2/8/2017 Premier of Italian guitarist praised at Carnegie recital | Brooklyn Daily Eagle

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Premier of Italian guitarist praised at Carnegie recital

By Mark Delpriora
Special to the Brooklyn Daily Eagle

The Italian guitarist Cristiano

Porqueddu performed a guitar
recital at Weill Recital Hall at
Carnegie Hall on Friday, July
14 to a full and appreciative
audience.

Porqueddu has occupied

himself in the past years with
the Herculean task of
recording the complete works
of Barrios, the complete solo
works of Angelo Gilardino as
well as massive surveys of
music forms by excellent and
lesser-known composers. It
was a distinct pleasure to hear
him in concert.

On July 14, Porqueddu

Cristiano Porqueddu. Photo (C) 2011-2017 Toni Blanco,
performed a program of
primarily Italian music, the
exception being “Sonata-
Fantasia” by the Spanish
composer Joan Manen. This
work, a staple of the
repertoire, was written “for and because of Andres Segovia.”

The version offered here by Porqueddu was based on a manuscript before Segovia made editorial
changes, with or without the composer’s consent, and differs in a number of places.

Overall, this manuscript version is harmonically more daring at times, there are fewer guitar effects
and, generally, this version is more about the structure and less about the instrument. The form itself is
a Lisztian double-function sonata that is rare in the guitar repertoire. It is a masterpiece and
Porqueddu played it as such.

Before the Manen work, Porqueddu performed works by two Italian composers. The “Due Canzoni
Ebraiche” by Franco Cavallone are rich and pensive folk song settings. These are pieces to program
alongside the folksong arrangements of Miguel Llobet and Mikis Theodorakis. Porquedu’s sound was
rich, warm, clear and focused.

Alfredo Franco’s “Novembrina, The Anatomy of Melancholy” finds its expression via strong harmonic
progressions, piquant dissonances and a steady rhythmic flow with a deluge of virtuosity in the center
section — all elements coming together to express the sweet melancholy of an autumnal evening.

The entire second half of the concert was devoted to seven “Study di Virtuosita e di Trascendenza” by
Angelo Gilardino. These are fiendishly difficult works that require an enormous amount of stamina and
control. The sound that comes out the guitar as a result is magnificent. These studies can be seen as a
technique of interlacing patterns with the open strings functioning as a loom upon which Gilardino
superimposes kaleidoscopic finger patterns. His writing here has the effect of an aural tapestry. On top
of that, there are numerous extra-musical allusions to painters, poets and composers. Porqueddu’s
performance was especially stunning in the “Omaggio a Prokofiev.”

In recent years, Porqueddu has carved out a career for himself that has infinite potential. He has the
vision and fortitude to forge a new and substantial path by discovering, recording and performing great
works that have been largely ignored. There are a few pianists that formed similar career pathways,
notably Marc Andre-Hamelin. We see that Porqueddu has found his way.

Mark Delpriora is a guitarist and composer currently on the guitar faculty of the Manhattan School
of Music and the Juilliard School. He lives in Cobble Hill, where he maintains a teaching studio.

August 1, 2017 - 12:25pm

http://www.brooklyneagle.com/articles/2017/8/1/premier-italian-guitarist-praised-carnegie-recital 1/1