The Most Beautiful Sounds Next to Silence

Guitarist and composer Ferenc Snétberger collaborates with the Keller Quartet in a live concert of his own works and those by Shostakovich, Dowland, and Barber. All the pieces center around a message of commemoration, giving us a view into its many different forms.

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Snétberger wrote his Concerto for Guitar and Orchestra, “In Memory of My People” (1994-5), as a remembrance of the 50th anniversary of the Holocaust’s end. Here we have an arrangement from the original score to guitar and string quartet. Hallgató (track 1), equal parts jazz and Hungarian folk music, has improvisation at its heart. The guitar solos are lengthy (the first one alone taking up almost a third of the entire movement), but the performance doesn’t make us feel that way. The instrument’s pleasing, full-bodied sound really seems to fill out the concert space nicely. Additionally, Snétberger’s fluid rubatos successfully do just what his composition intends, which is to express a prevalent melancholy.

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However, the element of freedom keeps the interpretation from becoming overly dark or one-sided. When the folk appears in the middle of the movemetn, it is somewhat unexpected, but the orchestra’s tasteful approach doesn’t make it seem out of place. Tánc (track 3) is quite impressive: the fast-paced exchanges between Snétberger and the orchestra give birth to the movement’s energetic and highly rhythmic drive; it also speaks to a fine precision in their collaboration. Although the ensemble has more of a melodic presence here than in Hallgató, the guitar’s elegant virtuosity is not diminished.

(https://theclassicreview.com)