In Valencia, Spain, the feast of the foster-father of Jesus is a week-long festival called Fallas de San Jose (Bonfires of St. Joseph). On St. Joseph’s Eve, March 18, fallas—huge floats of intricate scenes made of wood and papier-mâché, satirizing everything from the high cost of living to political personalities—parade through the streets. At midnight on March 19, the celebration ends with the spectacular ceremony known as the crema, when all the fallas are set on fire. The festival is said to reflect the happy and satirical nature of the Valencians. More…Discuss
Rodrigo’s music is among the most popular music of the twentieth century. In particular, his Concierto de Aranjuez is considered one of the pinnacles of the Spanish music and of the guitar concerto repertoire.
Life
He was born in Sagunto, Valencia, and almost completely lost his sight 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[1] date from 1940. In 1943 he received Spain’s National Prize for Orchestra for Cinco piezas infantiles (“Five Children’s Pieces”), based on his earlier composition of the same piece for two pianos, premiered by Ricardo Viñes. 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, Concierto de Aranjuez, was composed in 1939 in Paris for the guitarist Regino Sainz de la Maza. In later life he and his wife declared that it was written as a response to the miscarriage of their first child.[2] 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 cor anglais. This movement was later adapted by the jazz arranger Gil Evans for Miles Davis‘ 1960 album ‘Sketches of Spain‘. The Concerto was adapted by the composer himself for Harp and Orchestra at the request of Nicanor Zabaleta and dedicated to Zabaleta.
The success of this concerto led to commissions from a number of prominent soloists, including Nicanor Zabaleta, for whom Rodrigo dedicated his Concierto serenata for Harp and Orchestra, Julian Lloyd Webber, for whom Rodrigo composed his Concierto como un divertimento for cello and orchestra, and James Galway, for whom Rodrigo composed his Concierto pastoral for flute and orchestra. 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 of the Concierto de Aranjuez and the Fantasia para un gentilhombre. These two works are very often paired in recordings.
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 on January 27, 1941. Rodrigo died in 1999 in Madrid at the age of 97, and his daughter succeeded him as Marquésa de los Jardines de Aranjuez. Joaquín Rodrigo and his wife Victoria are buried at the cemetery at Aranjuez.
Works
Orchestral
Orchestra
Cinco Piezas Infantiles (1928)
Tres viejos aires de danza (1929; first performance, Jan. 20, 1930, by the Orquesta Sinfónica de Valencia conducted by José Manuel Izquierdo)
Dos miniaturas andaluzas (1929; first performance, Nov. 22, 1999, at the Palau de la Música de Valencia, Spain, by the Orquesta de Cámara Joaquín Rodrigo)
Zarabande lejana y Villancico (1930; first performance, March 9, 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)
Soleriana (first performance by the Berlin Philharmonic conducted by Hans von Benda, on August 22, 1953 in Berlin)
Pavana Real (1955)
Música para un jardín (1957) [Orchestration of his two piano Berceuses]
Dos piezas caballerescas for four-piece cello orchestra (1945; first performance, May 27, 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, Nov. 4, 1949, in Madrid by Gaspar Cassadó, with the Orquesta Nacional de España, conducted by Ataulfo Argenta)
Concierto para una fiesta (1982; first performance, March 5, 1983, at the Ridglea Country Club in Fort Worth, TX, by Pepe Romero, with the Texas Little Symphony conducted by John Giordano)
Rincones de España (1990; first performance by Angel Romero on March 7, 1991, at New York’s Lincoln Center)
Dos esbozos for violin and piano (1923; Rodrigo’s “Opus 1”)
Cançoneta for violin and string orchestra (1923; first performance in 1923 in Valencia, Spain, by the Orquesta Sinfónica de Valencia, conducted by José Manuel Izquierdo)
Concierto de estío (1944; first performance, April 16, 1944, by Enrique Iniesta, at the Teatro San Carlos in Lisbon, Portugal, with the Orquesta Nacional de España, conducted by Bartolomé Pérez Casas)
Set Cançons Valencianes for violin and piano (1982)
Instrumental
Bandoneón
Motu perpetuo (1960)
Cello
Como una fantasía (1979; first performance, March 17, 1981, by Carlos Prieto, in Mexico City)
Tres pequeñas piezas (Ya se van los pastores, Por caminos de Santiago, Pequeña Sevillana) (1963)
Elogio de la guitarra (1971; written for the guitarist Angelo Gilardino, who gave the first performance)
Pajaros de primavera (1972; commissioned by Dr. Isao Takahashi, a promotor of classical guitar in Japan, for his wife Take Takahashi; first performed in 1972 at the hospital bedside of Take Takahashi in Japan, “interpreted by a guitarist friend,” as she was dying of cancer[5]—Christopher Parkening gave the first public performance, also in Japan)
Dos preludios (1976; first performance, 1989, by Celedonio Romero, in Los Angeles, CA, and first recording by Wolfgang Lendle)
Tríptico (1978; first performance, 1978, by Alexandre Lagoya, at the Château de Rougerie in France)
Un tiempo fue Itálica famosa (1981; first performance, 1989, by Randy Pile in San Diego, CA)
Ecos de Sefarad (1987; first performance, 1989, by Sherri Rottersman, at the Círculo Medina in Madrid)
¡Qué buen caminito! (1987; first performance, 1987, by Mariá Esther Guzmán, at the Conservatorio de Música de Sevilla)
Cinco Piezas Infantiles (Son chicos que pasan, Después de un cuento, Mazurka, Plegaria, Gritería) (1924)
Preludio al Gallo mañanero (1926)
Zarabande lejana (1926)
Pastorale (1926)
Bagatela (1926)
Berceuse de printemps (1928)
Air de Ballet sur le nom d’une Jeune Fille (1930)
Serenata Española (1931)
Sonada de adiós (‘Homenaje a Paul Dukas’) (1935)
Cuatro Piezas (Caleseras, Fandango del ventorrillo, Prayer of the Princess of Castile, Danza Valenciana) (1936-1938)
Tres Danzas de España (Rústica, Danza de los tres doncellas, Serrana) (1941)
Gran Marcha de los Subsecretarios (1941)
A l’ombre de Torre Bermeja (1945)
Cuatro Estampas Andaluzas (1946-1952)
El Album de Cecilia (María de los Reyes, Jota de las Palomas, Canción del Hada rubia, Canción del Hada morena, El negrito Pepo, Borriquillos a Belén) (1948)
Cinco Sonatas de Castilla, con Toccata a modo de Pregón (1950-1951)
Danza de la Amapola (1972)
Atardecer (1975)
Sonatina para dos Muñecas (1977)
Tres Evocaciones (Tarde en el parque, Noche en el Guadalquivir, Triana) (1980-1981)
Preludio de Añoranza (1987)
Violin
Capriccio (1944; first performance, Jan. 8, 1946, by Enrique Iniesta, in Madrid)
Vocal/choral
Ave Maria for unaccompanied choir (1923)
Ausencias de Dulcinea (1948); First prize, Cervantes Competition
Cuatro Madrigales Amatorios (1948)
De las doce canciones españolas (Textos populares adaptados por Victoria Kamhi) (1951)
Villancicos y canciones de navidad (1952); Ateneo de Madrid Prize
Regardless of which legend one believes, what began in 1945 as a few tossed tomatoes as a show of disdain has developed into full-fledged tomato warfare in Buñol, Valencia, Spain, on the last Wednesday in August. Residents prepare for the impending food fight by protecting their storefronts and homes with plastic and donning special clothing. Thousands of pounds of tomatoes are trucked into town and dropped off at the Plaza del Pueblo, and the light-hearted battle commences. After the cleanup, celebrants continue to enjoy the festival’s fireworks, parades, food, and music. More…Discuss
In Valencia, Spain, the feast of the foster-father of Jesus is a week-long festival called Fallas de San Jose (Bonfires of St. Joseph). On St. Joseph’s Eve, March 18,fallas (huge floats of intricate scenes made of wood andpapier-mâché, satirizing everything from the high cost of living to political personalities) parade through the streets. At midnight on March 19, the celebration ends with the spectacular ceremony known as the crema, when all the fallas are set on fire. The festival is said to reflect the happy and satirical nature of the Valencians. More…Discuss
Early life Rodrigo became blind at the age of three after becoming ill with diphtheria. When he was eight he began to learn piano and violin. He also learned the guitar, but never became very good at it, although he was to compose some wonderful music for the instrument.
After studying music in Valencia he went to Paris where he studied with Paul Dukas in Paris. After a short time back in Spain he returned to Paris to study musicology, first under Maurice Emmanuel and then under André Pirro. In 1925 he received Spain’s National Prize for Orchestra for his pieces Cinco piezas infantiles (Five Children’s Pieces). In 1947 Rodrigo became a professor of music history in Madrid, a job that was made especially for him.
His famous concertos
Rodrigo’s most famous work, de Aranjuez, was composed in 1939 in Paris. It is a concerto for solo classical guitar and orchestra. There are three movements. The middle movement is a slow movement with a tune which is played on the cor anglais. It has become one of classical music’s best-loved tunes.
After the success of this piece several other musicians asked him to write concertos for them, e.g the flautistJames Galway, the cellistJulian Lloyd Webber and the guitarist Andrés Segovia, for whom he composed Fantasía para un gentilhombre in 1954. Another of his works is called Concierto Andaluz, for four guitars and orchestra.
Honours
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). He was given the Prince of Asturias Award in 1996, the highest honour a Spanish civilian can get. He was made Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters by the French government in 1998.
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