What The Critics Say:
Vieaux shows why he flies above crowded field of
classical guitarists
By HERMAN TROTTER
Buffalo News Music Critic Emeritus
2/28/2005
CONCERT REVIEW
Guitarist Jason Vieaux
Saturday night in Lippes Hall, University at Buffalo North Campus,
Amherst.
When Buffalo native Jason Vieaux was a precocious
youngster giving guitar recitals, in addition to his abundant natural
gifts he already radiated a determination to succeed. This may have been
even more crucial than his talent, because the example set by such
pioneers as Andres Segovia, Julian Bream, John Williams and others had
brought hundreds of aspiring classical guitarists into the field, and the
competition was fierce. I know of dozens of exceptionally talented
guitarists who gave it all they had, made recordings, but ultimately just
couldn't keep their careers airborne.
Jason Vieaux, however, is flying high, with a flourishing touring schedule
and a prestigious position in academia as chairman of the guitar
department at the Cleveland Institute of Music. His Saturday recital in
Lippes Concert Hall demonstrated for a gratifyingly large audience the
distinctive characteristics that set Vieaux apart from many of his peers.
The first thing one notices is his consummate technique, with a virtually
flawless left hand and an almost total absence of the glistening sound of
sliding fingers during position change. The technique is so secure that
after five minutes one forgets about it and pays attention to matters of
interpretation.
The guitar is essentially an intimate instrument, and rather often
guitarists seem to play over-assertively out of conviction that they might
not be heard well on the fringes of the hall. Vieaux seems to cherish his
instrument's intimacy and approaches it with a kind of reverence that
becomes an invitation to listen more intently. As a result, there is a
pervading softness to his sound that truly does draw the listener in, as
first experienced in the evocative and nocturnal second movement of
Ponce's "Sonata Clasica."
In the sonata's third movement, he imparted a vibrant color to individual
tones that gave them a singing quality all on their own. And in the
finale, the individual voices were set off against each other so well as
to seem clearly conversational.
Vieaux plays with a singular lack of percussiveness, even in so
quintessentially Spanish a work as Albeniz's "Torre Bermeja," where the
concluding chordal flourishes emerged as radiant sound rather than
Flamenco bravado.
One of the evening's delights was "Five Melodies in the Form of a Baroque
Suite," Vieaux's transcription of songs by jazz guitarist Pat Metheny.
There was some Appalachian folk flavor and an occasional blue note here,
and an absolutely haunting harmonization in "Tell Her You Saw Me." But
although such baroque devices as arpeggiated supporting lines were used,
the overall ambience was not classical, not pop, but had a neutral gravity
similar to that of British light music.
Vieaux saved some of his best playing for the concluding "Suite del
Recuerdo" by Jose Luis Merlin. There was the absolutely languishing
performance of the opening Evocation, with absolutely perfect takeoff and
landing of several wide-interval leaps. Elsewhere he displayed a wide
range of tonal coloration, was not afraid to sculpt some transitions and
phrase endings with tasteful but effective rubato, and at the very end he
unleashed some excitingly visceral percussive touches.
To conclude his Buffalo visit, Vieaux will offer free public sessions with
composition students at 2 p.m. today in Room 250, Baird Hall, and will
join the Slee Sinfonietta in performances of two concertos by Vivaldi
Tuesday at 8 p.m. in Lippes Concert hall.
Cleveland Plain Dealer
"...Jason Vieaux has arranged a baker's dozen of
Albeniz selections with fine
sensitivity, and he plays them with the singing quality and rhythmic point
that have become his trademarks. An irresistible release." (August
2003) [Sevilla CD, Azica Records, ACD-71224]
American Record Guide
"Vieaux is a strong, expressive player with a gift
for lyricism and an easy virtuosity. His playing here is especially
affecting in the sonatas' slow movements. The Andantino affetuoso of the
Sonata Mexicana is an unheralded gem, with a Mexican exoticism and
folkloric mystery that is no doubt quirky but has always sounded to me
like Ponce at his most authentic. Vieaux gives it a stunning reading,
lingering over phrases and creating a magical stillness in certain
passages. He also delivers beautifully restrained performances of the
Andantes of the Sonata Romantica, long a favorite of guitarists, and the
Sonata Clasica, less familiar but just as lovely. His playing in the outer
movements is dynamic and lively. He favors more deliberate tempos and
rhythmc clarity - characteristics sometimes lacking in Segovia's otherwise
superlative recordings of these works (MCA 42072)." (May/June 2002)
Cleveland Plain Dealer
Tranquil Master Connects in Concert
Superior music-making doesn't necessarily require
overt flashes of temperament or technique. It can creep up on the listener
with quiet resolve.
Such is the deeply rewarding artistry that guitarist Jason Vieaux offers
in concert. His recital Wednesday at the Cleveland Museum of Art's Gartner
Auditorium was an intimate encounter between music, musician and audience.
Every work received meticulous and refined treatment.
It would have been even more satisfying to hear Vieaux in a small room, at
close range. But his playing on this occasion was so concentrated that he
had no difficulty drawing ears to the dulcet and vital sounds he produced.
The program was extremely varied, ranging from Bach to living composers.
And Vieaux provided each work with appropriate stylishness. He conveyed
the clarity of texture and line required to make something significant of
Bach's Violin Sonata No. 1. In Fernando Sor's Variations on a Theme of
Mozart, Op. 9, the transformations of the theme from "The Magic Flute"
were handled with deft phrasing and subtle nuancing.
Vieaux brought no extraneous attention to anything on the program. He
savored the Mexican folklorism in Manuel Ponce's Sonatina Meridional
without overplaying its zesty aspects. It was as if he knew that a pinch
of flavoring is far better than a handful. Even so, the life-affirming
personality of the finale, "Fiesta," tripped brightly from his fingers.
Ian Krouse's Variations on a Moldavian Hora, which helped Vieaux win first
prize in the 1992 Guitar Foundation of America International Competition,
goes beyond the usual rules of the required competition piece. Amid its
hushed harmonics, trills and perilous fingerwork lies a haunting evocation
of its source material. Vieaux gave it a magical, songful reading.
Spain's dominant influence on the guitar came to the fore in two Albeniz
selections, "Capricho Catalan" and "Sevilla," which journey through
tender, exuberant and seductive terrain. Argentine composer Jose Luis
Merlin's handsomely conceived Suite del Recuerdo (1992) revealed Vieaux's
estimable ability to alter his playing to suit the shapes of a theme or
dance form.
Even the encore, Albeniz's "Torre Bermeja," was buoyed by the touch of a
tranquil master. Like all classical guitarists, Vieaux lives in a lonely
musical world. Unlike most, he makes contact through direct, sensitive
communication. (January, 2003)
Cleveland Plain Dealer
LISTEN UP (CD Review)
Jason Vieaux, guitar
Manuel Ponce: The Guitar Sonatas (Azica)
File under: Brilliant, sensitive journey through appealing sonatas.
Guitarists are deeply indebted to Mexican composer
Manuel Maria Ponce (1882-1948) for creating some of the most challenging
and beautiful pieces for their beloved instrument. On his newest album,
Jason Vieaux points out the expressive vibrancy of Ponce's art, capturing
not only the rhythmic zest but also the poetic spirit. The five sonatas
are beguiling works, concise in form and full of ardent thoughts. Ponce
wrote them for the great Spanish guitarist Andres Segovia, but his
haunting music couldn't be better served than here: Vieaux's playing is
keenly shaded, songful and articulate. The recorded sound is crystal
clear. A- (Donald Rosenberg) (January 2002)
For Booking Information, please contact:
Martha Woods at Jonathan Wentworth Associates
mjws@Jwentworth.com and
301-277-8205
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