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Elmer Bernstein is best known for his film scores (
The Magnificent Seven and
The Great Escape are two of his best), but the former student of Aaron Copland has long dabbled in classical music. On this disc, we get his first attempt at composing for classical guitar. Performed by the legendary Christopher Parkening, Bernstein's Concerto for Guitar is a bit of a mixed bag: beautiful guitar parts (especially in the third movement, "Celebration") and plenty of disjointed orchestral outbursts that sound as if they were lifted straight out of an epic Hollywood soundtrack. The rest of the disc fares better. Parkening shines on Albéniz's
La Vega, a piece composed originally for piano that features gorgeous interplay between soloist and orchestra. To finish out this guitar-fest, we get to hear a much younger Parkening performing Jack Marshall's
Essay for Guitar (the first CD reissue of the 1967 recording). Though just 19 at the time, Parkening plays the playful yet contemplative work with ease and maturity. It's easily the highlight of the disc.
--Jason Verlinde