Joaquín Rodrigo

Rodrigo was born in Sagunto (Valencia). At the age of three, he lost his sight completely after contracting diphtheria.[1] At the age of eight he began to study solfège, piano, and violin and from the age of 16 he studied harmony and composition. Although distinguished by having raised the Spanish guitar to dignity as a universal concert instrument and that he is best known for his guitar music, he never mastered playing the instrument. He wrote his compositions in Braille and they were 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 returned to Paris to study musicology, first under Maurice Emmanuel, and then under André Pirro. His first published compositions[2] 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, 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.[3] 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.[4] 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.

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. 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.

Monument in Aranjuez, Spain

Arms of the 1st Marquess of the Gardens of Aranjuez

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[5][6] (English: Marquess of the Gardens of 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 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 (1992). Their marriage lasted until her death in 1997.[1] Their daughter, Cecilia, was born on 27 January 1941.

Rodrigo died at his home in Madrid on 6 July 1999, aged 97.[1] His daughter succeeded him as Marquesa de los Jardines de Aranjuez. Joaquín Rodrigo and his wife Victoria are buried at the cemetery at Aranjuez.

• Complete catalogue of Rodrigo's compositions
• Joaquín Rodrigo website
• Joaquín Rodrigo website (in Spanish)