Joaquín Rodrigo

Joaquín Rodrigo Vidre, 1st Marquess of the Gardens of Aranjuez (Spanish: [xoaˈkin roˈðɾiɣo]; 22 November 1901 – 6 July 1999), was a Spanish composer and a virtuoso pianist. He is best known for composing the Concierto de Aranjuez, a cornerstone of the classical guitar repertoire.

Rodrigo was born in Sagunto, Province of Valencia. At the age of three, he lost his sight completely after contracting diphtheria. At the age of eight he began to study solfège, piano, and violin and from the age of 16 he studied harmony and composition. He wrote his compositions in Braille and they were transcribed for publication. Although distinguished by having raised the Spanish guitar to dignity as a universal concert instrument and being best known for his guitar music, he never mastered playing the instrument.

Rodrigo studied music under Francisco Antich in Valencia and under Paul Dukas at the École Normale de Musique in Paris. After briefly returning to Spain, he returned to Paris to study musicology, first under Maurice Emmanuel, and then under André Pirro. His first published compositions date from 1923. From 1947, Rodrigo was a professor of music history, holding the Manuel de Falla Chair of Music in the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters, at Complutense University of Madrid. Notable students include Yüksel Koptagel, Turkish composer and pianist.

His most famous work, the Concierto de Aranjuez, was composed in 1939 in Paris for the guitarist Regino Sainz de la Maza. In later life, he and his wife, Victoria, declared that the work was written as a response to the miscarriage of their first child. The composition is a concerto for guitar and orchestra. The central adagio movement is one of the most recognizable in twentieth-century classical music, featuring the interplay of guitar with cor anglais.

This movement was later adapted by the jazz arranger Gil Evans for the 1960 album Sketches of Spain by Miles Davis. At the request of Nicanor Zabaleta, Rodrigo adapted the concerto for the 1974 Harp and Orchestra Concerto and he dedicated the adaptation to Zabaleta. Jazz guitarist Jim Hall further adapted the second movement on his recording titled "Concierto" (1975, Creed) which featured performances by Paul Desmond (alto sax), Steve Gadd (drums), Chet Baker (trumpet), Ron Carter (bass guitar) and Roland Hanna 8(piano).

The success of this concerto led to commissions from a number of prominent soloists, including Zabaleta, for whom Rodrigo dedicated his Concierto serenata for Harp and Orchestra. For Julian Lloyd Webber, Rodrigo composed his Concierto como un divertimento for cello and orchestra. For flutist James Galway, Rodrigo composed his Concierto pastoral for flute and orchestra.

He was awarded Spain's highest award for composition, the Premio Nacional de Música, in 1983. On 30 December 1991, Rodrigo was raised into the Spanish nobility by King Juan Carlos I with the hereditary title of Marqués de los Jardines de Aranjuez (English: Marquess of the Gardens of Aranjuez). He received the prestigious Prince of Asturias Award – Spain's highest civilian honor – in 1996. He was named Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters by the French government in 1998.

He married Victoria Kamhi in 1933. She was a Turkish-born pianist whom he had met in Paris. They shared professional interests and she documented their life together in Hand in Hand With Joaquín Rodrigo: My Life at the Maestro's Side (1992). Their marriage lasted until her death in 1997. Their daughter, Cecilia, was born on 27 January 1941.

Rodrigo died at his home in Madrid on 6 July 1999, aged 97. His daughter succeeded him as Marquesa de los Jardines de Aranjuez. Joaquín Rodrigo and his wife Victoria are buried at the cemetery at Aranjuez.

Juglares (1923); first public performance: 1924, Valencia

Tres viejos aires de danza (1929; first performance on 20 January 1930 by the Orquesta Sinfónica de Valencia conducted by José Manuel Izquierdo)

Dos miniaturas andaluzas (1929; first performance on 22 November 1999 at the Palau de la Música de Valencia, Spain, by the Orquesta de Cámara Joaquín Rodrigo)

Zarabanda lejana y Villancico (1930; first performance on 9 March 1931 at the Ecole Normale de Musique in Paris, by the Orquesta Femenina de París, conducted by Jane Evrard)

Per la flor del Lliri Blau, symphonic poem (1934; First Prize, Círculo de Bellas Artes)

Dos piezas caballerescas for four-piece cello orchestra (1945; first performance on 27 May 1945 in Madrid by cello ensemble students of Juan Ruiz Casaux) – later transcribed for four guitars by Peter Jermer

Concierto en modo galante (1949; first performance on 4 November 1949 in Madrid by Gaspar Cassadó, with the Orquesta Nacional de España, conducted by Ataulfo Argenta)

Concierto madrigal for two guitars (1966; commissioned by Alexandre Lagoya and Ida Presti; first performance on 30 July 1967 at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, by Angel Romero and Pepe Romero, with the Los Angeles Symphony conducted by Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos)

Concierto Andaluz for four guitars (1967)

Concierto para una fiesta (1982; first performance on 5 March 1983 at the Ridglea Country Club in Fort Worth, by Pepe Romero, with the Texas Little Symphony conducted by John Giordano)

Como una fantasía (1979; first performance on 17 March 1981 by Carlos Prieto, in Mexico City)

Zarabanda lejana (1926; first performance by Joaquín Nin-Culmell, in Paris)

Toccata para guitarra (1933; first performance on 1 June 2006 by Marcin Dylla, in Madrid)

En Los Trigales (1938; first performance by Regino Sainz de la Maza; later published as part of Por los campos de España)

Tiento Antiguo (1942; first performance in 1942 by Regino Sainz de la Maza)

Ausencias de Dulcinea (1948); First prize, Cervantes Competition

De las doce canciones españolas (Textos populares adaptados por Victoria Kamhi) (1951)

Villancicos y canciones de navidad (1952); Ateneo de Madrid Prize

Música para un códice salamantino (1953), lyrics by Miguel de Unamuno