Andrew Gough was the guitar soloist in The Soul Of Spain concert at Worthing Assembly Hall featuring pieces by Spanish composers and orchestral works inspired by Spain.
Gough’s crisp technique and sensitive phrasing were brilliantly demonstrated when he played the solo in Albeniz’s Asturias suite.
Marcus Martin conducted the Alassio Concert Orchestra in the rest of the programme, including an excellent account of favourites like Rossini’s Barber Of Seville Overture, Bizet’s Carmen Act 1 Prelude, and Chabrier’s España which made a stirring and memorable finale to this enjoyable concert.
They were equally compelling in Moritz Moskowski’s Spanish Dances and Jules Massenet’s El Cid ballet music – works which deserve to be played more frequently.
However, Mr Martin’s choice of a slow, flattened-out tempo in Albeniz’s Tango made it less of a tango than a waltz.
Moreover, in Rodrigo’s Fantasia Para Un Gentilhombre, unsubtle woodwind accompaniment obscured Andrew Gough’s expressive but precise playing in several passages.
Otherwise guitar and orchestra combined well in this extensive concerto-like composition, written in 1954 for Andres Segovia, the doyen of modern classical guitarists, and the gentleman of the title.
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