Joaquín Rodrigo
Joaquín Rodrigo gave the classical guitar its most enduring twentieth-century voice. His Concierto de Aranjuez, Fantasía para un gentilhombre and smaller Spanish works still define how the instrument sings with orchestra, flute or voice: clear lines, warm colour and an unmistakable Iberian lilt.
Though he never mastered the guitar himself, Rodrigo wrote for it with uncanny instinct. The famous Adagio of the Concierto de Aranjuez lets guitar and cor anglais trade a melody that has become one of the century’s most recognisable. Fantasía para un gentilhombre, written for Segovia, draws on seventeenth-century Spanish dance with courtly grace. Smaller pieces travel just as well: the two preludes that sit among Turina and Mompou on Spanish guitar programmes, the bright Serenata al alba del día for flute and guitar, and the Cuatro madrigales amatorios, whose guitar arrangements intensify their folk-song bite. Whether scored for full orchestra or intimate duo, the music stays lucid, melodic and steeped in the gardens and dances of Spain.
Compositions by Joaquín Rodrigo appear on
Ráfaga
Award-winning Melbourne guitarist Owen Thomson presents a selection of Spanish virtuoso guitar works from the twentieth century, with music by Joaquín Turina, Federico Mompou and Joaquín Rodrigo.
Le Rossignol
Margaret Lynch, soprano, and Peter Lynch, guitar, present works from the sixteenth to the twentieth century. The recital was recorded in the natural acoustic of the Great Hall at Montsalvat in Eltham, Victoria.
Sidekick
Sidekick is the debut CD from guitar duo Ziggy and Miles. It pairs new works written for the brothers with their own arrangement of Debussy’s Clair de Lune and repertoire from Spain, Latin America and Australia that has shaped their musical identity.