Barrios: Guitar Music Vol.1: Suite Andina / U sueno en la floresta

"All are charming and given fully committed performances. Naxos was wise to secure her for this project; I hope she will contribute the additional volumes of the series as well, because her Barrios is something special."
- Steven Rings, American Record Guide September/October 2001

"Uplifting, imaginative music in many varieties gushed from Agustin Barrios' fecund brain directly into his agile hands and perpetually singing guitar. John Williams' landmark Barrios recordings, of course, have helped draw a wider audience to the cause of this Paraguayan guitar genius. Now the young and highly gifted Greek virtuoso Antigoni Goni (what a great name she has!) commences what Naxos promises to be a complete run of Barrios' guitar music. I hope Goni completes the cycle, because she's an amazing instrumentalist and obviously loves this music. Notice the incredible control with which she shapes the near-impossible tremolos in Un sueno en la floresta, and how she makes melodic sense of the arpeggiated bass lines. Or listen to the variety of articulations and deliciously timed rubatos in the Valse Brilliante."
10 out of 10 Artistic and Sound quality
- ClassicsToday.com (Jed Distler)

Agustín Pío Barrios Mangoré was born in southern Paraguay on 5th May, 1885, and died on 7th August, 1944, in San Salvador, El Salvador. Many consider Barrios to be the greatest guitarist composer of all time. In view of this fact, it is curious that his music lay undiscovered and unappreciated for over three decades after his death. In the mid-1970s comprehensive editions of his music appeared, making it possible for guitarists of Antigoni Goni's generation to include in their study the music of Barrios, augmenting and complementing more traditional repertoire by Sor, Giuliani, Carcassi, Tarrega and Villa Lobos. The revival began in 1977 when John Williams released an entire recording of music by Barrios which focused a long overdue recognition on this forgotten Latin American guitarist. Today Barrios' music is frequently performed by major concert artists and is appreciated by audiences world wide.

Young Barrios never studied in a formal music conservatory, and completed only two years of high school. He made his living from performing, and had no other professional skills in any other pursuit except playing the guitar and composing music. Performing according to a life-style which required him to travel constantly, Barrios never really settled down in one particular country. He lived extended periods of time in Brazil (1915-1919), Uruguay (1912-1915, 1919-1927) and El Salvador (1939-1944). In none of these places did he establish a conservatory nor did he pursue the systematic publication of his music. He escaped from Latin America only once, in 1934, when he visited Europe, staying just fifteen months, but his lifelong goal of reaching the United States never came to fruition.

Barrios unfortunately never received the recognition and material success that his talent merited. Thus it is particularly fitting that his music be featured in a number of Naxos recordings. The initial volume offered here by Antigoni Goni begins with Maxixe, an urban dance from Brazil. Barrios himself recorded this work in 1929 but he did not perform it in concert to any great degree. A virtuoso display of both technical prowess and compositional skill, Maxixe is one of Barrios' greatest works in the genre of music inspired by folk tradition.