This last week I’ve had the pleasure of working on Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez with The Little Orchestra, a work that gets the reputation for being a classical guitarist’s warhorse concerto, but curiously, that I’ve performed RELATIVELY seldom over my career so far.
It’s been really cool to rediscover forgotten secrets, unearth some new ones, but in the brief final rehearsal before the final gig, there was a wonderful moment where it just felt like very large scale doubled up chamber music! Of course, it helps that The Little Orchestra is of a modest size. But it can’t be denied that there are parts of Rodrigo’s scoring which overwhelm the guitar considerably. Despite this, it felt like one of the truest musical experiences of this concerto that I’ve had so far.
So thanks guys!
Sean Shibe 