Guitar without borders
Once or twice in a generation, a musician emerges of such prodigious and rare talent that their very name comes to be a byword for their instrument. Pablo Sáinz-Villegas—a Spaniard whom Billboard Magazine called the “global ambassador of Spanish guitar”—is one such generational talent.
Born in Logroño, the capital of the La Rioja province of Spain, Sáinz-Villegas has built an international career of such sterling repute that he’s been described as the successor to the great Spanish guitarist Andrés Segovia. Sáinz-Villegas has performed in more than 40 countries including as a soloist with the New York Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, the National Orchestra of Spain and the Berlin Philharmonic (their first solo guitarist in 38 years!). He’s also an activist, having founded “The legacy of music without borders” in 2006 as a way of promoting cross-cultural understanding through music.
The program he will perform at Macky Auditorium on Saturday, Nov. 9, certainly showcases these ideals featuring a wide-ranging musical program that encompasses works from a variety of backgrounds and inspirations. Heitor Villa-Lobos’s Five Preludes, which open the program, are evocative of Brazilian musical culture. They are followed by the Chaconne from J.S. Bach’s Partita No. 2 in D minor, unquestionably one of the greatest works ever composed for solo instrument (for violin, originally). This pairing is fitting. For one, the third of the Brazilian Villa-Lobos’s preludes is subtitled “Homenagem a Bach,” or “Homage to Bach.” But at the same time, Bach’s chaconne owes a debt of gratitude to the New World; the chaconne in its original form was a Spanish dance said to have been inspired by indigenous South American music.
Like the Bach Chaconne, Spanish composer Isaac Albéniz’s “Asturias” was originally conceived for a different instrument, in this case piano. But the work—featuring flamenco flair—was meant to mimic the guitar and thus works all too well on the instrument that inspired it. The program continues with another homage: Joaquín Rodrigo’s “Invocación y danza” written in honor of composer Manuel de Falla. Paraguayan guitarist and composer Agustín Barrios-Mangoré’s “Un sueño en la Floresta” is a virtuosic showstopper, while Italian guitarist and composer Carlo Domeniconi’s “Koyunbaba” is a Turkish-inspired work whose distinctive sound comes from its use of scordatura (a non-typical tuning of the guitar’s strings). Sáinz-Villegas is a proponent of new music, as well, so it’s no surprise that the program features a work he commissioned from the Spanish composer Francisco Coll.
Pablo Sáinz-Villegas performs on the Artist Series at Macky Auditorium, Nov. 9, 2024.