10 Walzer für den ambitionierten Gitarristen op. 30

The need to express one's feelings through music and movement has been ingrained in mankind for eons. It was only with the advent of musical notation, however, that it became possible to make the music of our ancestors audible in concrete terms, or to play it back. Dances have always played a major role in this. Be it the minstrel music of the Middle Ages, the courtly dances of the Renaissance and the Baroque or the modern dances of the recent present, dance plays a central role within the entire history of music. The term 'waltz' was first mentioned towards the end of the 18th century and referred to both the music and the associated dance. Today, there are countless forms, variations and varieties of this classical dance, many composers have turned to this genre and created a wealth of literature on it. The present work, 10 Waltzes for Guitar op. 30 by Frank Knabben, joins the gallery of famous models.

Each of these waltzes is different, has its own character and different forms of expression. It is not the different tempi that make each of these ten waltzes so unique, but the choice of keys in particular plays a decisive role in this. Ten waltzes - ten different

keys! It is striking that in all his works published for guitar so far, the composer has no regard for so-called 'uncomfortable' keys; the opposite is the case. Guitarists generally do not like the B-flat keys very much, this is understandable when one considers that already with two B-flats only three of six strings are available as so-called 'empty strings'. The art is to arrange the works in such a way that the permanent and tiring barré fingering is avoided - and the composer knows this technique very well. But let's let him speak for himself:

"I don't have an absolute ear, yet I associate the different keys with different colours and sensations. At some point, it was no longer enough for me to always use only the keys that can be played well on the guitar. There is so much more to this wonderful instrument! My personal favourite keys are F minor and B minor. In the latter, for example, I feel a deep glowing and warm red. Waltz number 7 is in E flat minor, an extremely sensitive, lilac key. If I transpose this work just a semitone upwards, to E minor, the composition changes radically. The colour changes to a deep blue, the character becomes demanding and impetuous.

I cherish the hope that guitarists will not be deterred in the long run by compositions with more than three or four accidentals. Try it out, it's worth it." So much for the composer.

My favourites include waltzes number 4 and 9. In 'La Cetra', the guitar imitates an Alpine zither in a convincing and original way. Exotic and courageous is the 'Valzer in stile tango', two different dances merge here effortlessly into a novelty.

Overall, the album has a difficulty level of 2-3.

Elisabeth Mainzel