Review of Adagio
Works of Bach, Scarlatti, Handel, and Albinoni
Andrew Zohn, Guitar
Clear Note Recordings

Zohn is known in these pages as a talented composer and here proves himself to be equally talented in performance. With over half the CD taken over by Domenico Scarlatti one has to like this man’s music but it is so varied and equally so aptly played by Zohn that one need have no fear in that respect. The large batch of pieces is split up over the CD so as not to come at you in one great lump, although the playing is of such a quality that I don’t personally think it would spoil the CD at all if they were all together. Many of them manage to sound completely natural as guitar pieces anyway, and here they could have been composed for guitar (a shame they weren’t in my opinion). At any rate Zohn saves some of his finest playing for these wonderfully varied pieces. The 2nd Cello Suite BWV 1008 originally in d minor but here, as usually, transcribed into a minor receives a fine committed performance. As is customary, he embellishes the repeats the repeats somewhat but not too much to get in the way of the music, a fact that other players should take to heart, for many times I feel a piece is unnecessarily messed around with during the repeated section. The delightfully titled Handel work, apparently written for a music box, or organ operated by clockworkmechanisms (neither fits the bill as a musical clock in my mind!) is light and airy and a much more straightforward work than the Bach or Scarlatti and is four short movements. The CD finishes with a serious performance of the work erroneously known as Albinoni’s Adagio. This is a fine arrangement and closes a CD almost entirely consisting of high points with little or no low spots throughout its hour or so duration.
One to look out for!

Chris Dunigan
Classical Guitar Magazine, UK