Concierto de Aranjuez - what's not to like about this wonderful, evocative piece of music? Composed by Joaquin Rodrigo, a Spanish composer, in 1939. Although Rodrigo was a pianist and blind since the age of 3, he composed for classical guitar and orchestra. He was inspired by things around him, by his wife and their love, by nature itself.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBHfPh5Ibsk&NR=1 This is a wonderful rendition by John Williams.
What's so intriguing for me is that this piece was composed at the start of WWII. It's doubly haunting when you realise that.
It's been played so many times, by so many people; used in films, television dramas, that it's easily recognisable. It's been sung, by blind singer Andrea Bocelli, and accompanied by a solo violin, but somehow the sharpness and cutting edge of the classical guitar does more justice to the music, I think.
What I didn't realise was that he died in 1999, aged 98. What an amazing life.
