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
Amatorios
Soprano Rebecca MacCallion joins Guitar Trek’s Bradley Kunda in a programme for voice and guitar. The pair made their ensemble debut on ABC Classic FM’s Sunday Live and took their work to audiences in Australia, Spain, Montenegro and Italy.
For Flute & Guitar
Virginia Taylor and Timothy Kain play French, Spanish and South American music for flute and guitar. Both were on the staff of the Canberra School of Music and had long performed together in chamber combinations.