Guitarist/composer Atanas Ourkouzounov is now becoming firmly established as one of Bulgaria's main ambassadors for the classical guitar mainly due to several
of his original works winning compositions prizes in competitions such as "Il Fronimo",
"Michele Pittaluga" and "Cuidad de Montevideo". His works are also becoming known
through performances by such luminaries as Fabio Zanon, Stanley Yates and
Shin-ichi Fukuda.
Seemingly , Ourkouzounov's trade-mark seems to be writing highly energetic,
"white-knuckle ride" accessible contemporary compositions in relatively unusual
time-signatures all the while creating exciting rhythmic episodes and leaving a lasting
impression; this piece under review is no exception, in fact it is the most stimulating
work I have yet come across by this writer.In this work there is a reliance on various
percussive effects - in this case the flautist has to produce "key click" , the guitarists
play lengthy passages pizzicato and the cellist has to tap the strings - and the work traverses through several different keys and many more different time signatures. In
the correct hands this could be an electrifying addition to any formal concert presentation.
Whether or not Divertimento will get much exposure is debatable due to the relatively rare ensemble combination of flute , two guitars and cello.
