Joaquín Rodrigo

Joaquín Rodrigo Vidre (22 November 1901 – 6 July 1999) was a composer of classical music and a virtuoso pianist. Despite being blind from an early age, he achieved great success. Rodrigo is considered to be among the composers most responsible for popularizing classical guitar music in the twentieth century, and his "Concierto de Aranjuez" is one of the pinnacles of the Spanish music and guitar concerto repertoire.

Life

He was born in Sagunto, Valencia, and lost his sight almost completely at the age of three after contracting diphtheria. He began to study solfège, piano and violin at the age of eight; harmony and composition from the age of sixteen. Although distinguished by having raised the Spanish guitar to dignity as a universal concert instrument and best known for his guitar music, he never mastered the instrument himself. He wrote his compositions in braille, which was transcribed for publication.

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 went to Paris again to study musicology, first under Maurice Emmanuel and then under André Pirro. His first published compositions [A suite for piano, and "Dos esbozos", suite for piano and violín and Siciliana, for cello] date from 1923. In 1925 he received Spain's National Prize for Orchestra for "Cinco piezas infantiles" ("Five Children's Pieces"). 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.

His most famous work, "Concierto de Aranjuez," was composed in 1939 in Paris. It is a concerto for guitar and orchestra. The central adagio movement is one of the most recognizable in 20th century classical music, featuring the interplay of guitar with English horn. This movement was later adapted by jazz trumpeter Miles Davis for his 1960 album Sketches of Spain.

The success of this concerto led to commissions from a number of prominent soloists, including the flautist James Galway and the cellist Julian Lloyd Webber for whom Rodrigo composed his [http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=julian+lloyd+webber+rodrigo&search=Search Cello Concerto] . In 1954 Rodrigo composed "Fantasía para un gentilhombre" at the request of Andrés Segovia. His "Concierto Andaluz," for four guitars and orchestra, was commissioned by Celedonio Romero for himself and his three sons.

None of Rodrigo's works, however, achieved the popular and critical success that the "Concierto de Aranjuez" and the "Fantasia para un gentilhombre" did. These two works are very often paired in recordings.

In 1991, Rodrigo was raised to the nobility by King Juan Carlos; he was given the title "Marqués de los Jardines de Aranjuez" [ "Marquis of the Gardens of Aranjuez"; since 1999, his daughter Cecilia Rodrigo Camhi, has been 2nd Marquesa de los Jardines de 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, a Turkish-born pianist whom he had met in Paris, on 19 January 1933, in Valencia. Their daughter, Cecilia, was born 27 January 1941. Rodrigo died in 1999 in Madrid at the age of 97. Joaquín Rodrigo and his wife Victoria are buried at the cemetery at Aranjuez.

Works

Orchestral

*Symphonic Wind Ensemble
**"Adagio Para Orquesta de Instrumentos de Viento" - First public performance in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1966
*Orchestra
**Soleriana- First performance by the Berlin Philharmonic, on August 22nd, 1953 in Berlin.

Concertante

*Piano
**"Juglares" (1923); first public performance: 1924, Valencia
**"Concierto heroico" (1943)

*Cello
**"Concierto en modo galante" (1949)
**"Concierto como un divertimento" (1978–1981)

*Guitar
**"Concierto de Aranjuez" (1939)
**"Concierto Andaluz" (1967)
**"Concierto para una fiesta" (1982)
**"Fantasía para un gentilhombre" (1954)
**"Concierto heroico" (1942) — National Music Prize
**"Concierto madrigal" (1968)

*"Concierto de estío" (1944), for violin and orchestra
*"Concierto pastoral" (1978), for flute and orchestra
*"Concierto serenata" (1954), for harp and orchestra

Instrumental

*Guitar
**"Invocación y danza" (1961) — First prize, "Coupe International de Guitare," awarded by "Office de Radiodiffusion-Télévision Française" (ORTF)
**"Three Spanish Pieces - Tres Piezas Espanolas (Fandango,Passacaglia,Zapateado)"
**"Elogio de la guitarra" (1971)
**"Two Preludes"
**"En Los Trigales"Sonata Giocosa

Vocal/Choral

*"Per la flor del Lliri Blau" (1934); First prize, "Círculo de Bellas Artes"
*"Ausencias de Dulcinea" (1948); First prize, Cervantes Competition
*"Tres viejos aires de danza" (1994)
*"Villancicos y canciones de navidad" (1952); "Ateneo de Madrid" Prize

Guitar and Voice

*"Coplas del Pastor Enamorado" (1935)
*"Tres Canciones Espanola" (1951)
*"Tres Villancicos" (1952)
*"Romance de Durante" (1955)
*"Folías Canarias" (1958)
*"Aranjuez, ma pensée" (1988)

References

*cite paper
author = Donis, José Antonio
title = The Musicologist Behind the Composer: The Impact of Historical Studies Upon the Creative Life in Joaquín Rodrigo's Guitar Compositions
version = M. Mus. thesis
publisher = Florida State University
date = 2005
url = http://etd.lib.fsu.edu/theses/available/etd-06302005-125300/
format =
accessdate = 2006-07-14

*cite book
last = Kamhi de Rodrigo
first = Victoria
authorlink =
coauthors = translated by Ellen Wilkerson
title = Hand in Hand With Joaquín Rodrigo: My Life at the Maestro's Side
publisher = Latin American Literary Review Press
date = 1992
location = Pittsburgh
url =
doi =
id = ISBN 093548051X

External links

* [http://www.joaquin-rodrigo.com/indexen.html Joaquín Rodrigo website]
* [http://www.joaquin-rodrigo.com/index2.html Joaquín Rodrigo website] es icon

Articles

* [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=980DEFDE1F38F93AA1575BC0A96F958260 "MUSIC; A Composer Who Found Strength in an Inner Vision"] (Pablo Zinger, August 1999, NY Times)

Recordings

* [http://joaquin-rodrigo.com/tienda/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=374 "Joaquín Rodrigo interpreta a Rodrigo"] (EMI Classics, EAN 0724355643827)

Videos

* [http://www.diagonaltv.es/detall_produccio.php?id=16 "Concierto De Aranjuez: El Siglo De Joaquín Rodrigo"] (Diagonal TV!)
* [http://joaquin-rodrigo.com/tienda/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=68 "Grandes personajes, a fondo. Vol. 7"]
* [http://www.joaquin-rodrigo.com/100filmse.html Television Productions] Rodrigo: Pasos y huellas en la oscuridad
* [http://joaquin-rodrigo.com/tienda/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=68&products_id=384 "The Rodrigo Collection"] - ASIN|B00076YNI2:DVD containing: [http://www.bullfrogfilms.com/catalog/shad.html "Shadows and Light"] documentary, [http://www.bullfrogfilms.com/catalog/cda.html "Concierto de Aranjuez"]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlyRr9-Y1Z0 Youtube Excerpt]

Notes