Jonathan Wentworth Associates


Jason Vieaux - Critical Acclaim

 

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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09/05/06 08:44:32 AM