11/13/11 Jumping to conclusions
We have become accustomed to hearing music by Spanish composers played on the guitar. We often associate the guitar with Spain, but it’s interesting to note that until Fernando Sor arrived on the scene, the leading guitarists in Europe were Italian, and the instrument was associated with Italy. Many Spanish composers with whom we often associate the guitar didn’t even play the instrument. Granados, Albeniz, deFalla, and Rodrigo. Granados and Albeniz wrote almost exclusively for the piano (both were renowned virtuosi), and da Falla mostly for orchestra. Guitar music by these composers are transcriptions. Joaquin Rodrigo, on the other hand, was a pianist, who wrote quite a bit of music for the guitar, much at the urging of the great Andres Segovia, and the famous Romero family. His guitar concertos are so well known, that it is easy to forget that he wrote for other instruments, including the piano. This week (November 13) on Toccata, we’ll hear his “Concierto para piano y orquesta.” Hope you can join me.
