Guitarist Sharon Isbin Dazzles In New Latin Dance-Inspired Album

Guitarist Sharon Isbin is back at it again with her latest album, Romantico, featuring her performing with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s led by Enrique Lopez-Yañez in music written by composer Karen LeFrak. The playlist includes LeFrak’s Latin Dance-inspired Miami Concerto for Guitar and Orchestra with Isbin and full orchestra as well as two stand-alone chamber pieces by the composer: “Habañera Nights” and “Urban Tango.”

Isbin describes LeFrak as a “Renaissance woman” who has had 18 albums for piano thus far and is an author of children’s books. Her music in the orchestral world includes works that bring children into the orchestral fold with pieces that celebrate the different instruments of the orchestra in a fun learning experience. LeFrak lives in both New York and Miami and brings both influences to her music. Last but not least, LeFrak is also a world-renowned dog breeder––poodles to be specific!

LeFrak’s Miami Concerto starts out very lyrically in the first movement “Bailamos” with a sunset painted by the orchestral winds followed by the invitation to dance, punctuated by all sorts of Latin percussion. The second movement “Romantico” is a tango, where LeFrak evokes a calm wind on a seashore with the beauty of lush strings and guitar embellishments. The final movement “Festivo” is modeled after Benbé music, which brings together Afro-Cuban cultures in a way that is both rhythmic and exciting. 

Stand alone piece, “Habañera Nights,” is a chamber work where Isbin is joined by friends including the New York Philharmonic’s Carter Brey on Cello and Javier Diaz on the Bongos as well as other friends. Isbin quotes LeFrak’s program notes to describe the piece saying, “An atmosphere of the laid-back sensual energy of a couple dancing under a humid-moonlit evening.” Finally, Isbin says of “Urban Tango,” “She takes the idea of a tango and really turns it on its head,” and says the piece is, “evocative of both New York and Miami.”

Take a listen to her interview with Classical Music’s Matt Jackfert!

Playlist: 

Miami Concerto for Guitar & Orchestra (World Premiere Recording) 

1. Bailamos 
2. Romántico 
3. Festivo
4. Habañera Nights
5. Urban Tango