'Mano a mano' Bellinatijongol Brouwer Canción de cuna, 'Bcrceuse'°'. Danza caracterisiicos1 lannarelli Valzgr brillante Lauro Valses venzo1anos - Nata]ia/Criolla 'Piazzolla Histoire du Tango g - Bsrdel 1900; Café 1930; Nightclub 1960 Ponce Preludio . Estrellitae Roth Guitar Quintet Villa- Lobos Bachianas brasileiras No 5-Aria (Cantilena)a Morgan Szyiansld gar with Machaca: 'Laura 4itchdll sop Luzmira Zerpa sngr Olive{ Coxperc Ruth Rogers vnGemma1Rosefie1d ye Jose Menor hpd Phuong Nguyen aces Sacconi Quartet (Ben Hancox, Hannah Dawson onus Robin Ashwell va Cara Berridge ye); 10 Duo Percussion Ensemble Morgan Szymanski (B MSC132 (68' • DDD) This young virtuoso is that rare thing among guitarists: a fine chamber player ri,achaca Morgan Szymansld's second disc features the young Mexican-born guitarist's ensemble

Machaca playing chamber music for guitar and various instruments, from

Manuel Ponce's Preludio for guitar and harpsichord to the final work, Alec Roth's Quintet for guitar and strings (here receiving its first recording). Throughout, there's a real freshness and sparkle to the playing that perfectly complements the light, attractive nature of the music. After Ponce's curious

Baroque evocation comes a darker shading in the form of three movements from Piazzolla's Hir-toire do Tango. Here, a violin takes the original flute part in the outer movements while the accordion offsets Szymanski's sweet, frilly rounded tone for the middle. Perhaps not quite as successful are the four pieces originally for solo guitar, which seem overburdened by the addition of a vocalist and/or percussion. No such reservations with Ponce's Es-trellita (arranged for cello and guitar) or Villa-Lobos's Bachianas brasileirac No 5.

Simone lannarelli's Valzerbrillante for guitar and string quartet sees Szymanski and the Sacconi Quartet exhibit the same superb ensemble to be found in the Roth. The latter composer's eclecticism and willingness continually to subvert expectations (the Prelude is especially effective in this respect) inspire the performers to seize collectively on the blues-based elements and inject a relaxed, improvisatory feel into the whole.

Minor reservations aside, "Mano a mano" is a real jewel of a disc, with Szymanski demonstrating that he's not only a soloist of formidable talent but also that rare thing among guitarists: a fine chamber musician. William Yeoman