DAVID HÄRENSTAM - Classical Guitar
Reviews (english translation where appropriate)
Paganini's virtuosity is celebrated here with panache. Each player shines in this complete collection of music for this once popular line-up of instruments
BBC Music Magazine, 2017 June
This wonderful disc features three top players from Sweden performing trios written by the great Niccolò Paganini. The first piece, from 1808 (composed for Paganini’s sister’s wedding) is textbook Classical-era writing; the other two, from 25 years later, sound as though are edging into the Romantic era somewhat. In general, I’d say the violin and cello dominate, but there are still many passages where the guitar takes over, and even in its more supportive role, it is always well-represented by Paganini’s writing (and Härenstam’s playing).
Classical Guitar Magazine (about The Paganini CD)
Sparkling virtuoso pieces … Romantic shimmering of Azur... Cuban heat ... Manuel de Fallas wondrous Romance ... A glowing Suite ... Härenstam really wants to give the listener everything ... A perfect listening in the summer night
Dagens Nyheter
These two guys (Härenstam and Sparf) are great together, and the sound is superbly balanced between the two instruments… Dashing melodies that migrate between the instruments, then at other times trade off with a virtuosic counterpoint
American Record Guide
David Härenstam knows it all : Perfect virtuoso technique without any weaknesses, great sound, musicality ... It is such a beautiful sound for the ear!
Guitaren, Denmark
Recording of the year 2015!
David Härenstam has established himself as one of the leading guitarists of his generation… It is very beautiful and David Härenstam plays it with delicate nuances…
The Grand overture was composed in 1809 and is a marvellous piece. It needs a fully-fledged virtuoso with real stamina and that’s what it gets here. It’s a piece full of verve and drive… A real delight… Let me add that David Härenstam has caught this feeling to perfection in his sensitive playing… Very inviting – a winner… The whole program on this disc is a fascinating mix of styles, nationalities and times but they hang together admirably and so contrasted are the various pieces that they keep the listener alert from beginning to end… As always with Daphne recordings the sound is excellent. There are occasional noises from the fretboard but that seems to be unavoidable when the microphones are so close. In the recital hall this is less obvious. A second playing through from beginning to end – after some returns to certain pieces – enhanced the feeling of a unified recital program where the sum is even higher than the value of the certainly very fine individual parts. Guitar lovers: don’t hesitate. Music-lovers in general: don’t hesitate. This disc will embellish any CD collection.
Musicweb International (about The Recital CD)
David Härenstam führt mit großer Souveränität durch das Programm; Virtuosität ebenso zugetan wie der Kontemplation; der Schönheit des Klangs ebenso wie der musikalischen Struktur.
Gitarre & Laute, Germany
The young David Härenstam breaks the solitude of the classical guitar player collaborating with combinations of musicians (---) Some of the most pleasant pieces of the CD are two pieces written by Franz Liszt, where accordion and guitar are united in a wondrous minimalistic arrangement. Tango, samba, waltz - fulfilled with ideas of the un-orthodox kind, not to say brave, is carrying the production together with the strong centre of the guitar playing of Härenstam - pregnant and varied!
Svenska Dagbladet (about The Bard CD)
Strong and unpredictable 'Recital'... the opening Fuoco by Roland Dyens shows the listener straightaway what a good player Swedish guitarist David Härenstam is. After the Folk Song Variations (another hefty slice of technical wizardry), comes a direct contrast in Romance del Pescador from Manuel de Falla, wonderfully delivered and hauntingly beautiful... Lovely ornamentation and spirited playing.
Classical Guitar Magazine (about The Recital CD)
Effective, mix of folk, jazz, classical and other styles. Harenstam is a talented guitarist from Sweden who performs regularly as a classical musician. He plays clean, piercing notes on his acoustic guitar and easily moves from style to style… it is the crisp sounds that he nurtures from the acoustic instrument. She (Moleta) has a low-key, moody style. Her closest musical kin is perhaps Margo Timmins of the Cowboy Junkies. Both have beautiful voices and slow, haunting deliveries. “What happened in Fremantle?” also includes several instrumental numbers, which have classical and Latin influences. Each song features a different ensemble of musicians. The song “Oblivion,” for example, has guitar, violin and accordion. Other songs have saxophone or drums. The disc officially closes with Harenstam and Moleta performing Bob Dylan’s “Buckets of Rain.” It’s a sparse, beautiful treatment. Moleta’s tender vocals are a perfect fit for the bittersweet lyrics. Although “Buckets of Rain” is the last song listed on the CD, there is a surprise that follows. This is an album full of surprises, mostly good ones.
Jazz Review, USA
All the music here is excellently played by three of the most complete instrumentalists to be found. Sparf and Härenstam have worked together for many years and are well-represented in the CD catalogues, and the young Brantelid has a blossoming international career as soloist and chamber music player. On this highly attractive disc we get his (Paganinis) complete oeuvre for violin/viola, cello and guitar... The minuetto in the Terzetto concertante is a good example of this ,where the guitar takes the lead accompanied by the viola and cello playing pizzicato – a really lovely piece of music. And this is only one instance of lovely and inventive writing. This may be music a bit off the beaten track but it is well worth anyone’s acquaintance and eminently well executed.
Musicweb International, Göran Forsling
Guitarist David Härenstam is a well-established player who has toured Europe and Australia. He also has a number of recording to his credit. I´m pleaded to report that he covers himself with distinction in these pieces… quite delightful and a real pleasure to listen to in theses excellent performances and recording. Recommended.
Fanfare Magazine, Jerry Dubins USA
(David Härenstam) combines deft virtuosity with steady, rhythmic accompaniment… The guitar sparkles, adding a warmth and texture to the trios…
Fanfare Magazine, Jacqueline Kharouf USA
´Ingenting´ is a six-minute solo guitar work with some very sexy Danish recitation by the gorgeous Gunnel Fred. I haven't a clue what she was saying but I enjoyed it nevertheless! 'Suite for David´ is a very tonal, original too, and wonderful music, ... this set is very good indeed, the music is never less than interesting... brilliantly inventive... do buy it!
Classical Guitar Magazine (about The Bard CD)
Some CDs just gives you that euphoria to lend your ears to. He is a master in guitar playing. The Bard is a ´must have´ for all lovers of acoustic guitar music!!!
Lira (about The Bard CD)
Extreme jumps between heartbreakingly beautiful melodies, wonderfully played, and awkward, rhythmical ostinato, deliciously performed. It´s alive, breathing, technically perfect. The Bard with Nisse Sparf is a wonderful thing, as well as Minimetti by Eberhard Eyser, in which Härenstam playes with clang and explores how far he can reach in all ways of expression, and how much time the music can grab, and how freely you can tell the story. Why not listen to VERY GOOD, creative music, like that on this CD, than to another one, containing ´Classical Favourites´?
Gitarr & Luta
Without a shadow of a doubt, David Härenstam is one of the most interesting musicians in Sweden right now and had his repertoire been focused on one style instead of many he had already been a big international star... David Härenstam second CD is starting up in my CD player and I fasten my seatbelts Couse you never know what is going to happen when that man is playing! On this record you find a number of varied songs that from David Härenstams starting point, the classical guitar, stretches over beautiful singer/songwriter songs with Sophie Moleta, some tango, freeform jazz and beyond
Folk music Magazine LIRA (about What Happened in Fremantle CD)
The guitarist David Härenstam is refreshingly unpredictable. He is classically trained, and a couple of years ago he released the chamber music CD "The bard" with among others the violinists Nils-Erik Sparf and Anders Inge, containing newly written music by for example Mauro Godoy, Eberhard Eyser, and Christer Karlberg. And now, he releases a jazz CD that contains more than just jazz. Piazzolla, Gullin, Mulligan, Gershwin, Dylan, Härenstam -the repertoire can appear paradoxical, but the groove is consistent. Here, the fresh wind of boundlessness blows in every way, with recordings from studios in Perth, Wellington, London, Stockholm, and the Western Swedish town of Kil. "Featuring Sophie Moleta & Tinnitus Therapy Trip," the subtitle of the CD, presents Härenstam's sextet: a jazz singer along with a both wild and sophisticated experimental music group. Some of the most lyrical and sensitive tracks are Piazzolla's "Oblivion" (guitar, violin, accordion),"La cumparsita" (guitar), and Dylan's "Buckets of rain" (Sophie Moleta, song/ whistling and Härenstam, guitar).
Svenska Dagbladet
Two eminent Swedish musicians working togheter.
Having heard him on many occasions in a wide range of music, I knew his capacity but rarely have I heard him play with such glow…The rapport between Sparf and Härenstam is also that of two twin-souls’. This is now my preferred version of Histoire du Tango.
For the sonata Sparf, who is the leader of the Drottningholm Baroque Ensemble, changes to baroque violin. This is an instrument he handles to perfection. He has a fuller, rounder tone than many period instrument players …full-blooded performance, characterised by speedy fast movements and tasteful embellishments.
Sparf combines the fiery temperament of an Italian with his own Nordic coolness – an ideal partnership. Technically he is up to all the requirements with excellent double stops and creamy tone.
The disc goes a long way to prove that really good musicians are not hampered by boundaries between, tonal and atonal, new and old, high and low. The only boundaries are between good and bad. This disc is good. It will have a honoured place in my collection.
Classical Cd Musicalweb International Göran Forsling
Extreme jumps between heartbreakingly beautiful melodies, wonderfully played, and awkward, rhythmical ostinato, deliciously performed. It's alive, breathing, technically perfect.
Gitarr & Luta
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Swedish:
David Härenstam frestar med allt från barock till nutida, och behärskar rubbet.
Gitarristen David Härenstam är en mångfrestare som vid sidan av den klassiska repertoaren ägnar sig åt tango, jazzimprovisation och teater. På hans nya skiva "Recital” antyds denna bredd i stycken som Roland Dyens ”Fuoco”, där barockt ackordspel blandas med böjda toner och coolt smällande strängar.
Också i Atanas Ourkouzounovs variationer över en bulgarisk folkvisa pockar några av gitarrens många historiska erfarenheter på och vill fram. Med precision och iver låter Härenstam den klassiska gitarren bli till både ett folk- och ett rockinstrument.
Skivan är en exposé från barock till nutid och Härenstam behärskar det hela. Santiago de Murcias svit i D-dur blir till musik för en inre dansare. Härenstam förför med sitt precisa laborerande med dansrytmer, med ljus och skugga, med sång och viskning.
Bland skivans nyare musik finns stycken av Maria Löfberg, Staffan Storm och Leo Brouwer. Brouwers ”Paisaje cubano con campanas” fascinerar med sin flyktighet, sina oväntade, svarta eller grälla penselstreck och inte minst med sin intensiva perception. Det är som om gitarren efterhand blir fullständigt uppslukad av detaljer i det kubanska landskapet. Kyrkklockorna har en närmast hypnotisk verkan.
Sydsvenskan
David Härenstam bryter den klassiska gitarristens ensamhet - Några av skivans mest tilltalande stycken är två av Franz Liszt, där dragspel och gitarr förenas i ett underskönt minimalistiskt arrangemang. Tango, samba, vals - den idéspäckade, icke-ortodoxa för att inte säga djärva mångfalden bär rakt igenom, samlad kring det fasta nav som Härenstam själv utgör med ett gitarrspel som är pregnant och varierat. Här ställs ungdomlig entusiasm mot erfarenheten hos lite äldre samtida kompositörer, och de olika generationerna gör sitt till mångfalden. Ett samarbete med dynamik!
Svenska Dagbladet
Vi får ett oklanderligt, fint utmejslat spel
Göteborgs Posten
David Härenstam kan det hele: Virtuos teknik uden svagheter, lækker lyd, musikalitet… Det er virkelig vellyd for øret! Det bliver stor musik i Härenstams hænder… Denne CD vidner om en musiker, der fortjener at blive kendt langt ud over Sveriges grænser… få øjne og ører op for denne talentfulde guitarist.
Guitaren, Danmark
4/5
Gitarristen David Härenstams nya album ”Recital” startar med eldig spansk peppar och en folklig bulgarisk jordgubbe som sover, innan den landar i Manuel de Fallas undersköna romans om en fiskares drömmar och svingar sig vidare i gnistrande virtuosstycken av Niccolò Paganini och Mauro Giuliani (som för övrigt satt i orkestern när Beethoven uruppförde sin sjunde symfoni).
Härenstam vill verkligen bjuda på allt och fortsätter med en skimrande svit av barockmästaren Santiago de Murcia, mörktonade mexikanska variationer av Manuel M Ponce, azurblänkande romantik av Agustín Barrios Mangoré och kubansk hetta av Leo Brouwer. Och avslutar elegiskt med två nya fina verk av Staffan Storm och Maria Löfberg. Perfekt lyssning i sommarnatten.
Dagens Nyheter
Förföriska originalverk… utomjordiskt vacker och atmosfärisk musik
HIFI & Musik
Samspelet är suveränt… Det ger en helt ny dimension till Bachs precisa elegans… Det går från uppsluppet rasp och flyhänt gitarrspel till skört och känsligt… Som en lisa för själen kommer så Haydn, med sidenfrasande esprit och behag… virtuost och personligt utfört… En fantastisk konsert med ett väl avvägt urval och mycket lidelse.
Skånskan
'Fantastisk samspilt med renhet, klarhet men råskap'
'Härenstam er en av Sveriges store gitarister i skillet mellom klassisk- og samtidsmusikk, og til sammen var det virtuose toppkrefter i sving'
'Det er virkelig imponerende å holde ut en konsert med denne intensiteten i halvannen time. Det hele avsluttes med tangoens historie, og deretter en sviske av Paganini(!) som ekstranummer'
Nordlys, Norge
Ibland kunde Härenstams gitarr gälla för luta, men emellanåt svävar den bort från den förrevolutionära tiden för att landa i biedermeier. Ett exempel är adagiot i den ungdomliga g-moll-sonaten 1020, där gitarrklangerna alstrar en stämning av borgerlig idyll... I det fortsatta livliga och intima duospelet utförs de arrangerade gitarrpartierna vackert av David Härenstam,
Svenska Dagbladet
Musikerduo på bästa spelhumör. I toppform... något av det bästa som hörts i Dalarna. Nils.Erik Sparf och David Härenstam var virtuosa men poserade inte. Sparf var igår kväll på sådant spelhumör att till och med gitarristen David härenstam satt och flinade... Härenstams spel liksom glöder i Mora kyrkans halvdunkel... Publiken ger sig inte med mindre en två extranummer. Båda delikat framförada. Sveriges Radio spelade in konserten. Hör den senare!
Falukuriren (efter duons framträdande på Musik vid Siljan)
Han är utan tvekan en av de mest spännande svenska musikerna just nu och hade inte hans repertoar varit så spretig(...) så skulle han redan vara en stor internationell stjärna. David Härenstams andra skiva ligger och snurrar i cd-spelaren och jag klickar säkerhetsbältet, för man vet aldrig vad som skall hända när den mannen spelar! Här finns en rad mycket omväxlande låtar som spänner från Davids utgångspunkt, den klassiska gitarren, över finstämda singer/songwriter-alster med Sophie Moleta sjungande, via en tangoskvätt till friformjazz and beyond
Lira
Mångsidig blandning...Sillhouette spelas känsligt... Embreceable you sjungs rättframt av Collins men bakom henne jäser det i bandet och snart bryter en fri improvisation ut. (Moleta och Härenstam framför) känsligt framförda duonummer.
Orkester Journalen
Gitarristen David Härenstam är befriande oförutsägbar.Piazzolla, Gullin, Mulligan, Gershwin, Dylan, Härenstam – repertoaren kan synas paradoxal men är helgjuten i sin groove. Ja, här blåser gränslöshetens friska vind i alla avseenden... både vildvuxet och sofistikerat experimentell musikgrupp. Lyriska och känsligt framförda stycken är Piazzollas ”Oblivion” , ”La cumparsita” och Dylans ”Buckets of rain” .
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