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BARRIOS: Guitar Pieces 4
Naxos 573897—78 minutes
Mr Kaya has been busy in the studio of late. This is the third record of his I’ve reviewed in the last year (Domeniconi, S/O 2018; Morel, M/A 2017). This is the best of the lot, and the others were very fine. This is the fourth of a proposed set of five covering, one presumes, the complete guitar output of Barrios, each with a different artist.
Volume 1 was by Antigone Goni (S/O 2001), 2 by Enno Voorhost (J/F 2004), and 3 by Jeffery McFadden (S/O 2007). I only reviewed McFadden, which was quite lovely, but Kaya is even better. As you might expect, by this point the most popular works have already been recorded—the only really major work here is his tremolo piece, ‘Una Limosna por el Amor de Dios’ (An Aim for the Love of God). I was struck by Kaya’s ability to make so many of these minor works from this prolific composer sound as great as any of his music. He plays everything with superb technique and exquisite taste—everything is just right, as if you’re hearing these pieces just as they should be played. Kaya plays with a modern sensibility. He is deeply expressive, but without distortion and indulgence. This has always been a mark of his playing, and here he serves Barrios’s music with perfection. And his technique is even more accomplished than Barrios’s own. This is a treasure.

From November/December 2018 American Record Guide.

DOMENICONI: Koyunbaba; Snow in Istanbul;
Melting Snow; Anatolian Variations;
Japanese Variations; Taqsim; Don Quixote
Suite; VEYSEL: Uzun Ince bir Yoldayim;
KAYA: Improvisation in Makam Huseyni
Naxos 573675—55 minutes
Kaya is Turkish, one of the rising stars of this new generation of guitarists. He won the 2012 Falletta Concerto Competition (S/O 2016), and I recently reviewed his program of Jorge Morel (M/A 2017).I was impressed by Kaya’s work on the Morel disc—by his good taste. Everything was just right, not overstated, with plenty of virtuosity, but never flash for the sake of flash. This leaves me with the same impression. Though the work was something of the “It” piece for guitarists, especially in competitions, it is about a 13th Century holy man, a hermit who lived in southwest Turkey, in a region now named for him. The music needs a sense of contemplation, and Kaya offers that more than any I’ve heard. Mind you, there is no lack of virtuosity, but it’s a means to an end here. The other major work of Domeniconi here is his Don Quixote Suite, a five-movement work that’s less exotic than Koyunbaba (at least for Westerners), but still deeply expressive and compelling. The movements loosely follow Cervantes’s tale—’Don Quixote,’ ‘In the Realm of Fantasy) ‘Adventures,’ ‘Revelation and Contemplation’, and ‘Transfiguration and Death! It’s beautiful and fascinating. This is the first recording I know of, but it will surely become a popular addition to the repertory. The rest of the program is inspired by Anatolian folk music, including two fairly large works, ‘Variations on an Anatolian Folk Song’ and ‘Taqsim! We also have Kaya’s own improvisation on a makam, which is not only my favorite obscure palindrome—it is a melodic set, used as the basis for improvisation in Turkish music rather like the Indian raga. Those are all interesting, and often beautiful in their exotic way, but you’ll want this for a compelling interpretation of Koyunbaba and to discover a real treasure in the Don Quixote Suite. Kaya displays an admirable maturity so early in his career.

From September/October 2018 American Record Guide.