REVIEWS
LES DEUX AMIS
J. S. BACH: Italian Concerto BWV 971. F. SOR: Les Deux Amis. M. CASTELNUOVO-TEDESCO: Sonatina Canonica. J. RODRIGO: Tonadilla.
Duo Kontaxakis-Ivanovich
KSG EXAUDIO 67019
KSG EXAUDIO is a relatively new record company founded in 2009 by Hubert Kappel and Tobias Kassung. Their aim is to specialise in recordings of classical guitar music in its various forms from the solo repertoire through to chamber works and with orchestra. This one for review is only the second CD I’ve come across […] and both discs are highly impressive in every respect from the artistry of the performers, the repertoire and presentation (particularly user-friendly sturdy plastic jewel cases).
The very first recording of classical guitar music I ever purchased was the one with Segovia playing Bach on one side and the harpsichordists Christopher Wood and Waldemar Hohling performing respectively some Handel variations and Bach’s Italian Concerto BWV 971 on the ‘B’ side, a ‘B’ side I may add which got as much turntable play as the ‘A’ one. So if was with great pleasure to discover Michalis Kontaxakis and Dejan Ivanovich starting their programme with this brilliant transcription (by Carlo Machione) of this work in a performance, which is here given an outstanding presentation by this awesome duo.
In a way, and with the Bach in mind, the programme on this disc harks back to an age where programmes would seem almost incomplete without any pieces by Fernando Sor contained in the listings; and any guitar duo worth their salt would be presenting the Rodrigo Tonadilla. Sor’s opus 41 is unjustifiably rarely heard and offers any high-standard guitar duo to demonstrate their virtuosic prowess in some of the tuneful five variations and Mazurka, which follows on the heels of a rather simplistic tune.
In the early 60s Segovia introduced the Italian composer Castelnuovo-Tedesco to the eminent Presti-Lagoya guitar duo and over the next two years Castelnuovo-Tedesco produced a handful of works for two guitars including the Sonatina Canonica heard on this disc. As the title would suggest the piece is an homage to the ‘canon’ form and contains some of the most beautiful writing on the recording. This duo are well up for all the challenges this pieces throws out and in parts there are, intentionally or not, echoes of the Presti-Lagoya ‘sound’.
Throughout, the Kontaxakis-Ivanovich duo gives scorching, highly committed performances and the playing on this disc is some of the best duo ensemble I have listened to.
Highly recommended.
Steve Marsh
[Classical Guitar Magazine, February 2012, pp. 47-48]
Estimados amigos duo Kontaxakis-Ivanovich,
He recibido como agradable sorpresa el CD con obras interpretadas por Vds., entre ellas la Tonadilla.
Les felicito por este magnífico trabajo que es el conjunto de las obras que interpretan y por su ya larga y prestigiosa trayectoria profesional, y les doy las gracias por su amabilidad en enviarme el CD, que he apreciado mucho y que ya forma parte de nuestro muy extenso archivo de grabaciones de obras de Joaquín Rodrigo. También por sus amables comentarios hacia mi padre.
Todas las obras están interpretadas con mucho virtuosismo, y en particular la Tonadilla, obra que, personalmente a mí me gusta mucho, como también es una de mis preferidas el Concierto Madrigal, que según leo en su biografía, conocen y han interpretado en Portugal. Todo ello me causa una gran satisfacción, así como que se hayan conocido en España, y aprecio en su conjunto su excelente trabajo. También debo destacar que las notas del booklet están muy bien escritas, cosa que con frecuencia falla en las grabaciones, aunque contengan buenas interpretaciones.
[…] Les reitero mi más calurosa enhorabuena por el resultado del conjunto de las obras que integran el CD Les Deux Amis, y en particular la Tonadilla de mi padre, interpretada no solamente con toda delicadeza, y al tiempo con gran brillantez.
[…]
Reciban mi más cordial y entusiasta saludo
Cecilia Rodrigo
[E-mail, 30th of June 2011]
new recordings
Duo kontaxakis—Ivanovich: LES DEUX AMIS
By Tiago Cassola Marques
The recordings of guitar duos such as Presti‐Lagoya or Sérgio and Odair Assad have a special, privileged place on the book-shell of any guitar aficionado. Most recently, other deux amis aspire of making company to their famous predecessors. The winners of some of the most important international guitar competitions, Michalis Kontaxakis and Dejan Ivanovich reveal on this recording, made by german label KSG EXAUDIO, their excellent qualities as musicians and the fine moment of symbiosis which duo is experiencing at the moment. We are talking about the CD with very refined menu, only for the finest taste.
It covers baroque, classic and XX century repertoire: a famous Tonadilla (1961) by Rodrigo, beautiful and unfamiliar Sonatina Canonica (1959) by Castelnuovo‐Tedesco (the composer who is fortunately more and more popular among guitarists), both works being dedicated to duo Presti‐Lagoya. Les Deux Amis is a classical guitar masterpiece dedicated by Sor to his Madrid-born friend Aguado, for the celebration of their friendship and mutual admiration, who played it many times in Paris around 1830, and its title was rightfully selected for the CD title, also celebrating with it the collaboration between the two guitarists, the greek and the croatian.
It’s not difficult to recognize the qualities of two young guitarists of enormous individual talent who also display in this project the achievement of having acquainted some notable maturity as an ensemble. Regarding the interpretative praxis, in general terms, it is highly evident an extremely high technical level of the performance. Although there is a clear difference between the sound and interpretative characteristics of each one of them, they present a notable synchrony in the dynamics, articulation and sound colors, which gives an impression that they are being preserved different with purpose in order to maintain individuality. It’s perfectly possible to distinguish the voices of both guitars. The variety of expressive resources, the potent crystal-clear sound and an overall music comprehension are unquestionable.
In Concerto Italiano BWV 971 by Bach one can immediately get curious about the transcription made by Carlo Marchione. Besides that, the ornamentation is carefully shaped, the tempi are fast, and Bach’s music flows out with natural harpsichord breath, enriched by the color and dynamic range of the guitar. In Andante, the phrasing is beautiful and the long notes have excellent sustain. The classic Les deux amis is performed with elegance and vigor. The vision of the piece is very original, more modern and different than the famous version of duo Maccari & Pugliese on the original instruments. The variations are also brilliant, achieving hallucinating velocities, which mirrors the virtuosity of Sor’s writing not only for Aguado’s part, but in general.
Without getting too deep into the analysis of each piece, the works by Rodrigo and Castelnuovo‐Tedesco demand a special interpretative depth which, together with the necessary fully achieved high technical level, gives a very rewarding overall result. Small details of different articulations in Sor and in Tonadilla, or eventually some minor questionable interpretative decisions about tempi, or the color changes such as bright ma non troppo, never come even close in doubting the expressivity, the sound, the technical mastery or, let alone, the general result.
The CD is of High Fidelity quality also in the studio, whose stereo recording stimulates the the clarity of the voices: the sound capture, the reverb timing, the perfectly balanced and natural sound of the guitars. It was not a surprise to find the name of Hubert Käppel, well-known guitarist and virtuoso, being the tonmeister behind this work at his KSG EXAUDIO record label company.
The disc, with its interesting aesthetics and modern design, contains also the complete booklet with the text including complete range of information about the pieces, made by the members of Duo, in English and German. After finishing the CD and some minutes of silence following the last track, we discovered the hidden track which is made of the excerpts of making of process, revealing both grotesque and funny situations.
CD Les Deux Amis is definitely joy to listen and a satisfaction to have. We were astonished and overwhelmed in Concerto Italiano, thankful in Tedesco, having fun and sangue caliente in Tonadilla, graceful in Variations. With this CD, the two guitarists, Dejan Ivanovich and Michalis Kontaxakis offered us a small diamond with which they celebrated their friendship and passion for guitar. We wish them all the best for their international success which they certainly deserve.
RECOMMENDED
[Revista Guitarra Clássica n. 4 ONLINE Magazine, January 2011, pp. 23-24, translated from Portuguese by: Ivanovich, D.]
REPORTAGE: KSGEXAUDIO
Under one roof
By Michael Nötges
[…] The latest coup from KSGExaudio is the Kontaxakis-Ivanovich duo, which is considered by connoisseurs to be one of the best guitar duos in the world. The CD Les Deux Amis, which will be released by KSGExaudio next, offers recordings by Bach, Sor, Castelnuovo-Tedesco and Rodrigo.
[…] In the end, the musicians decide for themselves which take to take in lengthy listening sessions. “You then create detailed cutting lists on the basis of which the final version is worked out,” explains Tobias Kassung. The recordings of the duo Kontaxakis-Ivanovich, which the musicians took under the care of Käppel and Kassung in the Honrather Kirche, have just finished. […] “During the recordings, I initially thought that the performers’ two instruments did not harmonize optimally,” explains Käppel. “But, it is precisely the different timbres”, adds Kassung, “that ultimately separate the two voices from one another and ensure an incredible polyphony. “
We reluctantly leave the cool walls and go back to Käppel’s studio on the Spechtsberg. Among other things, the guitar professor plays us the recordings of the Croatian-Greek duo that I just mentioned. Suddenly, when the two guitar virtuosos start, we are again in the church for a brief moment. The sound is very authentic and natural. “The recordings are not laboriously reworked or mastered”, Kassung explains to us. It should sound as lifelike as possible and, as we can see for ourselves, this has been impressively achieved. In our mind, we see the two guitarists sitting in the church who, inspired by the sound of the room, grow beyond themselves during the recordings.
[…]
[Professional audio Musik & Equipment, Germany, August 2010, pp. 49-50, translated from German by: Ivanovich, D.]
A furious end to a successful guitar week
9th of April 2007
By Martin Rex
Gevelsberg. (wp) Joy and sadness were close together on the last evening of the guitar festival. On the one hand, the music lovers in the Erlöserkirche knew that one of the world’s best duos was about to perform — Dejan Ivanovic[h] and Michalis Kon[t]axakis — but on the other hand they also had in the back of their minds that this Thursday evening it would all be over for this year.
But then the Croat and the Greek appeared and with the first music notes all the grief was forgotten.
This intensity, emotionality and virtuosity, which both exuded and this ingenious interplay, which allowed the two guitars to fuse into one, embraced every listener and captivated them to the last faded note.
With a lot of charm and humor they conveyed the varied program, from the baroque to the modern. For example, they opened the second half with a little surprise. While only [Michalis] appeared on the stage and started right away, one suddenly heard an echo from the next room – and [Dejan] stepped in playing, who slowly walked to the podium and sat down next to his colleague. Then, they performed Ronald Stevenson‘s composition on Don Quixote with unbelievable precision and concluded the concert with Tonadilla by Joaquín Rodrigo.
When the program was over, the audience broke out into thunderous applause and demanded three more encores from the sympathetic duo. A great end to the [Gevelsberg] Guitar Festival.
[…]
[Westfalenpost, Germany, 11th of April 2007, translated from German: Ivanovich, D.]
EXTRAORDINARY MUSICIANSHIP BY DUO KONTAXAKIS—IVANOVICH
8th of September 2006
By A.D.S.
Excellent guitar duo Kontaxakis Ivanovi[ch] presented themselves to Tuzla music public offering an extraordinary concert on Wednesday evening at Bosnian Cultural Centre. This Duo is active since 2004 when Michalis Kontaxakis and Dejan Ivanovi[ch] participated on the International Guitar Competition in Valencia [Spain].
[…]
[Oslobodjenje, Bosnia & Herzegovina, p. 26]
ONLINE MUSIC
MIRÓ, FERNANDO LOPES-GRAÇA & JOAQUÍN RODRIGO
3rd of June 2006
By Samuel Silva
On 1st of June I had an opportunity to listen to the closing concert of the current academic year which was held at the Aveiro University Communication & Art Department concert hall featuring Filarmonia das Beiras under baton of maestro Rui Pinheiro.
[…]
The moment which I was particularly looking forward to happened on the second part of the concert and it was a second highlight of the evening. Thanks to the participation of the guitarists Dejan Ivanovich and Michalis Kontaxakis I was able to listen to Concierto Madrigal by Joaquín Rodrigo. The performance of these two musicians was on such a level that, as I arrived home, I immediately searched for my guitar and practiced my velocity and expertise … velocity of the snail, expertise of one hippo having a run in the strawberry field. Anyway, [there is] nothing better than watching to the great ones in order to understand our own limits.
[Esconderijo do Pirilampo, ONLINE Magazine, Portugal, translated from Portuguese by: Ivanovich, D.]
VIOLINSKI KLJUČ
By Irena Paulus
Two Days at HGZ
[…] Next day, Tuesday 6th of March, the concert at the same venue was a bit different. Concert series Guitarra Viva, at the first glance, meant emptier stage (but not the space for the public) and more chamber sound. Nevertheless, instead of presenting one guitar virtuoso, HGZ [concert venue] had two of them: Michalis Kontaxakis and Dejan Ivanovi[ch], whose friendship and musical experience were forged on numerous music competitions and transformed itself into a concert friendship. Gitar duo Kontaxakis – Ivanovi[ch] is active since 2004, and it contributed even at this concert to the better comprehension of the original guitar repertoire together with the transcriptions of some familiar pieces such as the harpsichord sonatas (K. 380, K. 318 and K. 336) by Domenico Scarlatti and Suite in C Major (written originally in F Major) by G. F. Händel. From those two transcriptions, I liked more the second one, the work by Händel, but it doesn’t mean that Scarlatti was not performed on a highly professional level.
Works by Fer[nan]do Sor (Les Deux Amis), André Jolivet (Sérénade), Mario Castelnuovo–Tedesco (Prelude & Fugue in f# minor from Well Tempered Guitars series) and Joaquín Rodrigo (Tonadilla) were performed with equal attention. All the works are played with utmost respect, but some changes regarding the composer’s different characteristics were missing. […] In spite of that, the public decided to the performer’s advantage. After being rewarded with an enormous applause, Kontaxakis and Ivanovi[ch] played three more encore pieces. Having that in mind, one should not be too tough and insist on imperfections […], because the public, as it is widely known, is always right.
[Vijenac n. 340, Croatia, 15th of March 2006, translated from Croatian by: Ivanovich, D.]
