Classical Spanish guitar is not generally something I would go out and buy for myself, a lot of the music that comes across my desk for review is not what I would usually listen to so I have learned to keep an open mind. I listen as I work and try to get a feel for what I’m listening to more so than anything else.
Having said that, The Guitar has quite a haunting quality. This is a very laid back listen, melodic and lilting. There are some tracks that are much, I want to say heavier but that’s not quite the word – much darker. They are played lower but that’s not all it is making them seem darker. Some of the tracks are also quite romantic.
Milos Karadaglic is a 28 year old from Montenegro who says this album reflects his character and tells us who he is. The love affair Milos shares with the guitar was set in motion when he was eight and he first heard a recording of Segovia playing Albeniz’s Asturias. Milos was then enrolled at a specialist music school and learned all the teachers had to teach him in 6 short months.
At nine Milos gave his first public performance and then at eleven entered and won his first national competition, that was a momentous day because he also won a singing competition. He moved forward from there to become a star performer on television and radio, and took guitar masterclasses in Belgrade. At the young age of 16 Milos chased his childhood dreams and auditioned for a place in the Royal Academy of Music in London.
The tracks were chosen for this album to reflect the diversity of his musical upbringing, including influences from the eastern and western ends of the Mediterranean.
Many of the pieces you will find on Milos’s debut album, The Guitar, were originally written for piano but they have been arranged to sound beautifully natural for the guitar. Granado’s Andaluza had previously been arranged for the guitar, but Milos and mentor Michael Lewin of London’s Royal Academy made their own version of it, as well as Oriental by the same composer.
The classical guitar has had at least three international heroes – Andres Segovia, John Williams and Julian Bream. But, in Miloš’s view, it has “fallen asleep slightly”. So he’s made it his mission to awaken it from its slumber and make it speak again.
Not something I would listen to all of the time but it is an album I am glad to have been exposed to! I am pretty sure it will get a bit of airplay in my house. (It’s on it’s 4th run through of the evening at the moment)
Also included with the album is a bonus DVD entitled The Journey which is a documentary about who Milos got to where he is today, should be an interesting watch. There is also a recording of Asturias.
TRACK LISTING
- Albéniz – Asturias
- Tarrega – Recuerdos de la Alhambra
- Albéniz – Sevilla
- Tárrega – Lagrima
- Anonymous – Romance – English Chamber Orchestra Paul Watkins
- Tárrega – Adelita
- Albéniz – Granada
- Domeniconi: Koyunbaba. Suite for Guitar, op. 19
- Theodorakis: Epitaph no. 3: A Day in May
- Theodorakis: Epitaph no. 4: You have set, My Star
- Tárrega: Caprichio Arabe
- Llobet: Testament d’Amelia
- Granados: Danzas españolas
BONUS DVD
Documentary
Milos – A journey
Music Clips
I devour books, vampires and supernatural creatures are my genre of choice but over the past couple of years, I have broadened my horizons considerably. In a nutshell – I love to write! I love interacting with a diverse range of artists to bring you interviews. Perhaps we were perfect before – I LOVE WORDS!