Delos Diary

We hear lots of musical transcriptions these days. Musicians whose instruments lack a rich solo literature of their own avidly look for material to add to their limited repertoire. Thus we have transcriptions. In some instances, we even have transcriptions of transcriptions.
You'll find a good example of this on the recent Delos CD release "Classical Duo - Music for Cello and Guitar" (DE 3324). Two young Russian virtuosi, cellist Boris Andrianov and guitarist Dimitri Illarionov, have fashioned an interesting album of classics, arranged to bring out the best qualities of each of their instruments. One of the highlights for me is their rendering of Manuel de Falla's Spanish Popular Suite. Originally a seven-song cycle for voice and piano entitled "Seven Popular Songs," six of the seven were transcribed for violin solo and piano by legendary violinist Paul Kochanski. Now it has been rearranged for cello and guitar by Miguel Llobet and Dimitri Illarionov. Music lovers familiar with great past recordings of the original by Victoria de los Angeles, Nan Merriman, or Marilyn Horne will be amazed at how much of the fire and drama of the piece is retained in the cello/guitar version.