Guitaresque attended a performance titled When Guitar meets Zhongruan, at the Esplanade Concert hall on 18th July 2009.
The performance featured Manuel Barrueco, one of the most notable guitar maestro in our times - along with the likes of John Williams, David Rusell, etc. So our expectations were understandably ver high.
And as guitar concerts go, this one would rank high in the "unusual" list, pitting a classical guitar against the likes of the 二胡，中阮，笙，唢呐，琵琶，etc. instruments of the typical chinese orchestra. In fact, what was most interesting for us, was that Barrueco was going to perform the well-known Concerto de Aranjuez (as the soloist, of course) backed by a full chinese orchestra (SCO)!
It was truly an eye-opener, as the various chinese instruments almost "simulated" their western counterparts in those familiar phrases in the concerto, and yet at the same time, brought a different kind of flavor to the song. Credit has to be given the arranger for coming out with such a novel idea in the first place.
Barrueco, of course gave a almost flawless rendition of Aranjuez - as you'd expect him to - but what we were most amazed with was his tone throughout the performance. His guitar sound was not only super clean and clear (kudos to Esplanade for the great sound support and wonderful accoustics), it was warm and mellow at the same time. The ease at which he scaled some of those "killer runs" in Aranjuez (particularly in the third movement) was truly astounding. It reveals his mastery of the instrument and its technique, when he could make a difficult passage look and sound easy to play, topped by the fact that his tonal control was never compromised at any time. Anyone who has played the classical guitar for some time would know that as the technical difficulty of the piece increases (as well as the tempo of the piece), it becomes more ardous a task to maintain a controlled and beautiful tone.
I would be disrespectful if I did not mention the artistry of the 中阮 maestro 刘星, who played a wonderful solo in his own composition Reminiscences of Yunnan, a 3 movement concerto composed as a tribute to a close friend of his, who lived in the chinese city.
The concert ended with an arrangement of Vivaldi's Concerto for 2 mandolins in G major, for the chinese orchestra, and the 2 soloists parts being arranged for a classical guitar and a zhongruan. The linking up of a western instrument with a traditional chinese instrument as they each took their turns to lead the voicing and run the scales and arppeggios was quite refreshing. Although I have to admit that comparing the 2 instruments and their tones, I really really prefer the warm (and in my opinion, more refined) sound of Barrueco's guitar compared to the almost banjo-like plucked sounds from the 中阮. A pity we couldn't have a chance to check out what guitar he was using. haha.
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