Invocacion y danza joaquin rodrigo biography

He is best known for composing the Concierto de Aranjuez , a cornerstone of the classical guitar repertoire. Rodrigo was born in Sagunto , Province of Valencia. At the age of three, he lost his sight completely after contracting diphtheria. 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.

Where was rodrygo born

His first published compositions [ 2 ] date from His most famous work, the Concierto de Aranjuez , was composed in 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 central adagio movement is one of the most recognizable in twentieth-century classical music, featuring the interplay of guitar with cor anglais.

At the request of Nicanor Zabaleta , Rodrigo adapted the concerto for the 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 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.