This double CD contains 29 live Compay Segundo performances. The first CD contains a conversation with Compay about his childhood and what he feels about his music. This is the original Spanish. The CD split into "club" concerts and "theatre" concerts.
…Barrueco has one more trump card to play – his partnership with Placido Domingo in four songs, selected from those for which Rodrigo himself has made adaptations for the guitar of the original piano accompaniments (the texts are given in four languages). Their coming together was no public relations exercise, for both are longstanding devotees of Rodrigo’s music, and it shows. The partnership extends through the whole of this recording, in which Domingo also conducts the orchestra, an exercise in which both parties demonstrate their happy meeting of minds.'
Reviewed: Gramophone 4/1998, John Duarte
A handsome 11 CD box set honouring the unique art of Pepe Romero, who celebrates his 70th birthday in 2014. This set offers a broad spectrum of Pepe s art from various periods in his career. It moves from the Baroque through to twentieth-century works and features solo, chamber and orchestral performances.
As a collection this is pretty much self-recommending. It assembles Rodrigo's concertos for one (Aranjuez), two (Madrigal) and four (Andaluz) guitars into one place. The playing time is generous and the notes are adequate though it is a pity that the works have not been dated. The sound is close-up and this applies not just to the guitars. The orchestra is very powerfully projected - tantamount to overpowering during climaxes. This is for Rodrigo-ists who prefer intensity and potent drama over chamber intimacy and restraint…