San Francisco Classical Voice

RECITAL REVIEW

Engaging Fare

October 23, 2005

Antigoni Goni

	E-mail this page
	We Appreciate Contributions

By Scott Cmiel

Although guitarists are often criticized for frequently repeating a repertoire of trivial pieces, there is a growing body of ambitious music written for the instrument. On Saturday at Herbst Theater, Greek guitarist Antigoni Goni brought formidable technical and interpretive abilities to bear on a fascinating program featuring a world premiere, compelling but rarely performed works from Greece, Japan, Cuba, and Brazil, as well as a spellbinding reading of one of the most popular works in the guitar repertoire.

The first performance of Dusan Bogdanovic's Hymn to the Muse, based on some of the oldest written music our culture has preserved, was for me the highlight of the recital. Sources for the piece included the Delphic Hymns to Apollo from the second century B.C.E., which were inscribed on the walls of the Athenian Treasury at Delphi; the Epitaph to Seikilos from the first century C.E., inscribed on a tombstone; and Hymn to the Muse by Mesomedes of Crete, a Greek musician who lived during the second century C.E. and worked in the court of the Roman Emperor Hadrian. Using the ancient modes and unusual rhythmic structures of the originals, Bogdanovic, like Bartók before him, wrote brilliantly constructed and emotionally satisfying music which was both contemporary and true to the original sources. Goni performed with grace and controlled passion the note bends, ornaments, and percussive effects which evoked the ancient kithara.

In another revelation to guitarists, Goni performed works by Manos Hadjidakis, a Greek composer who was active in promoting new music in Greece after World War II and whose Academy-Award-winning score for the film Never on Sunday helped to define the sound of contemporary Greek music. Gioconda's Smile (the title refers to Leonardo's painting the Mona Lisa) was originally a song cycle which looked at New York City through the eyes of a solitary immigrant. Goni played arrangements for solo guitar of four songs. Her soulful and passionate performance of music ranging from a simple melancholy melody to complex music that was dark, driving, and orchestral was a testament to her own Greek heritage.

Oriental shades

The concert also opened with a pair of moody works: In the Woods, one of the last works by the Japanese composer Toru Takemitsu and Hika in Memoriam Toru Takemitsu by the Cuban composer Leo Brouwer. Goni has an obvious affinity for Takemitsu's delicate, flexible gestures. Her finely calibrated sense of rhythmic freedom and feeling for the expressive power of silence created a sense of great spaciousness in a short time span. Brouwer's memorial piece began and ended with introspective music reminiscent of Takemitsu; but the central section, although dark in mood and based on a favorite melody of Takemitsu, featured Brouwer's characteristic idiomatic and virtuosic guitar writing.

By combining elements from dances such as the habanera and the polka with Afro-Brazilian rhythms, Nazareth created the Tango Brasileiro and became the most important forerunner of South American popular music. Although his influence is undeniable, I find the simplicity of his style to be less satisfying than that of his many admirers from Villa Lobos and Gnattali to Piazzolla and Assad. Goni's performances of three of Nazareth's dances were graceful, and I spoke to several audience members who left with the catchy tunes ringing in their memories.

Carlo Domeniconi's Koyunbaba, a fantasy based on traditional Turkish music, depends on the creation of an exotic and compelling atmosphere. Domeniconi writes here for a guitar tuned in c# minor, totally different from standard tuning, and the resulting sound is rich and exotic. Goni effectively used rhythmic freedom, a wide dynamic range, complex ornamentation, and a stunning arpeggio technique to create a hypnotic sound. The improvisatory form of Koyunbaba can seem rambling, but Antigoni Goni's great virtuosity and musical judgment enabled her to build intensity and excitement during the works four continuous sections.