Joaquín Rodrigo


Joaquín Rodrigo Vidre, 1st Marquess of the Gardens of Aranjuez, 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.

Life

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" which featured performances by Paul Desmond, Steve Gadd, Chet Baker, Ron Carter and Roland Hanna 8.
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.
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 him and his three sons.
Of Rodrigo's works, those that have achieved the greatest popular and critical success are his Concierto de Aranjuez and Fantasia para un gentilhombre. These two works are very often paired in recordings.

Honors

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. 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.

Personal life

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. 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.

Works

Orchestral

  • Orchestra
  • *Juglares ; first public performance: 1924, Valencia
  • *Cinco Piezas Infantiles
  • *Tres viejos aires de danza
  • *Dos miniaturas andaluzas
  • *Zarabanda lejana y Villancico
  • *Per la flor del Lliri Blau, symphonic poem
  • *Soleriana
  • *Pavana Real
  • *Música para un jardín
  • *A la busca del más allá
  • *Palillos y panderetas
  • Rondalla
  • *Estudiantina
  • Symphonic Wind Ensemble
  • *Homenaje a la Tempranica
  • *Homenaje a Sagunto
  • *Adagio Para Orquesta de Instrumentos de Viento
  • *''Pasodoble para Paco Alcalde''

    Concertante

  • Cello
  • *Dos piezas caballerescas for four-piece cello orchestra – later transcribed for four guitars by Peter Jermer
  • *Concierto en modo galante
  • *Concierto como un divertimento
  • Flute
  • *Aria antigua
  • *Concierto pastoral
  • Guitar
  • *Concierto de Aranjuez
  • *Fantasía para un gentilhombre
  • *Concierto madrigal for two guitars
  • *Concierto Andaluz for four guitars
  • *Concierto para una fiesta
  • *Rincones de España
  • Harp
  • *Concierto serenata
  • *Sones en la Giralda – later transcribed for guitar and orchestra by Pepe Romero
  • Piano
  • *Concierto heroico
  • Violin
  • *Dos esbozos for violin and piano
  • *Cançoneta for violin and string orchestra
  • *Concierto de estío
  • *Set Cançons Valencianes for violin and piano

    Instrumental

  • Bandoneón
  • *Motu perpetuo
  • Cello
  • *Como una fantasía
  • Guitar
  • *Zarabanda lejana
  • *Toccata para guitarra
  • *En Los Trigales
  • *Tiento Antiguo
  • *Three Spanish Pieces – Tres Piezas Españolas
  • *Bajando de la meseta
  • *Entre olivares
  • *En tierras de Jerez
  • *Tonadilla
  • *Junto al Generalife
  • *Sonata Giocosa
  • *Invocación y danza
  • *Sonata a la Española
  • *Tres pequeñas piezas
  • *Elogio de la guitarra
  • *Pajaros de primavera.
  • *Dos preludios
  • *Tríptico
  • *Un tiempo fue Itálica famosa
  • *Ecos de Sefarad
  • *¡Qué buen caminito!
  • *Aranjuez, ma pensée
  • Harp
  • *Impromptu
  • Piano, and harpsichord
  • *Suite pour piano
  • *Berceuse d'automne
  • *Preludio al Gallo mañanero
  • *Zarabanda lejana
  • *Pastorale
  • *Bagatela
  • *Berceuse de printemps
  • *Air de Ballet sur le nom d'une Jeune Fille
  • *Serenata Española
  • *Sonada de adiós
  • *Cuatro Piezas
  • *Tres Danzas de España
  • *A l'ombre de Torre Bermeja
  • *Cuatro Estampas Andaluzas
  • *El Album de Cecilia
  • *Cinco Sonatas de Castilla, con Toccata a modo de Pregón
  • *Aranjuez, ma pensée
  • *Danza de la Amapola
  • *Preludio y Ritornello
  • *Tres Evocaciones
  • *Preludio de Añoranza
  • Piano
  • *Juglares
  • *Cinco Piezas Infantiles
  • *Gran Marcha de los Subsecretarios
  • *Atardecer
  • *Sonatina para dos Muñecas
  • Violin
  • *Capriccio''

    Vocal and choral

  • Ave Maria for unaccompanied choir
  • Ausencias de Dulcinea ; First prize, Cervantes Competition
  • Cuatro Madrigales Amatorios
  • De las doce canciones españolas
  • Villancicos y canciones de navidad ; Ateneo de Madrid Prize
  • Música para un códice salamantino, lyrics by Miguel de Unamuno
  • Cuatro canciones sefardíes
  • El Hijo Fingido, Zarzuela
  • Porque toco el pandero
  • Cántico de San Francisco de Asís
  • ''Tres canciones''

    Guitar and voice

  • Coplas del Pastor Enamorado
  • Tres Canciones Españolas
  • Tres Villancicos
  • Romance de Durandarte
  • Folías Canarias
  • ''Aranjuez, ma pensée''