Rodrigo: Guitar Works, Vol. 1 (Incls 3 piezas espanolas & Sonata giocosa)

"Perhaps surprisingly, Rodrigo did not write a great deal of solo guitar music, preferring to concentrate on his beloved piano. But what there is is undoubtedly memorable. The best-known work here is the Tres piezas españolas, of which the closing Zapateado is the most familiar. The young French guitarist Jérémy Jouve plays it brilliantly, although he is not a show-off artist, preferring musical values, which he displays in the sensitive account of the Andante moderato slow movement of the Sonata giocosa, yet finding plenty of life and sparkle in the outer movements, especially the boisterous finale. He is at his finest in Por los campos de España ('In the Spanish Countryside'), a group of five miniature pictures, which he plays very evocatively. The duet works are also very well played, but are not as individual as the solo pieces." Penguin Guide