Reviews

Escenas Argentinas (CD chandos 10185) Orquesta Sinfónica de Entre Ríos, Gabriel Castagna, Conductor.

"Castagna directs a crisply drawn account (of Piazzolla´s Tangazo), full of swing and impulsion. Delightful performances .splendidly recorded." Gramophone

"Gabriel Castagna has already proved himself something of a Piazzolla specialist... all the performances sound affectionate and thoroughly idiomatic, and overall it's an undeniably enjoyable disc." BBC Music Magazine

"Malgré la vivacité latine, il y a toujours quelque part dans cette musique une irresistible mélancolie." Espace Musique, Radio-Canada

'Here’s an enjoyable, if flawed collection of colourful, rhythmically vibrant compositions from the land of the gaucho. Only Astor Piazzolla’s name is likely to be familiar to most ARG readers. His ‘Tangazo’ is a pure delight: enigmatic, sexy, and sophisticated, with distinctive melodies and piquant harmonies. The ‘Argentinian Scenes’ of Carlos Lopez Bucchardo (18881-1948) are more conventional, but the lavish scoring and syncopated rhythms result in a very pleasant 15 minutes…. The very brief but evocative ‘Psalm to Parana’ by Oscar Guidice (1906-74) is remarkable for its vivid nocturnal imagery.'
American Record Guide

PAMPEANA (Chandos cd 10152) Alberto Ginastera (Argentina, 1916-1983) Berliner Symphoniker, Gabriel Castagna , Conductor

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'.if any recording can make you appreciate Ginastera's music, this new release from Chandos is an excellent candidate for the job. It is wonderfully played and conducted by the Berliner Symphoniker and Gabriel Castagna.. I can sincerely recommend you try it.' Fanfare

"These muscular, spirited performances are equal to or better than the competition. Chandos sound is full but with clearer sound stage than usual.among other recordings of the suite (Estancia) Eduardo Mata is very good if a bit more constrained. The Berlliner Symphony edges out his Simon Bolivar Orchestra, and Chandos sound is more open.Enrique Batiz leads a slightly more idiomatic one with the Mexican orchestra, but I prefer Castagna´s power and superior orchestra, there is also a BBC Magazine disc by Miguel Harth Bedoya that is nicely played but too reserved.For Pampeana , Mata´s intimate take (Dorian) is enthusiastically played by the Simon Bolivar Orchestra: but again, I prefer Castagna´s more visceral , better executed performance." American Record Guide

"Castagna and the Berliners find a touch more magic in the Pampeana slower outer movements .on CHANDOS comes a scintillating account of the full orchestra version of the Glosses." Gramophone

´He (Castagna) distils a magical stillness from its intermezzo section (Pampeana) and finds a poise of inner intensity in the outer movements.Recommended.´ International Record Review

".überzeugen jedoch durch Spilfreude Farbernreichtum." Fono Forum

" Die Berliner Symphoniker zeichnen sich hier durch idyllische Tongebung und eine reichlich große Farbpalette der Instrumentalschattierungen aus, der Dirigent weiß genau, wie diese Musik wirkungsvoll musiziert werden kann." Klassik.com Magazin

"Gabriel Castagna is a very successful young conductor....Nobody more appropriate than him to interpret the special character and the exciting rhythm of these masterworks of the Argentine composer performed here and convincingly exposed with fire, spirituality and a poetic amplitude of feeling." Argentinischestageblat (German newspaper of Argentina).

• Pampeana, comments on the interpretation
• Pampeana, last mov. guided listening

Astor Piazzolla (Argentina, 1921-1992) Chandos cd 10049, SACD 5006, Württembergische Philharmonie - Reutlingen, Gabriel Castagna, Director

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'Gabriel Castagna's account is full of verve.a fine programme.'
Gramophone

'The Swabian orchestra plays sweetly and is luciously recorded: Gabriel Castagna, who is a Piazzolla compatriot and something of a specialist in South American repertoire, clearly has the music in his bones.'
International Record Review

'.this very decently played collection is that rare thing nowadays, a Piazzolla disc in which everything is heard exactly as it was written.'
The Guardian 'Classical CD of the Week'

`Le CD Chandos dirigé par le chef argentine Gabriel Castagna vient utilment compléter le portrait de Piazzolla...Ici, il ne s´agit plus du tout de tango "au premier degré" mais bien d´une musique symphonique dense et lyrique, qui s´inspire de l´univers culturel et afectif du tango...les sonorités "latino-américaines" acides, précises et fermement dessinées sont parfaitement gérées par le chef.´ Repertoire, France

Chandos CHSA 5006
Format: Hybrid Multichannel SACD

"His (Piazzolla´s) style is ideally captured in these elegant, sensual, virtuoso performances. The advanced-resolution recorded sound is smooth and clean. Every detail is clear, even in jagged passages for full orchestra, and there's just the right amount of rear-channel action to provide a sense of space without losing any detail. This winner of a SACD provides a wonderful adventure off the beaten track." Goodsound.com - high performance audio guide-

"The 16-minute work ends with an exciting "Jubiloso - Vivace."  For many, the gem on this CD will be the lovely Milonga del Angel , a sad, languid intermezzo.  The Wurttemberg Orchestra plays all of this music very well indeed under Gabriel Castagna, who specializes in performances of symphonic music by Argentine composers.  And a special nod to the player of the treacherous horn solo in Tangazo ; whooping horns also have a lot to do in the finale of Sinfonietta . Chandos' sound is superb, with the orchestra in front up close, reflected sound from the back." CLASSICAL CD REVIEW

"Raymond Tuttle, reviewing a Decca collection of Piazzolla's orchestral music under Charles Dutoit in Fanfare 25:4, described one piece as lolling "on a sofa of strings instead of rolling around on the dirty kitchen floor," and implied that the entire disc, which he seems to have warmed to nevertheless, suffered from a similar inhibition. Dutoit's program overlaps with Gabriel Castagna's new SACD from Chandos in two major works, Tangazo and Tres movimientos tanguisticos porteños , and one small piece, Milonga del Angel . I never caught up with the Dutoit CD, but judging from Castagna's treatment of this music, I'd guess that the inhibition Tuttle identified was not entirely Piazzolla's fault. True, the orchestral music is more reserved than the small-group pieces, but Castagna and his German (!) orchestra make a strong case for it..... Castagna's reading is fully satisfactory....Castagna and the Württembergers turn in very sympathetic performances, rich in dark instrumental hues."
James Reel FANFARE

Mendelsohnn - Liszt (Agora cd AG 112.1), Berliner Symphoniker, Gabriel Castagna, Conductor

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"Gabriel Castagna is clearly a talent to be reckoned with. Mendelsshon's Scottish Symphony and Liszt's Les Preludes, form two of the most difficult things anyone can conduct. Even the most famous conductors often fail to pull them off. Yet, announcing himself decisively, the young Argentinean takes both on one disc, and produced a winner. He has superb taste, self control, passion and elegance to match what must be a complete technical command of his art. Castagna presents Mendelsshon's most serious symphony with full nobility, coupled with great sweetness of expression in lyrical moments. Nothing sounds rush or remotely trivial- which can easily happen in Mendelsshon...Similarly Castagna leads a flawlessly judged Les Preludes . That takes some doing, for the old warhorse can easily slip into vulgarity if one exaggerates even a little... H.T." IN TUNE Magazine, printed in English and Japanese.