Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve DeRosa
Yes, I can - and but for Segovia, a taste of what might have been...
|
Yeah, well, hmmm. The guitar sounds great of course, the performance is admirable but I'm too much of a puritan to be able to listen to this for the music.
This music. I have no problems with the use of any kind of instrument in classical music that was written for it (certainly not as long as it's original music, not a rewrite of a famous existing work from a non-American composer of the past). In fact, I tend to see many compositions by the likes of Mike Dowling or David Laibman as (future) classical compositions. To me they're exactly in the same niche as Sor, Tarrega, Mertz and many of the beloved/staple classical guitar composers (I wonder if back in their day they were mostly seen as that, or rather as performers...!).
Use an archtop with composite (or gut + silk!) strings and classical/finger picking RH technique, and my objections disappear - I'm dreaming of such one even. I don't know though (hope not, actually) if such a guitar would ever sound like a piano, which appears to be the graal for many current-day classical guitarists.
FWIW: I have a love/hate relationship with steel strings but could easily imagine them being used in classical repertoire. A flatpick, much less; the only ones I can kind of stand are made out of ebony (and they wear too fast on steel strings).