2 customer reviews of La Semana

02008-04-23 | Music | 3 comments

I checked whether amazon.com started carrying the new March SSRI DigiPak release of “La Semana” (because for the longest time they sold the old 33rd Street version – for which we received no money as they were sold as part of the Tower bankruptcy proceedings) and found these two customer reviews. And yes, amazon does now carry our new SSRI version.

Amazon.com: A. Koenig “Guitarist”‘s review of La Semana
While Ottmar’s playing is not flamenco guitar, I play flamenco guitar and I love Ottmar’s playing. I believe that La Luna, for example, is a well composed piece of music. I am tired of the bickering between traditional and non-traditional flamenco stylists, just as I am weary of the bickering between traditional bluegrass and “new-grass” players. In the end it is about the music. Liebert has a wide audience while many traditional flamenco musicians could not get an audience if they paid for one.

That said, one can argue all day about compas, duende, flamenco guitars made in Spain versus Ottmar’s clearly wonderful DeVoe and Ottmar’s audience will still follow him. Are they stupid because they do not follow the duende or passion of your god, or are they able to hear beyond what you will not?

I am sure that I have now fired-up the flamenco mavens. Given a choice I would rather pay to see Paco than Ottmar, but I don’t have to choose. I can listen to both, and will. I enjoy each in different ways. Besides, I love the sound of that DeVoe!

La Semana hearkens back to the sound that you may have heard in the early ’90s that first drew you to Ottmar’s music. If you liked that Nouveau sound, you will like this CD as well. Don’t feel guilty about enjoying away!

Amazon.com: El Zorrillo de Camarillo’s review of La Semana

Flamenco traditionalists and innovators have always argued with one another, but every one of them despises Ottmar’s phony music. He’s embarrasing.

3 Comments

  1. AdamSolomon

    Doesn’t Paco play a DeVoe, anyway?

    I hope you won’t disagree too harshly if I say that the problem most of these people have isn’t simply that they’re closed-minded (I’m guessing most of them do listen to music besides just flamenco), but that they’re viewing your music as an attempt to add on to the tradition of flamenco, when it is very clearly a style to itself, one that happens to borrow from flamenco and use the same type of guitar. (If you’re looking at the music in that way – as being apart from flamenco – then it makes absolutely no sense to call the music “phony”, as this Zorillo fellow does.)

    Reply
  2. montanaskies

    While there are sometimes great artists that work in a traditional style. I prefer art and artists that take the audience/listener to a new place, La Semana did that for me and that is why it is one of my favorites of any genre. Thanks.

    Reply
  3. steve1

    Well, Ottmar, you seem to be in good company:

    “Liszt’s orchestral music is an insult to art. It is gaudy, musical harlotry, savage and incoherent bellowings” [Boston Gazette, 1872] From _Lexicon of Musical Invective_ by Nicholas Slonimsky, p113.

    and

    “Stravinsky … is entirely unable to formulate a musical idea of his own … ” [Musical Times, London 1912] From _Lexicon of Musical Invective_ by Nicholas Slonimsky, p203.

    Keep up the great work!

    Reply

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