Sam closed the semester for us with an all-guns-firing sophomore recital. He played his huge, difficult program in Fairchild Chapel for a decent-sized and hugely enthusiastic audience. Presenting a number of important masterworks from the standard repertoire, Sam proved his mettle in a number of ways. Here is a recap.

Sam Schollenberger performing in Fairchild Chapel

Sam opened up with two of Regondi’s Etudes. These are exceptionally challenging romantic concert works, and Sam handled them with excellent control and grace. His tone and his shaping of the long operatic melodic lines served to communicate the style perfectly. (Full program at the end of the post.)

He followed with the complete Lute Suite, BWV 997. Sam played it with calm mastery. His handling of embellishments in the Sarabande was as convincing as I’ve heard, and his discreet articulation of the walking eighth-note basses in the Fugue served to render the dense counterpoint exceptionally transparent. And then, the suite’s virtuoso finale, the Double, was played with fierce clarity at a brilliant tempo.

At this point, Sam invited his duo partner and classmate, Solis Dorman, onto the stage for the two Spanish pieces they’d played together this semester. This was their third performance of the set, and the pieces landed without a hitch.

Solis Dornan and Sam Schollenberger play music of Rodrigo and de Falla

After a pause, Sam returned with Brouwer’s beloved El Decameron Negro. He played it masterfully. Then, to end the program, he offered the Sonatina of Jorge Morel, a rousing Latinate composition which, in Sam’s hands, really filled the room. After Sam’s Freshman Recital, I told him he’d need to work on his volume and projection, as he was too quiet a player. This year, he proved what a year can bring, as he emerged the studio’s loudest guitarist. Wow!