drewdavis58 Uploaded on Oct 17, 2008
At the height of his career, Narciso Yepes interprets Joaquin Rodrigo’s masterpiece on his 10-string guitar. The conductor is Raphael Frübeck de Burgos with the Radio Symphony Orchestra of Frankfurt.
Rodrigo:
What can I say about Narciso Yepes? What can I say about the guitarist to whom we owe the international success of the Concerto de Aranjuez? Yes, it was in Paris in 1947 where Ataulfo Argenta, Yepes and the Spanish National Orchestra met to illuminate my unique opus at a time when no one new its true future. From then on, the Concierto de Aranjuez took on a new nature, and it is for this same reason that I am grateful to Narciso Yepes for the fruit of an intense collaboration that has brought us to travel our musical trajectories side-by-side. I will not say that Yepes was the best nor the worst. He has simply been my guitarist par excellence. My guitarist.
Joaquin Rodrigo in « El Mundo » May 4, 1997 (in commemoration of the Maestro’s passing)

Besides the fact that I love this music, this artist, this video is here for several reasons: I’m learning to play this music; Mr. Bonsillens has regrettably deactivated commentary on his version; and I really wanted to pass on the story of how this collaboration between the composer and the guitarist began :

After an honorable but lackluster start with guitarist Regino Sainz de la Maza, this concerto was not played between 1940 and 1947. Then, Ataulfo Argenta introduced 19-year-old Narciso to Rodrigo who handed over the score, saying: “Take this, chiquito (young man), take this concerto. With this, you will go around the world” After hearing the fruit of three weeks of labour by the guitarist, Rodrigo embraced him, saying: “This will make us both famous”

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