Joaquin Rodrigo (1901-1999)

Joaquin Rodrigo belongs to that group of composers who, in spite of numerous works of excellent quality with a fresh sense of creativity, owe their fame to a single and often overplayed masterpiece. Composed in Paris in 1939, the Concierto de Aranjuez catapulted its author to instant international notoriety, setting unreasonable expectations within the world's musical community which Rodrigo was never able to fulfil. Yet for the remainder of his life he was bestowed with innumerable prizes and honorary degrees, thanks to the wide success of the Concierto.

Joaquin Rodrigo was born November 22, 1901 in the small Spanish village of Sagunto near Valencia. His musical studies took him to Paris, where he studied at the Sorbonne, and later with Paul Dukas at the Ecole Normale de Musique. In 1940, after the Spanish Civic War, he took his wife, the Istanbul-born pianist Victoria Kamhi, to settle in Madrid. Rodrigo has been a highly prolific composer, turning out numerous theatrical pieces, chamber and vocal pieces (some of which are set to the poetry of his wife) as well as concerti for violin, cello, harp and piano. But it is his compositions for the guitar which have been the most successful and have gained him the reputation of guitar composer of the century’ - an honour made all the more extraordinary since Rodrigo, admittedly, could not play four notes in a row’ on the instrument. The Concierto de Aranjuez is composed in the usual three movements and scored for a relatively large orchestra - considering the solo instrument is a guitar: 2 flutes/piccolo, 2 oboes/cor anglais,

Joaquin Rodrigo on Guild Music

• GMCD 7266 - Oratio 20th Century Sacred Music form Spain and Latin America
• GMCD 7176 Concierto de Aranjüez

Page revised 01.09.03