Joaquín Rodrigo Essentials

The blind Spanish composer Joaquín Rodrigo wrote the most famous of guitar concertos, Concierto de Aranjuez, a work by which he is still known above all others. Its juxtaposition of breezy, carefree joie de vivre with a central movement featuring a wistful and soulful melody is a winning formula. Yet there are other, quite different works which are worth exploring. Try the exciting whirl of “Gritería final,” a relatively early piece written when Rodrigo was 22. He subsequently took lessons from Dukas in Paris, and you can hear something of his acquired harmonic sophistication in the haunting and meditative Cuatro piezas para piano. From much later in Rodrigo’s career is the harmonically eerie Invocación y danza, composed in 1961 in tribute to his great fellow Spanish composer Falla. Rodrigo also wrote several hauntingly beautiful songs, including “Cántico de la Esposa” and “Adela.”