Roth Guitar Duo
[Review extract]
10th
November
2022
In
the
splendid
setting
of
the
Assembly
Room,
a
hushed
audience
was
held
spellbound
by
the
magic
of
two
guitars
at
Grimsby
Town
Hall,
when
the
Society
presented
the
Roth
Guitar
Duo.
With
something
for
everyone,
partners
Emma
Smith
&
Sam
Rodwell,
performed
music
from
the
Baroque
to
Bad
Boy
(Toru
Takemitsu,
1961),.
Opening
with
Farewell
to
Stromness
(Maxwell-Davies),
quiet
confidence
filled
the
hall,
as
the duo assuredly played out these beautiful strains.
Serenade
in
A,
by
the
early
19th
century
guitarist
Carulli,
represents
the
‘heart
of
classical
guitar’.
Strongly
imbued
with
the
classical
genre
of
the
Beethoven
period,
Sam
&
Emma
revealed
its
contrasting
moods
with
good
interplay
between
the
parts
and
marked
dynamic
variations.
The
wonderfully
performed
Sonatina
Canonica,
Castelnuovo-Tedesco,
in
three
movements
reinforced
the
strong
association
of
the
guitar
with
Spain:
romancing
the
audience
through
Spanish
towns
and
countryside;
a
soulful,
deeply felt, second section gave way to an exciting fiery invocation of Spain in the finale.
The
musical
diversity
of
the
first
half
was
continued
in
an
equally
pleasing
second
half,
opening
with
the
exciting
Lo
Que
Vendre,
Piazzolla,
followed
by
Maximo
Pujol’s
Piazzolla-influenced
Tres
Piezas
de
Otono.
These
two
compositions
moved
the
audience
to
a
steamy
Argentinian
café
offering
coffee
and
tango.
The
moving
second
scene
of
the
Pujol
was
a
delight
to
the
ear:
a
doleful
melody
rose
from
Sam’s
beautifully
executed
rest-strokes,
providing
full
rich
tones
against
Emma’s
perfectly
balanced
accompaniment,
before
she
too
took and returned the lead.
Sam
&
Emma’s
performance
of
Marcello’s
Concerto
for
Oboe
and
Strings
was
pure
joy
for
the
ear.
Sam’s
expressive
melody
against
Emma’s
simple,
yet
wonderful,
chordal
accompaniment;
both
parts
swelling
and
diminishing under great control. A pin-drop would have been heard in the pianissimos.
Concluding
with
a
lively
Allegro,
the
Concerto
was
followed
and
contrasted
by
Homecoming,
written
for
Emma
&
Sam
by
guitarist
&
composer
Yvonne
Bloor.
Like
a
song
without
words,
Homecoming
is
relaxed,
with
a
sense
of
the
familiar
and
welcoming.
Sam
&
Emma,
who
had
captured
their
audience
with
playing
that
was
confident,
yet
unassumingly
skilful
,
concluded
a
wonderful
evening
with
a
heartfelt
encore,
Always
Good to Me, also written for them by Bloor. IM
Roth Guitar Duo
[Review extract]
10th
November
2022
In
the
splendid
setting
of
the
Assembly
Room,
a
hushed
audience
was
held
spellbound
by
the
magic
of
two
guitars
at
Grimsby
Town
Hall,
when
the
Society
presented
the
Roth
Guitar
Duo.
With
something
for
everyone,
partners
Emma
Smith
&
Sam
Rodwell,
performed
music
from
the
Baroque
to
Bad
Boy
(Toru
Takemitsu,
1961),.
Opening
with
Farewell
to
Stromness
(Maxwell-Davies),
quiet
confidence
filled
the
hall,
as
the
duo
assuredly
played
out
these
beautiful strains.
Serenade
in
A,
by
the
early
19th
century
guitarist
Carulli,
represents
the
‘heart
of
classical
guitar’.
Strongly
imbued
with
the
classical
genre
of
the
Beethoven
period,
Sam
&
Emma
revealed
its
contrasting
moods
with
good
interplay
between
the
parts
and
marked
dynamic
variations.
The
wonderfully
performed
Sonatina
Canonica,
Castelnuovo-Tedesco,
in
three
movements
reinforced
the
strong
association
of
the
guitar
with
Spain:
romancing
the
audience
through
Spanish
towns
and
countryside;
a
soulful,
deeply
felt,
second
section gave way to an exciting fiery invocation of Spain in the finale.
The
musical
diversity
of
the
first
half
was
continued
in
an
equally
pleasing
second
half,
opening
with
the
exciting
Lo
Que
Vendre,
Piazzolla,
followed
by
Maximo
Pujol’s
Piazzolla-influenced
Tres
Piezas
de
Otono.
These
two
compositions
moved
the
audience
to
a
steamy
Argentinian
café
offering
coffee
and
tango.
The
moving
second
scene
of
the
Pujol
was
a
delight
to
the
ear:
a
doleful
melody
rose
from
Sam’s
beautifully
executed
rest-strokes,
providing
full
rich
tones
against
Emma’s
perfectly
balanced
accompaniment,
before
she
too
took
and
returned the lead.
Sam
&
Emma’s
performance
of
Marcello’s
Concerto
for
Oboe
and
Strings
was
pure
joy
for
the
ear.
Sam’s
expressive
melody
against
Emma’s
simple,
yet
wonderful,
chordal
accompaniment;
both
parts
swelling
and
diminishing
under
great
control.
A
pin-drop
would
have
been heard in the pianissimos.
Concluding
with
a
lively
Allegro,
the
Concerto
was
followed
and
contrasted
by
Homecoming,
written
for
Emma
&
Sam
by
guitarist
&
composer
Yvonne
Bloor.
Like
a
song
without
words,
Homecoming
is
relaxed,
with
a
sense
of
the
familiar
and
welcoming.
Sam
&
Emma,
who
had
captured
their
audience
with
playing
that
was
confident,
yet
unassumingly
skilful
,
concluded
a
wonderful
evening
with
a
heartfelt
encore, Always Good to Me, also written for them by Bloor. IM
