Atardecer, Noche fantástica

for oboe (or melodic instrument) and guitar It is pretty bad luck that the title ot this pIece, printed on a beautiful cover page, has suffered a serious mIsprint! 'Aterdecer' should read 'Atardecer'; the word Noche (of Noche fantastica) has disappeared. But all this is compensated by the quality or the muslc. The combination of oboe-gultar is a delicious one, and especially here, where both instruments seem to develop their more natural beauty and where their roles are so well balanced The composer certainly knows where the strengths of this kind of duo lie, as he has won an honorary First Prize at the UFAMs International Chamber Music Competition in Paris for an oboeguItar duet. Frederic Costantino is just thirty years old but seems to have put together enormous experience as a classical guitarist, playing electric guitar and bass guitar in a band and also collaborating with orchestras. Atardecer (Crepúsculo) begins with an expressivo where the oboe develops a wonderful melody sus ained by guitar chords A Piumosso follows, the guitar playing arpeggios (perhaps the 'odd' element, but it sounds so good!} Bars 27-28 are a bit of a problem in the guitar part. Suddenly they are much more difficult to play than the rest. Couldn't the composer suggest for us an 'ossia? All the rest can be played comfortably even by an intermediate level student Noche fantastica is an Allegro vivo where the oboe seems to be predominant first, playing very lively in semiquavers. However the guitar becomes more active very soon, mainly playing beautiful harmonies displayed through chords or arpeggios These pieces show how a talented composer can sound fresh and interesting even writing in a 'traditional' way. A very pleasant contribution to our chamber music repertoire. I hope there will be more music by Mr. Costantino coming soon.
(Isabel Siewers, Classical Guitar Magazine, Février 2002)