensive self-absorption, frightening flights of fury and passion, complicated rhythms, and lyrical moments. Escobar's technique is remarkable in clarity and precision and his sound is rich without being too soft, and never harsh....Escobar's version is definitely among the very best in the modern generation of guitar players. In most places, surpasses the historic versions recorded by the likes of Andrès Ségovia, Julian Bream, and John Williams, if only for the freshness of the intention and the brilliant execution through which the text shines.

Outside a small group of specialists the music of Chile is pretty much unknown in Europe. Of the names mentioned on this disc only Victor Jara and Violeta Parra can claim to be – or have been – anything approaching household names and then only within a more popular genre with political and/or social undertones.
The five composers represented here – four of them contemporaries – have assimilated elements from popular music or folk music and amalgamated them with academic compositional principles. The outcome is a programme with evocative rhythms, beautiful melodies and in some cases harsh harmonies.
What is also evident from the outset is the technical flair and brilliance of the playing. José Antonio Escobar is a fabulous guitarist, whose playing is so assured that it sounds more or less improvised. It sounds effortless – and that is not a euphemism for bland and unengaged – but he gives the impression that technical intricacies are no big deal; he can concentrate on shaping the music.
Javier Contreras is the youngest of the composers on this disc and he is also the boldest, harmonically speaking. Euclidica is virtuoso music, also requiring the player to treat the guitar as a percussion instrument. That also goes for Tonada del Retorno and Tonada a mi madre, which is fluent and vital music. The homage to Victor Jara is tranquil and here the composer has adjusted to the style in which Jara himself played.
Horacio Salinas was in the 1980s leader of the group Inti-illmani, which cooperated with John Williams; Cristalino is a reminder of that relationship. It is a movement from a longer work that would have been interesting to hear complete. It is beautiful and melodious, changing directions constantly.
Antonio Restucci’s music is also virtuosic and he has a nice feeling for melody. It is rhythmically attractive and there is more than a whiff of Argentina about it.
With Juan Antonio Sánchez we find this mix of popular and serious elements mentioned above very pronounced. It is paired with a sense of improvisation, which turns out to be truer than I first understood. For this is exactly the case: he allows the player freedom to use his imagination. Chiloética has much of this sense all through, though I don’t know to what degree Escobar plays ad lib. The guitar sonata, like so much else on this disc very recent music, has an opening movement that is dominated by the rhythmic elements, often jagged and ‘backward’. The second, Dulce, is exactly that: soft and contemplative. The third movement is quickly walking but with sudden pauses, and in the finale rhythm is again to the fore – most of it is percussive.
The sonata is a tribute to Violeta Parra, who is herself represented by 5 Anticuecas from 1961. These pieces were not written down. They were transcribed from her recordings after her death. One can hear phrases that are reminiscent of her songs but by and large this is music that stands out as highly original, not sophisticated but ‘real’. The simile may limp but this might be seen as a Chilean variant of blues. No. 5 is especially intense and – yes, bluesy.
The last word goes again to Sánchez, whose Tonada por despedita is intimate and melodious in a popular vein. One almost expects the player to start singing. As in every good encore he adds zest to the end through a sudden dramatic outburst.
Norbert Kraft and Bonnie Silver have provided ideal sound as usual. Juan Pablo González, Instituto de Música, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, gives much useful information on the composers and their music, even though I wish he had been allotted more space, since this is a field that is largely unknown to me.
Guitar aficionados need to hear Escobar’s absolutely stunning playing. Having played the disc three or four times I have come to terms with the music and found that it opens up and has something new to offer every time.
Göran Forsling

Largely unknown in the international world of music, contemporary Chilean composers are producing a wide range of guitar works, a selection here stunningly played by Jose Antonio Escobar.

Most were written in the last decade, the one major exception, and rather unusual contribution, coming from Violeta Parra. The distinguished Chilean singer was born in 1917 her life experiences related in five Anticuecas. It washer performances preserved on disc that were used after her death in 1967 to create the published scores. They seem like a series of short sound-bites that sometimes end in mid-air, but are harmonically fascinating. Generally the music on the disc would, in the classical world, be described as ‘light’, though it is often exceedingly difficult in its fast flowing intricacy. For an example turn to track 7, the Tonado del Retorno by the twenty-four-year-old, Javier Contreras, a gifted composer who flits between a classical and popular idiom. He is a major contributor to a disc that contains works by Horacio Salinas, Antonio Restucci and Juan Antonio Sanchez. It is Sanchez’s finale to his Guitar Sonata, with its percussive effects, that is certainly the most ear-catching track on the disc (track 18) and makes a good introduction to the disc in general. I suppose those outside the guitar zone will find the release in the mode of that rhythmically pulsating music they hear in trendy bistros. But anyone fascinated by the sheer technical brilliance of the performer will be blown away by the playing of Escobar, the one-time winner of many of the world’s great guitar competitions and now the young mentor to the next generation of guitarists. It is not simply the dumfounding speed of his left hand, but the precision of his right as fingers pluck out the most complex notation. Thankfully we hear little of the left-hand mechanics, the recording from Naxos’s Canadian recording team placing the guitar up-front with clarity the main benefactor.

Chilean Guitar Music

by Jeffrey Rossman

Guitar Music of Chile. Jose Antonio Escobar, guitar. Naxos 8.570341, Copyright 2008, 70:43, $9.98

Since its founding, Naxos has been a great supporter and friend of classical guitarists throughout the world. Its “Laureate Series” and other projects that entailed complete collections of several guitar composers was, and continues to be, a blessing to listeners, the recorded artists and the entire classical guitar community. For many years now, a recording contract with Naxos has been one of the coveted prizes for many guitar competitions, including the prestigious annual Guitar Foundation of America. This has helped launch careers and, more importantly, has created an atmosphere that encourages the recording of many new and unknown works that most other labels would consider financially prohibitive.

Another series in the more than 200 releases on this label that features the classical guitar is “Guitar Music of ______.” Previous titles have covered Argentina, Cuba and Brazil and now we can enjoy a disc dedicated to the music from Chile — a country that doesn’t immediately come to mind when the guitar is mentioned. The featured performer is José Antonio Escobar, born in Santiago and winner of several important international competitions. Glancing at the program of this recording, even to those of us familiar with the guitar repertoire, I am struck with the fact that every composer is unknown to me and quite young — one only 24. But, this is the hallmark of Naxos’s recording philosophy and a welcome one in a world that often plays it safe and cheap.

One exception to the under-30 rule here is a set of songs called 5 Anticuecas, written in 1961 by the Chilean singer Violeta Parra. These are wonderfully evocative and emotive miniatures that make it a musical crime if the sheet music does not soon become available to the public. This singer’s importance to Chile is honored in the sonata Homenaje a Violeta Parra written by Juan Antonio Sanchez.

The music of Javier Contreras is featured in several cuts, including the opening Euclidica which is based on the cuceca, the national dance of Chile. This work, along with his Tonada del Retorno, is written almost as a dare to up the ante on guitar technique.

Escobar is an expressive, mature artist who has transcended the nitty-gritty of technique and gets to the essence of the music. In addition, the reliably excellent engineering of Norbert Kraft and Bonnie Silver makes this a sonic joy. Highly recommended.

Chilean guitarist Jose Antonio Escobar has an impressive record on the international competition scene. Among several awards is a first prize at the 2000 Tarrega competition in Spain. This recording, part of Naxos's Laureate Series, is a direct result of the Tarrega victory.
It is sometimes hard to know how to approach these laureate discs. On the one hand, they represent a great way to hear the best and brightest up-and-coming performers. (And they do sound great--Naxos's production continues to be top-notch.) But on the other hand, the programs are often standard competition fare and the playing often has that ultra-polished, middle-of-the-road quality that these events seem to breed. It seems that one needs to search a little harder on these releases to find what it is that distinguishes these players artistically from the other technically brilliant players on the international circuit.
So beyond the sterling technique and sound musicianship that one would expect from such a laureate, what does Escobar's playing have to distinguish it? Two traits are immediately apparent. First, his tone is outstanding. It does not vary widely, but in terms of depth, clarity, and warmth, this is a model guitar sound. At several points in listening to this I was reminded of David Russell--the consistent beauty of his sound.
The second distinguishing trait--much more general but at the same time more compelling--is the interpretive refinement. Every moment is guided by a musical intelligence and sensitivity that is rare. The result is music-making that does not always draw attention to itself, but proceeds with remarkable focus, direction, and purpose. This intelligence is felt particularly in the weightier works here; the Martin is given an eloquent, touching reading, the Bach Sonata is commandingly shaped, and Aguado's exciting Rondo is given a performance that brings out both its virtuosity and architecture. Escobar is also at home in the more solidly Iberian works by Tarrega, Albeniz, and Asencio, bringing out not only their pervasive melancholy, but also a refreshing playfulness.
(American Record Guide by Steven Rings)

"Escobar is superb throughout. Clarity, even in the most complex passages of the Martin, is exemplary, his intonation right in the centre of every note, and he moves around the instrument quietly and effortlessly. Rarely do you hear such beauty from the instrument as Escobar produces in the Asencio pieces. If there is any justice in music, this young man is destined for the top. Superb sound quality."
(The David’s Corner Review, about his Naxos recording)

"The opening track, the Adagio from Bach's G minor Sonata BWV 1001, gives you an idea of the quality of this young guitarist from Chile. Clarity with warmth are watchwords in present-day Bach (at least on the guitar), and Escobar gives you both in generous measure. In a way, it is a pity that the works are presented in chronological order, because the Bach is so well played that almost anything would sound anticlimactic. But not for nothing did Escobar carry off the Tárrega prize in Benicásim: he can not only adapt easily to the huge gulf between 18th-century German Baroque and 19th-century Spanish Romantic, he can very nearly bring the latter up to the level of the former. Take "Sueño", for instance, a simple and rather charming mazurka; by emphasising its Chopinesque qualities, Escobar forces us to look at it in the context of general European music, and the result is a greater stature.
And so it continues. Aguado and Albéniz, a thoughtfully shaded Quatre Pièces Brèves, and finally Asencio's often underrated suite Collectici intim, pinpointing some of the better emotions, like serenity, joy, elation, and the calm pleasure of looking at the flower that Shakespeare called the flower-de-luce.
The admirable recording captures some guitar sound of true quality. It is a convincing recording debut by a guitarist who has already proved his ability by winning a number of major competitions. Naxos continues its onward march, in an upward direction."
(Colin Cooper in "Classical Guitar Magazine", about his Naxos recording)

"Originally written for unaccompanied violin, the Sonata in G minor, BWV 1001, is presented here in a transcription for guitar. The transition from bowed strings to plucked strings may seem rather difficult, however Bach was the first one to attempt and succeed at making this sort of adaptation. This is why José Antonio Escobar performs this piece "with a clear conscience," in the words of John Duarte which appear in the introductory text. His serenity is enhanced with the feeling of a job well done because his style is flawless throughout.
The Tárrega pieces take us to a totally different musical universe. The composer's personality is so attractive, and guitarists owe him so much, that we gladly forgive some of his works which excessively reflect the style of the times, being extremely romantic but of less than perfect taste. J. A. Escobar, first prize at the International Tárrega Competition in Benicasim, 2000, could not leave this composer out in this case. His choice of five brief pieces is quite appropriate, except for Rosita, where the cumulative glissandi are deplorable: we must recognize that Escobar plays these with a lightness that resembles humor and were it not for his charm, the piece could become unbearable.
By Dionisio Aguado, guitarists play almost nothing but his Etudes. This Rondo II in A Minor, full of dynamism, which perfectly highlights the value of this instrument, will be a welcome discovery for some because Escobar presents it enthusiastically. The transcription of Mallorca by Albéniz is a success and the interpretation is exemplary: excellence in the legato imbues the song with all its lyricism, relief perfection, poetic atmosphere, and delicate subtleties. With a more elevated and rhythmic style, we find the same qualities in Torre Bermeja, to which we must add the perfect technical ease of the young Chilean soloist.
We know that Segovia paid little attention to the Quatre Pièces Breves by Frank Martin, who dedicated them to him. The composer was rewarded belatedly but abundantly by other interpreters and audiences, which shows that the public does not systematically close itself to this language - what it actually rejects in certain contemporary pieces is much more their emptiness than their modernity.
Even though Vicente Asencio is Valencian, his music evokes the air of popular Catalan songs. Both melodic phrasing and harmonies often remind us of Federico Mompou, particularly La Serenor, first movement of the Collectici íntim, and Falla would not negate certain accents found in La Joia or La Gaubança. The titles clearly point to the composer's intention: to write music that is focused inward, musich that strives to express the most delicate mood subtleties and rejects simplistic effects.
The mastery, intelligence, and sound of José Antonio Escobar on such diverse pieces undoubtedly position him among the excellent guitar interpreters of our times."
("Les Cahiers de la Guitare" magazine, France.)

"José Antonio Escobar's playing displays a confident air with mature phrasing... Escobar gives a satisfyingly involved reading of this work (Bach’ Sonata BWV 1001), the 'Adagio' having an improvised quality about it, the "Siciliano" a more serene atmosphere after the intensity of the 'Fuga' and before the brisk concluding 'Presto'... This (Asencio’s Collectici intim) puts unusual demands on the performer, as a work of this nature requires a more intuitive approach to give it any credibility. Escobar delivers a convincing account of the pieces, the technical difficulties not being apparent."
(Andy Daly, about his Naxos recording)