What can I say? I’ve been bingeing on Beethoven recently, having been wowed by Solo Duo‘s spectacular performance of the ‘Moonlight Sonata’ (more formally known as Piano Sonata No. 14, “Quasi una fantasia,” Op. 27 No. 2) at this year’s GFA, and enjoying the Schneidermann-Yamaya Duo’s Beethoven for Two Guitars CD for the past couple of months.
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This 2012 video by the Los Ungaros guitar trio (which consists of, left to right in the video above, Hungarians Lajos Horváth and László Szabó and Peruvian guitarist Gonzalo Manrique) really knocked me out when I stumbled across the other day while searching for more classical-guitar Beethoven. The Vienna-based trio (the name “Los Ungaros” is a play on their two nationalities) made a very interesting choice in their arrangement: They use Szabó on contrabass guitar to handle all the powerful lower-register parts, and it sits so beautifully amidst the two “regular” guitars. I love it! —Blair Jackson