"An extremely expressive player, communicating depths of emotion in his performances that touch his audiences and move them to respond... a performance that convinces the audience they are listening to a true master."
"Guitarist Roberto Capocchi's interpretation was a delight for both one's senses and spirit. He let himself go to the melody that inevitably captured all the audience..."
"Capocchi presented elaborate refinement in his renditions of Walton's Five Bagatelles for Guitar, Bach's Ciaccona and Giuliani's Gran Ouverture."
"Capocchi is a very talented young guitarist with a nice touch and a sense of rhythm that promises a rewarding future relationship with the music of Astor Piazzolla."
"The artistic musical sense of a genius... an extraordinarily competent and committed teacher... certainly among the country's greatest names in the guitar."
"That's amazing! Such a lovely, singing tone!"
"Immense feeling... concerned not with technique, since he transcends it, but rather with expression... maybe he held so many of us in silence precisely through his expressiveness."
"Capocchi's rare musical refinement displayed polished technique and conscientious analysis of the music. His wide dynamics and color palette matched all nuances of his musical imagination."
"A revelation in Art Music in Brazil... his style blends technique and emotion, always captivating the audience."
"Roberto is one REALLY fine classical guitarist with a sound to die for. He scares me every time I hear him. Don't miss your chance to check him out."
"A beautiful recital...a success."
"Chavez de Leitner and Capocchi have made a local name for themselves with Baroque and 19th-century music written for their instrumental combination. This, their first CD, explores pieces by Locatelli, Carulli, Paganini, and Handel in ingratiating performances. Consider it for the music lover you're having trouble finding a gift for, or even as a treat for yourself."
"Stuart Green, and Roberto Capocchi come together to freak you out with how good they are at playing guitar."
This disc offers two artistically coherent, multimovement works by Santa Fe composer Ron Strauss. Both are intimate in instrumentation though big in conception: Tangos de Santa Fe for flute, English horn, and guitar lasts almost 30 minutes, while Matapolvos for soprano, English horn, viola, and cello clocks in at almost 25. Yet the musical material never seems stretched thin, in part because each work is a well-spun mix of mystic and meditative (with some accented edges) and in part because Strauss' musical language is colorful, inventive, and accessible without being coy or simplistic.
Tangos dates from New York in the 1970s, and Matapolvos was penned here in 2004, but they clearly come from the same creative mind. This recording was made in 2008 in the Santuario de Guadalupe by members of Serenata of Santa Fe, for whom Strauss wrote Matapolvos. Serenata founder and English hornist Pamela Epple delivers lovely, dark, lyric tone in both works. Flutist Carol Redman and guitarist Roberto Capocchi are fluent, vibrant, and sensitive collaborators on Tangos, while soprano Gail Springer, violist Elena Sopoci, and cellist Dana Winograd are poised and insightful in Matapolvos. Springer delivers Eduardo Galeano's Spanish texts clearly. David Dunn's recording and engineering are alive and present without being overbearing, and there's a fine sense of the space. Good music, solid performances.
This Week's Music :Ron Strauss Tangos de Santa Fe / Matapolvos (RSM)
Two extended chamber works by Santa Fe composer Ron Strauss, ably performed here by Serenata of Santa Fe, reveal a subtle but muscular musical mind with a keen ear for sonic possibilities. Accessible, melodic and expressive, the five tangos for flute, English horn and guitar capture delicate, haunting musical portraits. Particularly rewarding is the architecturally beguiling "Tango a la Puesta del Sol." In "Matapolvos"-for voice, English horn, viola and cello, with text from Eduardo Galeano's blazing historical trilogy Memory of Fire-Strauss captures the irony, humor and horror of Galeano's narratives, and the listener's complete attention.