Miloš Baroque (CD Review)

by Karl Nehring

Scarlatti: Sonata in D Minor, K. 32 (arr. for Guitar by Michael Lewin); Vivaldi: Concerto No. 2 in G Minor, RV 439 “La Notte”: VI. Allegro (arr. for Guitar & Baroque Ensemble by Michael Lewin)*; Rameau: The Arts and the Hours (arr. for Guitar by Michael Lewin); Handel: Suite in B‐Flat Major, HWV 434: IV. Menuet (arr. for Guitar by Michael Lewin); Vivaldi: Concerto in B Minor, RV 580: I. Allegro (arr. for Guitar & Baroque Ensemble by Michael Lewin)*; Silvius Leopold Weiss: Passacaglia; Scarlatti: Sonata in F Minor, K. 466 (arr. for Guitar by Michael Lewin); Vivaldi: Concerto in B Minor, RV 580: III. Allegro (arr. for Guitar by Michael Lewin)*; Bach: Partita No. 2 in D Major, BWV 1004: Chaconne (arr. for Guitar); Alessandro Marcello: Concerto in D Minor: II. Adagio (arr. for Guitar & Baroque Ensemble by Michael Lewin)*; Boccherini: Quintet No. 4 in D Major, G 448: IV. Fandango (arr. for Guitar & Baroque Ensemble by Michael Lewin)*; Weiss: Fantasie; Couperin: Les Barricades mystérieuses (arr. for Guitar); Vivaldi: Trio Sonata in C Major, RV 82: II. Larghetto (arr. for Guitar & Baroque Ensemble by Michael Lewin)*. Miloš Karadaglić, guitar; *Arcangelo, directed by Jonathan Cohen. Sony Classical 19658822942

Classical guitarist Miloš Karadaglić (b. 1983), known professionally by his first name, Miloš, (sorry, but I can’t help but think of the inept tennis pro from Seinfeld) was born in Montenegro but now lives in England. He has released a number of albums, several of which have been reviewed here at Classical Candor. Back in 2011, John Puccio reviewed his album Mediterraneo, which, as you might guess from the title, included music by Mediterranean composers such as Albeniz, Tarrega, and Granados, along with some lesser-known names (you can find that review here). A year later, John reviewed the young guitarist’s next album, Pasio, which featured music from Latin America by tango master Astor Piazzolla and others (that review can be seen here). In 2014, John gave a listen to Miloš’s recording of Rodrigo’s touchstone guitar concerto, a piece that has been recorded by nearly every classical guitarist of note (Concierto de Aranjuez review here). Then in 2021, I reviewed a release titled The Moon and the Forest, wherein Miloš performs guitar concertos by contemporary composers Jody Talbot and Howard Shore (see that review here), concertos that he believes young listeners who have heard and enjoyed the Rodrigo will also find enjoyable.

On his newest album on the Sony Classics label, Miloš turns his attention to the Baroque period, bringing us music from Bach, Boccherini, Vivaldi, and others, some on solo guitar, some accompanied by the Arcangelo chamber orchestra. Miloš opines in the liner notes that “the Baroque age is a wonderful, mysterious, and exceptionally exciting period. At the same time the Baroque is the starting point for the way in which musical history went on to develop… I find it extraordinarily exciting to carry over into my music making the contrasts between light and shade that left their mark on Baroque art. This aspect emerges, for example, from the often abrupt shifts and the sudden interplay between solo instrument and orchestra. For me as a guitarist, there is something special about immersing myself in this music because it represents a completely different world from the one with which my instrument is traditionally associated.”

 

Once again we find a recording that has been shaped in some measure by the COVID-19 pandemic. Although Miloš had begun his preparations for this album before the advent of the virus, its emergence and resultant cancellation of touring and other normal activities allowed him to increase his efforts. “While the rest of the world was holding its breath and came to a standstill, I found that for me it was a time when I felt even more inspired than usual,” he recounts.  The album is generally arranged in a way that highlights the dynamic shadings that Miloš mentions. For example, the program opens with the restrained Scarlatti sonata, which Miloš plays on his solo guitar, but then the next selection, a movement from a Vivaldi concerto, ramps up the energy as Miloš’s guitar is joined by the strings of the chamber ensemble Arcangelo (which is, by the way, based in the UK), and then we are back to a more reflective solo guitar piece, an arrangement of Rameau’s The Arts and the Hours. It was hearing Icelandic pianist Vikingur Olafsson’s arrangement (you can see him playing it here) on his Debussy-Rameau album (see my review here) that introduced me to this music, which I found enchanting; hearing it again in a different arrangement on a different instrument has been another charming experience. 

The whole album is wonderfully entertaining, full of nothing less than refined music making. Two more cuts that really captured my fancy were the Weiss Fantasie, from a composer previously unknown to me and the Couperin Les Barricades mystérieuses, a piece with which I was previously familiar from hearing it played on piano recordings by Simone Dinnerstein (see review here) and Khatia Buniatushvili (see review here). Once again, Miloš makes both these pieces come to life from the strings of his guitar. Truth be told, the whole album is full of life; it is truly one of those releases that should appeal to a broad spectrum of music lovers.