Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, Sergio and Odair Assad

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Aside from the odd Ravi Shankar project, classical and world music fusions seldom seem to work. Here's one that does. Violinist Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg teams up with Brazilian guitarists Sergio and Odair Assad on a set heavily influenced by the gypsy music of Europe and the Middle East. Written mostly by Sergio Assad, these are lively compositions, with dizzying guitar parts punctuated by Salerno-Sonnenberg's piercing violin to great effect. "Andalucia" is a stunning display of the trio's interplay; "The Chase" will appeal to flamenco lovers; and "Gypsy Songs" is a medley of traditional Hungarian folk tunes. On Django Reinhardt's "Nuages," the tempo unfortunately plods along, but "Somogy's Dream"--based on the gypsy music of Transylvania--is a glorious closer. If you like the guitar and world music, or were enthralled by Joshua Bell's Short Trip Home classical fusion disc, you'll love this. --Jason Verlinde

Tracks:

Tango Ste: Deciso
Tango Ste: Andante
Tango Ste: Allegro
Escualo
Invierno Porteno - Sergio & Odair Assad/Fernando Suarez Paz
Primavera Portena
Decarissimo - Sergio & Odair Assad/Marcelo Nisinman
Ausencias - Sergio & Odair Assad/Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg
Ste Troileana: Bandoneon
Ste Troileana: Whisky
Ste Troileana: Zita
Ste Troileana: Escolaso
Bordel 1900 - Odair Assad/Fernando Suarez Paz
Fracanapa - Sergio & Odair Assad/Fernando Suarez Paz/Marcelo Nisiman

Customer Reviews:

Musical grandeur.......2002-11-22

The other reviewers have given this disc it's due superlatives and I would have to concurr, it is sublime. You will not find a more beautiful, rhythmic or enchanting piece of music. As soothing as it is invigorating the guitar work is a marvel. I play this disc constantly and never seem to ge tired of it. You seem to hear new things with each listen, the guitar work is more dazzling each time. Being somewhat of a novice when it comes to the works of Piazzola I find that this disc serves as a good reference point for becoming more familiar with his compositions that were infused with his impecable standards of Argentine tango. This is definitely an excellent disc that shows off the talents of the fast and furious fingering of the frets by Sergio and Odair Assad. Recommneded for guitar afficionados who love the sound of the violin and bandoneon blended to perfection. These are Piazolla masterpieces that lovers of world beat who like their music flavored with a spicy tango beat will enjoy year after year.

Overview of even deeper understanding of Piazzolla's music.......2002-04-14

A few of the tracks found on this CD were originally released on previous efforts of the brothers Sergio and Odair Assad; so this disc is a compilation of sorts. But don't let that stop you.
First appearing on the late eighties recording Sergio and Odair Assad play Latin American Music, Piazzolla's Tango Suite, composed expressly for the brothers, has always been a favorite of mine. It just bristled with energy and vitality. The new recording found here is taken at a slower tempo with the most obvious result being a heightened sense of rhythmical accentuation. Piazzolla did once say that the most important thing for a player to understand about his music was the use of accents. Here you will find a feast for the ears and the soul. The other tracks all share this sense of deep sorrow and angular rhythm that drips from the music. I have NEVER been so taken by a recording. Not only does this CD provide guitar playing of the very highest standards but it also gives us one of the best readings of Piazzolla's work ever. Most highly recommended.

Sublimely Stupendous.......2001-12-21

Frankly, I didn't know how I would like this CD. The song selection is marvelous, but I own the Assad brothers' Alma Brazileira and find it to be very uneven and was a little afraid I'd find the same here. I did not and was instead very pleasantly surprised.
This CD bears some comparison to Al DiMeola's Plays Piazzolla album. Both are great albums, but the Assads concentrate more on fidelity to the spirit of the compositions and are less given to experimental wanderings than Di Meola.
Its hard to argue with the choice of music played here. Tango Suite is a difficult piece and rarely offered, but the Assads pull it off wth alacrity. The Suite Troileana is another rarely performed and very demanding piece given a judicious rendering here.
My favorites are a very melancholy rendition of the classic Invierno Porteno, Primavera Portena, Decarissimo and a spirited and very competent interpretation of the rarely performed masterpiece Francanapa.
It helps that Piazzolla violinist Fernando Suarez Paz is present on many tracks. His duo with Odair Assad on Bordel 1900 is exquisitely delicate and dreamlike.
If you like Piazzolla, if you like DiMeola, then you are almost sure to like this sublimely stupendous musical feast. My respect for the talent of the Assad brothers has grown enormously and I recommend this CD most highly.

Vintage Guitar Magazine Review.......2001-07-18

At their best, Brazilian brothers and guitar duo Sérgio and Odair Assad play as if they were one person---one person blessed with four arms. With their six previous albums for Nonesuch, they have won renown around the globe for their lush, multi-faceted sound, rich in counterpoints and rhythmic adventure. Since their New York City concert debut as teenagers in 1969, the Assad brothers have collaborated with artists such as cellist Yo-Yo Ma and violinist Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg. Along the way, they have recorded pieces by composers as varied as Scarlatti and Bach, George Gershwin and Argentine neuvo tanguero Astor Piazzolla. The Assads first meet Piazzolla in the 1970s when they were young music students in Rio de Janeiro. Piazzolla was then reaping his first great rewards for his New Tango, and Brazil was one of the first countries to rave over him, even more so than his homeland. After hearing the Assads play a guitar transcription of one of his own pieces for him at a dinner party in Paris in 1983, Piazzolla vowed to write a guitar duet dedicated to them. The composition, "Tango Suite," has since become a modern classic, and following Piazzolla's death in 1991, the brothers have kept the master's music as a central part of their repertoire. This new album is dedicated to Piazzolla's memory, and features nine of his compositions. They range from "Tango Suite" to parts of Piazzolla's stunning celebration of the four seasons of Buenos Aires. Also included are earlier compositions that have almost been forgotten, chief among them the glorious tribute to Piazzolla's mentor, master bandoneonist Anibal Troilo, "Suite Troileana." The pieces played by just the brothers on this album are charmed by a beauty and lyricism rare among guitar duets. They breathe a certain joy and happiness into the melancholic moodiness of Piazzolla's compositions---due in large part to the light sound of their guitarwork versus the original composer's bandoneon, which is without doubt one of the saddest-sounding instruments of all time. Yet the songs where the Assads are joined by the violins of Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg and Fernando Suarez Paz or Marcelo Nisinman's bandoneon have even more impact with the third dimension coming from the added instruments providing counterpoint to the guitars. This is a stunning album.

Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, Sergio and Odair Assad

Average customer rating:

A wonderful CD
A luminous, brilliant performance
I Concur with the Disappointed Ones
Fiery!
Very Dissapointed

Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, Sergio and Odair Assad

Manufacturer: Nonesuch
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Sérgio & Odair Assad Play Piazzolla
A Brazilian Songbook
Speaking In Strings - A Musical Companion To The Film (1999 Documentary) / Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg
Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg - Mendelssohn, Saint-Saëns, Massenet
Sergio & Odair Assad Play Rameau, Scarlatti, Couperin, Bach

ASIN: B00000K2WO
Release Date: 2000-01-18

Tracks:

Andalucia
Fantasy On Dark Eyes
The Chase
Istanbul: Awakening And Turkish Dance
Tatras
Gypsy Songs: The Pretty Girl; Coming Home' If I Could Catch The Mouse; Difficult For You; Curd-Porridge...
Vardar's Boat
Nuages
Somogy's Dream

Amazon.com

Aside from the odd Ravi Shankar project, classical and world music fusions seldom seem to work. Here's one that does. Violinist Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg teams up with Brazilian guitarists Sergio and Odair Assad on a set heavily influenced by the gypsy music of Europe and the Middle East. Written mostly by Sergio Assad, these are lively compositions, with dizzying guitar parts punctuated by Salerno-Sonnenberg's piercing violin to great effect. "Andalucia" is a stunning display of the trio's interplay; "The Chase" will appeal to flamenco lovers; and "Gypsy Songs" is a medley of traditional Hungarian folk tunes. On Django Reinhardt's "Nuages," the tempo unfortunately plods along, but "Somogy's Dream"--based on the gypsy music of Transylvania--is a glorious closer. If you like the guitar and world music, or were enthralled by Joshua Bell's Short Trip Home classical fusion disc, you'll love this. --Jason Verlinde

Customer Reviews:

A wonderful CD.......2004-01-03

I listen to this CD frequently. All of the numbers are super and the interaction of the guitars and violin are glorious.

A luminous, brilliant performance.......2002-06-03

Sergio Assad's clever improvisations on melodies ranging from "Dark Eyes" and Django Reinhardt's "Nuages" to traditional Russian, Slavic and Turkish melodies are beautifully rendered by this string trio. Percussion is added to some tracks, and the phantomic voice of either Nadja or another female vocalist (sister Badi Assad?) is present, nearly in the background, of one haunting song.

The complaints in some reviews here, such as grousing over a lack of discernible melodies, are largely unfounded.

Of course we don't get "Greensleeves" or "Danny Boy" or any familiar, sentimental favorites. And, of course, these tracks are not for the fans of Jim Nabors or Montovani.

But lush, romantic, and witty, dashing tunes abound. A degree of musical sophistication and experience as a listener helps. But anyone who can listen with pleasure to Keith Jarrett and Chick Corea will love this album. It's not nearly as far out as Elliot Carter's String Quartets or Crumb's "Ancient Voices of Children." Not at all, as some reviewers might lead you to believe.

The playing is virtuosic, and I am a classical guitarist and can testify with a technically educated ear. The Thomas Humphrey guitars the Assads play ( one a spruce top and one a cedar top) blend beautifully under Nadja's violin.

One is nearly tempted to make symbolic comparisons here, marking the bird of the violin singing over the ocean of melody pouring from the guitars, or some such silly thing.

Why? Because the whole performance is braided with an erotic yet intellectual chain of musical perfection tied to vital, soaring imagination.

Like the Assad Brothers' Piazzolla album, this one is a must-have for fans of contemporary acoustic music, classical guitar or simply luscious string playing. The gypsy melodies themselves are a magical enough suite to warrant buying this disk.

I Concur with the Disappointed Ones.......2001-07-04

I too am a fan of Nadja, that is what led me to this, as well as being a classical guitar lover. I've only played this three times, and that will be it.

The music leaves me grasping for something else, anything else on my shelf. Certainly there are great musical talents here. Likely, they enjoy the challenge musically. But for the listener class such as we, we'll put our listening time and 5-star reviews with others.

If this is representative of fusion, count me out.

Fiery!.......2000-10-20

I've been a great fan of the Odair Assad's compositions since hearing the "Natsu no Niwa" (Did I get the title right?) suite they released a few years back. This album was not disappointing at all. Odair has a wonderful, lyrical sensitivity and does justice to the various Spanish folk themes, evoking fiery passion and beauty within an intimate setting. A critic once called the Assad Bros. a "four-armed guitar virtuoso," and he was right on the money with that. Ms. Salerno-Sonnenberg's playing is absolutely stunning and is perfectly on par with the Brothers' virtuosic ability. I truly hope that Odair will compose regularly, and not just for the guitar either!

Very Dissapointed.......2000-09-26

I'm a music lover, not a critic, but I know what I like! The premise of this album caught my eye, but unfortunately, not my ear. I love traditional Middle Eastern and Indian music and have purchased several crossover albums over the years that have been fairly successful attempts to bridge cultural differences. Unfortunately, this album is not one of them.

These are certainly hightly talentd artists, but their collective interpertations of these "tunes" not only destroy their ethnicity but also their beauty.

I fail to understand the rationalization behind taking traditional tunes and warping them into some post-modern mush. Those diminished/augmented/6ths over dropped 7th clashings grate on my nerves! Sometimes I get the impression that "serious" classical artists are not permitted to play beautiful melodies lest they destroy their reputations. Guess we still have to leave that job up to the traditionalist musicians.

I was hoping that, after several listenings, this album would grow on me. No so. Sorry, the musical statements on this album go way over my head. It's headed for the resale bin.

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