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Includes liner notes written by Rodrigo’s daughter.

Additional notes and sung texts available online.

A welcome addition to the everexpanding Brilliant Classics’ Edition catalogue.

On this, the largest set ever compiled of one of the last century's most popular composers, we may not only renew our familiarity with the Concierto de Aranjuez, or perhaps with one of the other evermelodious guitar concertos that sustain his reputation with audiences, but also discover chamber, instrumental, choral and especially vocal works which testify to a creative imagination confident in the formation of its style but never satisfied with repetition, one which responded directly to poetic and lyric inspiration, and transformed its ideas with unfailing skill and respect for the idiom under consideration. The floating melismas that open the Cantico dedicated to St Francis of Assisi share a visionary aspect with the hymns on Qum'ran texts that are as far as can be imagined from the jolly folkloristic character of certain song‐cycles. There are plenty of homages to music of the past such as the baroqueries of the piano music, much of it written for his wife Cecilia, but one never forgets that Rodrigo was a creature of his age.

The performances gathered here are authoritative, many of them made as they were under the aegis of the Rodrigo Foundation, and many also exclusive to the Rodrigo Edition on Brilliant Classics. For anyone who loves Spanish music, anyone who wants to listen beyond the Concierto de Aranjuez, or anyone who delights in unfailingly tuneful music, this set will have a compelling appeal.

A fascinating programme concept, evoking the unique athmosphere of Paris at the beginning of the 20-th century, a melting pot of styles, cultures and trends.

Netherlands Music Prize winner Izhar Elias draws fascinating sounds and colours from his guitar.

Already released by Izhar Elias: Rossini/Giuliani: Semiramide, an arrangement of the opera for guitar solo.

The start of a prestigious edition on Brilliant Classics, the complete works of Joaquin Rodrigo.

The great Spanish composer is widely known for his alltime evergreen Concierto de Aranjuez, for guitar and orchestra, the adagio of which made it, in various guises, into many record charts.

Rodrigo’s output is substantial and ranges from solo works for both piano and guitar, through chamber music to larger-scale orchestral music. His music is lively, colourful and has great athmosphere, drenched in mediterranian sunshine.

Volume 1 offers the complete piano music, composed in the best tradition of - Granados and Albeniz, with a distinctive voice of its own.

CD 3 offers bonus tracks with works played by the composer himself.

Licensed from the Rodrigo Estate.

Joaquin Rodrigo (1901-99) composed for the guitar for over 75 years. Over his long and productive life he produced some of the best loved music ever written for the instrument – Concierto de Aranjuez and the Fantasia para un gentilhombre. His output for solo guitar and guitar duet form the bulk of his compositions and this 3CD encompasses all these works from the earliest in 1926 up to the late Ecos de Sefarad of 1987.

Strangely for one who devoted so much of his creative energies to the guitar, Rodrigo was not a guitarist, but a pianist of considerable technique. His flair for exuberance, display of technique and the combination of popular styles and great refinement ensure that all the works on these CDs are full of delightful surprises, and typical of this composers unpretentious style.

Rodrigo’s songs span the whole of his long creative life, and like much of his output is inspired by Spanish traditional music, and ranges over intimate settings for piano (or guitar), chamber ensembles and full orchestral accompaniments. Famous across the world as the composer of the Concierto de Aranjuez, Rodrigo has much more to offer and delight than this one beautiful guitar concerto. The songs include the official works commissioned by government ministries, and the reflective settings of Spanish poetry. This set is a huge treasure trove of delightful, picturesque and acute responses to Spanish poetry, ranging from intimate songs to grand declamations on the scale of oratorio: all marked by Rodrigo’s ready gift for melody and ear for instrumental colour. Many of these recordings are unique in terms of repertoire, and most have not been available for some years. They have never been presented together, and now form a hugely important plank in the ambitious project to issue the oeuvre of one of the most important and best loved composers of the 20th century,

Booklet notes and sung texts on an accompanying CD-ROM.

Unusual repertoire, and a little known facet of this famous Spanish composer.

Probably one of the most extensive surveys of classical guitar on record, this 25 CD collection is a must for lovers of the instrument.

Starting with the lutenist composers of the 16th century such as Alessandro Piccinini, the collection then moves to the Barock period with music by J.S. Bach and his sons, plus the great Domenico Scarlatti’s sonatas. This survey then takes us through the early Romantic period with the three grand concertos for guitar and orchestra of Giuliani, a friend of Beethoven and Hummel, and the great Fernando Sor who was known as ‘the Beethoven of the guitar’. Giuliani’s rarely heard fantasias on themes by Rossini, and sinfonias on Mozart’s La clemenza di Tito and Bellini’s Il Pirata are also to be found here as well as his remarkable paraphrase of Rossini’s Semiramide which takes up CDs 16 and 17!

The world of transcriptions is also covered with examples of Chopin and Mendelssohn’s music for the guitar.

The 20th century CDs are dominated by the great Segovia whose influence on composers for the instrument cannot be underestimated. The most famous modern work, Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez of 1939 as well as music by his brother Eduardo is to be found on CD19. Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s famous concertos and the concerto of Ponce The present day is represented by Angelo Gilardino, Maximo Diego Pujol, and Leo Brouwer.