Nocturne No. 2, Opus 44 - for Piano and Guitar
- Introduzione
- Tema & Variazioni
- Rondò
In total Molino penned sixty guitar works. His Method set out new concepts in guitar technique and achieved a substantial success. Other mentionable pieces include his brilliant Sonata, Op. 51; a series of chamber trios and nocturnes for guitar and flute duet; and his Op. 56 Concerto for guitar and orchestra. Rudolphe Keutzer, the virtuoso violinist and composer dedicated his Second violin concerto for Violin and Orchestra, Op. 25 to Molino with whom he had a deep friendship. Molino also composed three Nocturnes for Guitar and Piano, Op. 36, Op. 44, and Op. 57.
There was some disagreement between various guitar teachers as to the correctness of techniques used. In particular Fernando Carulli and Molino approached the use of the left-hand thumb differently. Carulli advocated the use of the thumb to play bass notes saying:
"In some methods, the authors absolutely forbid the pupils to make use of the left-hand thumb, by the side opposite the other fingers, on the sixth string and sometimes on the fifth. As music is more agreeable when it is richer with harmony, 4 fingers are not enough for its execution, and at the same time, a melody requires its bass notes in different keys, thus one must necessarily use the thumb; therefore, I invite all those who wish to play with a greater facility, to use it."
While Molino claimed that all musical possibilities are 'at hand' without the use of the left-hand thumb:
"I advise the students to never use the LH thumb because one can produce on the guitar all the harmony of which it is capable, without using the thumb, because in order to use it, it is necessary to entirely disturb the position of the hand; besides, the use of the thumb is very uncomfortable for those with small hands. Consider the music of Mr. Sor, so full of harmony that it can be taken for piano music, and at the same time he performs it without the use of the thumb."
Famously one Charles de Marescot caricatured this difference of opinion in his book La Guitaromanie, in which there appears a hilarious image depicting a "discussion" between supporters of the two camps of teaching. The guitarists are seen to be having a heated exchange, using their Lacote guitars to waylay their opponents opinions in a most vigorous manner! The picture is labeled "A discussion between the Carullists and the Molinists"