Program: BACH: First Violin Sonata; TORROBA: Sonatina; PONCE: Sonatina Meridional; PAGANINI: Grande Sonata; WM. WALTON: Five Bagatelles
Studio: Mel Bay Records MB21186DVD
Video: 4:3 color
Audio: PCM stereo
Extras: Interview with Vidovic
Length: 63 minutes
Rating: ****
I was not familiar with guitarist Vidovic, but she is clearly a major talent in the classical guitar world. Her recital was videotaped at the Renaissance Center for the Arts in Tampa, Florida, on a simple stage with a brick wall background. The PCM audio is clean and crisp and the image has excellent resolution and detail, especially in the closeups of Vidovic’s finger work on the frets.
The two Spanish Sonatinas are especially delightful, and I greatly enjoyed the William Walton work which closes the program, not having ever heard any guitar works by this composer, one of my favorite English composers. The program is just the right length. Somehow the simple and straightforward setting and presentation of the performance – which has struck me as rather boring on some of the previous Mel Bay jazz guitar DVDs – seems here to be perfectly appropriate to the music heard. I didn’t expect an entire program of solo guitar could retain my interest, but it did.
– John Henry
