Two Guitar Pieces

I am partial to Spanish guitar compositions. Here are a couple I especially like.

The wiki has details of the composition Asturias by Isaac Albéniz (1860 – 1909.) He was a child prodigy who first performed at the age of four.

The next bit is Alexandra Whittingham playing Recuerdos de la Alhambra by Francisco Tárrega (1852 – 1909.) Tárrega is considered by some to be the greatest guitarist of all times.

Bonus track: I cannot end this selection of guitar pieces without mentioning my all-time favorite guitar concerto. It’s Concierto de Aranjuez by Joaquín Rodrigo (1901 – 1999.) I love that piece so much that one time when I was traveling in Spain, I took a detour to the city of Aranjuez just so that I could see the place.

Here’s the whole concerto. The guitarist is Pepe Romero (b. 1944.) His first concert appearance was at the age of seven. My favorite bit is in the second movement, the Adagio, which begins at 6:45 time stamp.

I have many recordings of the Concierto. All great classical guitarists have recorded it, such as John Williams (the guitarist, not the music composer), Paco de Lucia, Christopher Parkinson, et al.

Enjoy.

Author: Atanu Dey

Economist.

One thought on “Two Guitar Pieces”

  1. Thanks. – All great pieces. Not sure if you know the story behind Rodrigo’ s Aranjuez. It was composed when his wife and he lost their first child at birth. Here is Pepe Romero explaining the the circumstances which led Rodrigo to compose Concierto de Aranjuez. Sad and uplifting.

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