The Concierto de Aranjuez, composed in 1939, is inspired by and named after the gardens at the Palacio Real de Aranjuez. Its success established Rodrigo as one of the major Spanish composers of the century. Later on, Rodrigo stated that the piece was composed as a response to his wife’s miscarriage.
Joaquín Rodrigo (1901-1999) was born in Valencia, Spain. At the age of 3 he lost most of his vision due to diphtheria, and later on in his life he composed in Braille. He was given many awards for his compositions, and in 1991 he was given a title (Marquis of the Gardens of Aranjuez) by King Juan Carlos I. In 1999 Rodrigo died in Madrid.
Paco de Lucía (1947-2014) was a renowned flamenco guitarist. He was born in Algeciras, Spain; his father and one of his brothers were also flamenco guitarists. De Lucía helped establish New Flamenco, a style which combines the virtuosity of traditional flamenco guitar with other musical styles including jazz, salsa, Gyspy, and Latin. Until he performed the Concierto de Aranjuez, de Lucía had never mastered note reading, and locked himself away to study the score. De Lucía died aged 66 from a heart attack.
Piece information: Adagio from Concierto de Aranjuez (Rodrigo) – performed by Paco de Lucía with the Orquestra de Cadaqués, directed by Edmon Colomer
Where Words Leave Off 