Joaquin Rodrigo said that his Concerto De Aranjuez, the most famous guitar concerto ever written, blends aristocratic distinction with popular culture, and “in its themes there lingers the fragrance of magnolias, the singing of birds and the gushing of fountains.” Manuel de Falla’s Homenaje “Le Tombeau de Claude Debussy” (1920) is one of the first great 20th cent. guitar compositions. Written as a tribute to Debussy a year after his death, it reflects Debussy’s Impressionism, and quotes his La Soiree dans Grenade. de Falla’s Danza del Molinero (Dance of the Miller’s Wife) is in the style of Andalusian folk music, with strumming, and ethereal, romantic melodies and drama. Rodrigo’s Invocación Y Danza (“Homage a Manuel de Falla”) quotes from de Falla’s music, beginning with his Le Tombeau de Claude Debussy. Beginning softly on upper strings, it becomes more animated with tremolos, repeated arpeggios and small phrases pleasingly developed. The emotional tone is dark, tho’ the “Dance” section is a graceful, skipping dance. The guitar and orchestral Fantasie Para Un Gentilhombre, written for guitar great, Andrés Segovia, the “gentleman” of the title, is based on Baroque period melodies in the first (1674) Instruction Book for Music for Spanish Guitar, themselves based on older traditional dance tunes. It has great charm, evoking 17th cent. formal and country life. Guitarist Miloś is internationally acclaimed and Gramophone’s 2011 “Young Artist of the Year.”

1. Rodrigo: Concierto de Aranjuez. 1. Allegro con spirit (5:88)
2. Concierto de Aranjuez. 2. Adagio (10:52)
3. Concierto de Aranjuez. 3. Allegro Gentile (4:42)
4. de Falla: Homenaje Le Tombeau de Claude Debussy (3:52)
5. de Falla: Danza del Molinero (3:02)
6. Rodrigo: Invocación y danza, Homenaje a Manuel de Falla (9:14)
7. Rodrigo: Fantasia Para Un Gentilhombre 1. Villano (5:07)
8. Fantasia Para Un Gentilhombre. 2. Españoleta (10:20)
9. Fantasia Para Un Gentilhombre. 3. Danza del las hachas (2:01)
10. Fantasia Para Un Gentilhombre. 4. Canario (4:58)