Francisco Tárrega Essentials

Born in 1852, Francisco Tárrega spent his life championing the then-neglected classical guitar through live performance as well as his own music, the best of which is featured here. Such was his technical prowess that he became known as the “Sarasate of the guitar” in a nod to his fellow Spaniard and near-contemporary, the violinist Pablo de Sarasate. The shimmering Recuerdos de la Alhambra (Memories of the Alhambra) remains Tárrega’s most famous piece, but there is equal magic to be found in the imaginatively realised Fantasia on Themes from Verdi’s La Traviata and the sultry Capricho árabe (Arabic Caprice).