Joaqu N Rodrigo

Joaquín Rodrigo: A Research and Information Guide catalogues and summarizes the musical works and related literature of Joaquín Rodrigo (1901–99), perhaps the most important Spanish composer of concert music in the second half of the twentieth century. The guide provides annotated bibliographic entries for both primary and secondary sources, detailing several guitar concertos, concertos for flute, violin, harp, cello, and piano, as well as symphonic pieces, piano solos, chamber music, and choral and stage works. Rodrigo’s reputation rests on the Concierto de Aranjuez for guitar and orchestra and its expressive middle movement, which inspired jazz arrangements by Miles Davis and Chick Corea in the 1960s and continues to appear in film scores even eighty years after its composition. A major reference tool for all those interested in the prolific Rodrigo and his music—featuring a chronology of the composer’s life and robust indices that enable researchers to easily locate sources by author, composition, or subject—Joaquín Rodrigo: A Research and Information Guide is a valuable resource for students and researchers alike.

Joaquín Rodrigo, Spain's leading composer of the second half of the twentieth century, was also a writer of considerable distinction. In addition to his 170 compositions in almost every musical form, including the world-famous Concierto de Aranjuez for guitar and orchestra, he published articles and critical reviews throughout his working life. This volume makes available Rodrigo's writings to English-speaking readers throughout the world. The generous selection reveals an outstanding critical mind, equally illuminating on the main developments in the history of classical music and its most important composers, from Bach and Mozart to Verdi and Puccini, as well as Rodrigo's contemporaries. Rodrigo’s writings also cover many aspects of the culture and music of Spain and the country's major composers, as well as being an invaluable guide to an understanding and appreciation of Rodrigo's own works. The composer's style of writing is extremely varied, by turns incisive, eloquent, poetic, or delightfully humorous. Given the worldwide fame and popularity of his music, the availability in English of a large number of the composer's many articles and critical reviews will be of the greatest interest to musicians, scholars, music critics, and music-lovers alike.

Composer Joaquín Rodrigo's music is an homage to the rich and varied cultures of Spain. His unique creations draw from influences that range from the ancient Roman conquerors of Iberia to modern Spanish poets and writers. Since 1933 the blind composer was assisted and inspired by his talented wife, pianist Victoria Kamhi, his most important collaborator and his life's partner. This book is the story of a loving marriage and a professional struggle that led to international acclaim. After the years of exile and deprivation during the Spanish Civil War and World War II, Rodrigo's work began to gain attention and praise from the musical world. Active as critic and academic, Rodrigo has also received commissions from some of the most distinguished soloists of our era.

In Uniting Music and Poetry in Twentieth-Century Spain, Nelson R. Orringer enriches and deepens interpretations of twentieth-century sung poetry by comparing the original poet's vision to the composer's interpretation. Orringer uses both literary and musical analysis to reveal new understandings and appreciations of poems set to music.

First Published in 2003. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.