b'PROGRAM NOTESJOAQUN RODRIGOConcierto de Aranjuez for Guitar and OrchestraCOMPOSER: Born November 22, 1901, Sagunto, Spain;died July 6, 1999, Madrid, SpainWORK COMPOSED: 1939. Dedicated to guitarist Regino Sinz de la Maza. WORLD PREMIERE: November 9, 1940. Csar Mendoza Lasalle led the Orquesta Filarmnica de Barcelona with soloist Regino Sinz de laMaza at the Palau de la Msica Catalana (Palace of Catalan Music)in Barcelona.INSTRUMENTATION: Solo guitar, 2 flutes (one doubling piccolo),2 oboes (one doubling English horn), 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons,2 horns, 2 trumpets, and strings.ESTIMATED DURATION: 22 minutesJ oaqun Rodrigos inspiration for the Concierto de Aranjuez came from the Palacio Real de Aranjuez, the palace and gardens built not far from Madrid by Philip II in the 16th century and rebuilt two centuries later by Ferdinand VI; only the gardens survive today. Rodrigo lost his sight at age three after contracting diphtheria, and therefore could not perceive the visual beauty of the gardens. Instead, he sought to depict the fragrance of magnolias, the singing of birds, and the gushing of fountains. Rodrigo added that the concerto is meant to sound like the hidden breeze that stirs the treetops in the parks; it should be as agile as a butterfly, and as tightly controlled as a veronica [a term from bullfighting referring to a pass with a cape]; a suggestion of times past. Rodrigos emphasis on times past may have been a conscious effort on his part to avoid associations with Spains present: the turbulent aftermath of the Spanish Civil War, and the rise of Hitler across Europe.In the Concierto, Rodrigo pays particular attention to the orchestration and ensures the solo guitar is never overwhelmed by the orchestra. Much of the accompaniment has the quality of chamber music, as when a single instrument or section partners the soloist. Rodrigo only unleashes the full orchestra when the soloist is silent. The Allegro con spirito features the fandango, an aristocratic dance of the Spanish court, characterized by rhythmic shifts between3 / and6 / time. Victoria Rodrigos biography of her husband 4 8notes that the Adagio reflects both happy memories of the couples honeymoon and Rodrigos heartbreak over the miscarriage of their first child at seven months. The yearning beauty of the main theme, heard first in the English horn, expresses both Rodrigos wistfulness and his pain; Rodrigo once said of the Adagio, If nostalgia could take form, the second movement would be its tightest mold. Like the opening movement, the Allegro gentile showcases Baroque-style dances with shifting meters and Spanish folk songs. 22 Santa Rosa Symphony(707) 546-8742'