Joaquin Turina’s skillfully-wrought brand of Spanish Romanticism never fails to delight the ear, especially in the hands of a pianist sensitive enough to project the music’s heady Andalusian evocations. Jordi Masó pretty much fits the bill. He handles Turina’s not inconsiderable technical demands with ease, and modulates his attractive sonority to emphasize the composer’s entrancing harmonic ingenuity. The playing also boasts attractive rhythmic character, as in Masó’s understated lilt in the Op. 79 Suite’s Bolero and Fandango, and in the curvaceous line he brings to Op. 55’s Dance of Seduction. Some listeners may prefer Sara Davis Buechner’s flashier, hotheaded virtuosity in the Op. 8 Danzas Andaluzas (Koch), or Albert Guinovart’s leaner, more impetuous way with the inspired Op. 22 Danzas fantasticas and both the Op. 55 and 84 sets of Gypsy Dances (Harmonia Mundi). Yet there’s much to be said for Masó’s less personalized though always thoughtful mastery, along with Naxos’ ample if slightly dry engineering. In sum, this is a release that indicates the beginning of a satisfying cycle. Recommended.
