Gramophone Magazine
September 2022
Editor's Choice

John-Henry Crawford (cello), Victor Santiago Asuncion (piano), Jiji (guitar)

Brouwer, L: Canción de Cuna
Villa-Lobos: O canto do cisne negro, W122
Guastavino: Pampamapa
Ponce, M: Canciones populares mexicanas. No. 5, Por tí mi corazón (Arr. for Cello & Piano)
Gismonti: Agua e Vinho
Ponce, M: Canciones Populares Mexicanas. No. 2, Estrellita (Arr. Jiji & J. Heifetz for Cello & Guitar)
Piazzólla: Le Grand Tango
Villa-Lobos: Pequena Suíte, W064. V. Melodia
Villa-Lobos: Ondulando (Rippling)
Ponce, M: Cello Sonata
Piazzólla: Oblivion

"In the summer of 2019, I travelled to Mexico to compete in the IX International Carlos Prieto Cello Competition, and little did I know, the trip would transform my life musically. At the time I was very well acquainted with Latin American music, but after having the great fortune of winning first prize and returning to Mexico multiple times for performances, I fell in love with the music of Latin America, the culture, the history, and the Spanish language. This album takes the listener on a musical tour through Argentina, Brazil, Cuba and Mexico. The centrepiece of the programme is the Sonata in G minor by Manuel Ponce, who is most famous in the classical world for his song Estrellita popularised by Jascha Heifetz. Ponce was keen to reunite the concert world with Mexican folklore and traditional songs, as listeners can hear in the romantic, longing title-track Por ti mi corazon. Spanning over 140 years of Latin American music culture, this album takes us from Ponces unique traditional voice and Villa-Lobos Chopinesque style to music by still-living Cuban guitarist Leo Brouwer his innocent lullaby Cancion de Cuna. Other highlights include Astor Piazzollas timeless Oblivion and Le Grand Tango and Egberto Gismontis Agua e Vinho. As the title suggests, this music pulls at the heartstrings and exudes romance and passion."

"The centrepiece of this all-Latin American recital is Manuel Ponce’s Cello Sonata (1922), and Crawford and pianist Victor Santiago Asuncion are persuasive advocates for this strangely neglected work." - Gramophone Magazine, September 2022.