Concierto de Aranjuez is a guitar concerto by Joaquin Rodrigo, a blind Spanish composer. This piece of music is a new milestone in the history of guitar development.
I first learned about this work was through one of my friends. By chance I heard him casually play a piece of strum the chord from beginning of Concierto de Aranjuez. The pleasant melody suddenly grab my attention. Then I went to internet to search the full audio. I never imagined that the guitar could be part of a concerto with philharmonic society. In my past knowledge, I though guitar can only solo or in concert with other guitars. This piece of music did open up a whole new world I didn’t know about.
Back to the subject. By searching through the web, Concierto de Aranjuez was first performed on November 9th, 1940 in the Palau de la Música Catalana in Barcelona by the Philharmonic Orchestra of Barcelona under conductor César Mendoza Lasalle, with guitar soloist, Regino Sainz de la Maza, to whom it is dedicated.
It is no exaggeration to say that it changed Rodrigo’s life. After it was performed for the first time in Barcelona, it was performed in Paris and Spain as premier.
It has been the most frequently performed of all guitar concertos for many years because of complex playing techniques and musicality. This piece of music is began with bright strum, but keep listening, I can feel a unique sadness that belongs to Spanish music. The central part is delightful andante which really magnificent. This combination of guitarist and philharmonic society is unprecedented.
I really like Rodrigo’s interpretation of the piece of music “is meant to sound like the hidden breeze that stirs in the tree tops in the parks; it should be only as strong as a butterfly, and as deliscate as a veronica”. What an elegant depiction! It is hard to resist the sad and beautiful emotion. This melodious work, just right to show the Spanish guitar technique and expression. In my view, this is the ceiling of a guitar concerto!
Here is one of my favorite versions of Concierto de Aranjuez, hope you enjoy it!:
Sources:
Score: https://archives.nyphil.org/index.php/artifact/92ee8f04-32a0-4d71-9673-8c94a7a4218c-0.1/fullview#page/2/mode/2up
Posters: https://www.joaquin-rodrigo.com/index.php/en/concierto-de-aranjuez-2/estrenos
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERdRjjjJ30k
