Rafael Aguirre

Rafael Aguirre is a classical guitarist appearing as soloist with US orchestras. In these directory listings he performs Joaquin Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez, the best-known concerto written for guitar and orchestra, alongside a Billings Symphony appearance billed simply as "Grande Musica."

Listeners coming to hear Rafael Aguirre in the Tucson programs will hear Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez, a three-movement work where the guitar, an instrument that cannot compete in volume with a full orchestra, is given long stretches of near-solo space while the orchestra answers in short phrases. The middle movement features a slow, folk-inflected melody first stated by the English horn and then passed to the guitar, often singled out as the emotional core of the piece. The surrounding program pairs this with lighter fare, a lively overture by the double bass virtuoso Giovanni Bottesini, a symphony by Haydn built on crisp, good-humored contrasts, and an overture by Marianna Martines, a composer active in eighteenth century Vienna. Expect a guitarist working to project clearly over orchestral texture, a persistent challenge in this repertoire.