"…I have known him since he started to play the guitar as a young student and have seen him progress to a high level."
"…He is an excellent player with a strong warm tone, agile technique and is able to bring magic to the musical phrases"
David Russell, Classical guitarist, Spain.

"…José Manuel Dapena possesses a fully musical training, both in his analytical and written aspect, which benefits his brilliant professional activity…"
José Luis Turina, composer, Spain.

A superb performance, and one can only presume that if he had been in rude health he would have set fire to the curtains.
David Tripp, Southampton, U.K.

... probably better than I’ve ever heard it, that cultural insight perfectly balancing dexterity and attack, giving the piece a vigour rarely heard from non Spanish players. Estupendo !
Graham Benge, West Sussex, U.K.

.... Iberian master, a wonderful selection of music, not only lying at the heart of the guitar repertoire but also at the heart of Spanish culture.
Coriander Stuttard, Camden New Journal, London, U.K.

"… intelligent and sensitive performance…"
"… displayed a range of technical expertise and delicate emotions…
"… scored full marks in a very memorable performance …"
"… he plays Bach with good control, lots of energy and well-crafted ornamentation …"
"… a secure technique, a beautiful tone and imaginative interpretational skills …"
Steve Marsh, Classical Guitar Magazine, England

"Jose´s playing was fluid and lively. The audience were spell bound by this gentleman of the guitar".
John Gates, Greenwood Classical Guitar Society, England

"… a touch of fantasy and a program greatly appreciated by the audience".
Hazel Thompson, Hexham Courant, England

"… a formidable reputation, wide-ranging yet reassuringly well-crafted".
METRO life - England

"… it was a good concert by an engaging, delicate and lively player and it was well received by the south coast audience".
Graham Cleaver, Classical Guitar Magazine, England.
Printed June 2002. Volume 20 nº 10

"… Dapena plays very confidently. At all times the sensation that he guides us through his music with great transparency prevails…"
Detlev Bork, Staccato, Germany

"… a talented guitarist and an artistic proponent of the Spanish culture…"
Ricardo Peidró, Consul General of Spain, USA.

"… a master of the spanish guitar…"
Richard Knisely, WGBH Classical Radio, Boston, USA

"…wide international experience…"
Robert Bauer, Space Press, USA

"… the artistry of Dapena are a welcome addition…"
Jerry Bries, Henegar Center for the Arts, Melbourne, USA

"… a riveting concert with stirring musicality…"
Sonny Marble, Florida Today, USA

"… extraordinary Spanish guitarist…"
Luis María Bovadilla, Guitarra y Luz, Paraguay.

 "… guitar becomes an instrument where good music turns into beauty,
and much more with the good tone and interpretative clarity showed by the guitarist."
Luis Falcón, Diario de Leon, Spain

 "José Manuel Dapena, the musicality of an all round artist."
F.Fernández, Crónica 16, Spain

 "A Galician artist with magnificent musical level."
M.Garabantes, La Voz de Galicia, Spain

 "A Galician musician with wide international career"
Anxo Lamela, Faro de Vigo, Spain

"… he astonished a hundred fifty people who bursted into applause…"
"… excellent guitarist, with a thorough technique and possessor of great musicality…"
José del Rincón, Diario de Soria, Spain.

Steve Marsh, Classical Guitar Magazine, England.
Printed November 2000. Volume 19 nº 3

JOSE MANUEL DAPENA
Cedar Park, Derby
23 September, 2000

Bach, Sor and Turina.

The Derby Classical Guitar Society began its series of recitals for this season with the Spanish guitarist Jose Manuel Dapena making his English debut with a recital of, mainly, Spanish music.
The highlight of the evening came, unusually, at the very start of the programme with Sor´s Sonata Opus 25. This four-movement, 27 minute piece was a brave entry for a guitarist hoping to win over a new foreign audience for the first time and in the hands of a lesser player the use of this work as an opening piece could have done him/her no favours. However, the intelligent and sensitive performance from Dapena of one of Sor´s masterpieces made this a definite hit with the enthralled audience. This player displayed a range of technical expertise and delicate emotions which many other performers usually hold in reserve for later on in their programmes when nerves have settled and they are "wamed up". Not Dapena; he went straight for the target and scored full marks in a very memorable performance.The down side of all this was that it almost trivialised the Turina Sonata which followed, albeit this piece was given another fine interpretation.
As a tribute to Bach, and to commemorate the 250th anniversary of his death, the second half began with Suite BWV 1006a - the 4th lute suite. Dapena played this with good control, lots of energy and well-crafted ornamentation and even the odd memory lapse didn´t spoil the flow, the player handling all this with true professionalism.
The evening ended with three more pieces by Turina - Garrotín, Soleares and Fantasía Sevillana; all three played with style and confidence, although I would have preferred it if the player had let himself go a little more with the gradations of the dynamics; he seemed to hold himself back in these pieces which could really have stood more volume at times.
One encore was given - Tárrega´s Recuerdos de la Alhambra.
The recital was a thoroughly enjoyable experience from a guitarist who has the security of knowing that he has at his call a secure technique, a beautiful tone and imaginative interpretational skills.