PETER SCOTT LEWIS: Three Suites for Guitar
Recent Reviews:
"The music is all fresh and the playing superb."
Stephanie von Buchau, Oakland Tribune
(Syndicated to many papers) ( 9-24-04)
These three guitar suites present a convincing fusion of many styles and attitudesâ€"blues-inflected harmonies sit comfortably alongside diatonically oriented flamenco figurations; minimalism with the Classical languages of Sor and Carulli. There are also spiritually borrowed moments from such Latin American composers as Agustin Barrios-Mangoré and Carlos Guastavino, often leavened with quite natural jazz syncopations. That last element, however, is subsumed into contexts that bring Bach’s sonatas and partitas for solo violin and solo cello to mindâ€"works that were, in their time, inspired by the age-old impulses to sing and to dance.
Lewis’s guitar technique is utterly clean and precise. He has a fine understanding of his comparatively quiet instrument’s paradoxically awesome dynamic range. His chord voicings are organ-like, and his ability to float his often-austere melodies over large time stretches is satisfying.
The sound is state of the art.
In sum, if you are a guitar aficionado, this release is essential.
William Zagorski, Fanfare Magazine, March/April, 2004
"A COMPELLING, SELF-PENNED, SELF PERFORMED RECITAL FROM AN URGENT BUT ELUSIVE ARTIST- Vivid, Entrancing, and Remarkable: The composer plays his own scores with all the urgency and commitment one would expect from a performer who knows the music from the inside out. There isn't a wasted gesture or hesitant moment in these interpretations. The intimate acoustics enhance Lewis's restrained virtuosity."
Donald Rosenberg: Gramophone Magazine, London, England: December 2003 (Special Feature Review)
"Peter Scott Lewis is featured here as the soloist in his own four-movement Three Suites, works that show off the formidable technique Lewis commands - his right hand is particularly amazing, capable of the most fleet-flowing repeated notes. Tuneful and highly rhythmic, the suites (especially the last one) have an improvisational feel, with repeated passages that alter slightly and gradually metamorphose into completely different material."
By Melinda Bargreen: Seattle Times (5-11-03)
"A wonderful CD. Exquisite! "
J.L. Bueno, La Otra Musica, FM80, Cadiz, Spain (4-28-03)
"The guitar suites are wonderfully haunting. I remember what Stravinsky said about the guitar: not small but as from far away. The music brings those distances home. I've listened to it over and over. Bravo!"
J.D. McClatchy, Editor: The Yale Review (4-18-03)
For more reviews, biographical information, list of compositions, and list of recordings, please go to Lapis Island Records (www.lapisisland.com), or the Composer's Page at Theodore Presser Co. (www.presser.com). You can also get additional biographical information at New Albion Records (newalbion.com).
Check out the artist's website:
http://www.lapisisland.com
Track List:
1. Third Guitar Suite: Prelude
2. Morning Improv.
3. Pastorale
4. Finale
5. First Guitar Suite: Mesolithic Dance
6. Rain Fantasy
7. Into a Clearing
8. Burlesque
9. Second Guitar Suite: Prelude
10. Pastorale
11. Toccata
12. Epiloque
Suggested CDs:Other Genres:
Recent Reviews:
"The music is all fresh and the playing superb."
Stephanie von Buchau, Oakland Tribune
(Syndicated to many papers) ( 9-24-04)
These three guitar suites present a convincing fusion of many styles and attitudesâ€"blues-inflected harmonies sit comfortably alongside diatonically oriented flamenco figurations; minimalism with the Classical languages of Sor and Carulli. There are also spiritually borrowed moments from such Latin American composers as Agustin Barrios-Mangoré and Carlos Guastavino, often leavened with quite natural jazz syncopations. That last element, however, is subsumed into contexts that bring Bach’s sonatas and partitas for solo violin and solo cello to mindâ€"works that were, in their time, inspired by the age-old impulses to sing and to dance.
Lewis’s guitar technique is utterly clean and precise. He has a fine understanding of his comparatively quiet instrument’s paradoxically awesome dynamic range. His chord voicings are organ-like, and his ability to float his often-austere melodies over large time stretches is satisfying.
The sound is state of the art.
In sum, if you are a guitar aficionado, this release is essential.
William Zagorski, Fanfare Magazine, March/April, 2004
"A COMPELLING, SELF-PENNED, SELF PERFORMED RECITAL FROM AN URGENT BUT ELUSIVE ARTIST- Vivid, Entrancing, and Remarkable: The composer plays his own scores with all the urgency and commitment one would expect from a performer who knows the music from the inside out. There isn't a wasted gesture or hesitant moment in these interpretations. The intimate acoustics enhance Lewis's restrained virtuosity."
Donald Rosenberg: Gramophone Magazine, London, England: December 2003 (Special Feature Review)
"Peter Scott Lewis is featured here as the soloist in his own four-movement Three Suites, works that show off the formidable technique Lewis commands - his right hand is particularly amazing, capable of the most fleet-flowing repeated notes. Tuneful and highly rhythmic, the suites (especially the last one) have an improvisational feel, with repeated passages that alter slightly and gradually metamorphose into completely different material."
By Melinda Bargreen: Seattle Times (5-11-03)
"A wonderful CD. Exquisite! "
J.L. Bueno, La Otra Musica, FM80, Cadiz, Spain (4-28-03)
"The guitar suites are wonderfully haunting. I remember what Stravinsky said about the guitar: not small but as from far away. The music brings those distances home. I've listened to it over and over. Bravo!"
J.D. McClatchy, Editor: The Yale Review (4-18-03)
For more reviews, biographical information, list of compositions, and list of recordings, please go to Lapis Island Records (www.lapisisland.com), or the Composer's Page at Theodore Presser Co. (www.presser.com). You can also get additional biographical information at New Albion Records (newalbion.com).
Check out the artist's website:
http://www.lapisisland.com
Track List:
1. Third Guitar Suite: Prelude
2. Morning Improv.
3. Pastorale
4. Finale
5. First Guitar Suite: Mesolithic Dance
6. Rain Fantasy
7. Into a Clearing
8. Burlesque
9. Second Guitar Suite: Prelude
10. Pastorale
11. Toccata
12. Epiloque
Suggested CDs:Other Genres:
- CLASSICAL: Contemporary
- FEATURING GUITAR