Inspired by the royal town of Aranjuez (between Madrid and Toledo), the Concierto de Aranjuez was begun in Paris during the winter of 1939 and finished later in Madrid. The first performance took place in Barcelona on November 9, 1940. The guitarist was Regina Sáinz de la Maza, to whom the work is dedicated.

“The Aranjuez Concerto,” said Rodrigo, “is meant to sound like the hidden breeze that stirs the treetops in the parks, and it should be only as strong as a butterfly, and as dainty as a veronica. In its themes, there lingers on the fragrance of magnolias, the singing of birds and the gushing of fountains, although any more specific description is absent.”

~ Program Notes by Charley Sampson, copyright 2022