Memories of the Alhambra

• Price: 7.96 USD

• Instrument: Violin
• Sub Category: Violin & Keyboard
• Composer: Tárrega, Francisco
• Publisher: Schott
• Editor/Arranger: Birtel, Wolfgang
• Publisher Code: 09855
• Product #: TARRE003



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Memories of the Alhambra published by Schott.

(Recuerdos de la Alhambra)

The composer and guitarist Francisco Tárrega [Eixea] was born on 21 November 1852 in Villareal, atown in the Spanish province of Castallon, and had guitar and piano lessons from an early age. After running away from his parental home, Tárrega found sponsors who financed his studies at the Royal Academy of Music in Madrid. From 1877 onwards he earned his living as a music teacher and concert guitarist, establishing an international reputation that brought him considerable fame and the nickname "Sarasate of the guitar". Tárrega's repertoire included compositions of his own and arrangements of piano works by Mendelssohn, Beethoven, Chopin and others. Spanish composers such as Isaac Albéniz and Enrique Granados also arranged some of their works for their guitarist friend.
After years of erratic employment as a concert performer, Tárrega suffered a stroke from which he never entirely recovered; he died in Barcelona on 15 December 1909. Francisco Tárrega's influence on the development of guitar music and technique was enormous, preparing the way for guitarists to perform on the concert stage and leaving an abundance of works that enriched the solo repertoire. The best known of these is without a doubt his tremolo study Recuerdos de la Alhambra, composed in 1896 and evoking memories of the Moorish hill fortress in Grenada, Spain. This enchanting musical gem is tinged with meloncholy - possibly inspired by Bizet's "Je crois entendre encore" from The Pearl Fishers. Other musicians besides guitarists will now be able to enjoy it in this arrangement.
This edition includes both a simple version for teaching purposes and instrumental groups, and a more difficult concert version.