Francisco Tárrega

Francisco de Asís Tárrega Eixea (21

November 1852 – 15 December 1909)
was a Spanish composer and classical
guitarist of the late Romantic period.[1]
He is known for such pieces as Capricho
Árabe and Recuerdos de la Alhambra. He
is often called "the father of classical
guitar" and is considered one of the
greatest guitarists of all time.
 Francisco Tárrega

Born Francisco de Asís

Tárrega y Eixea
21 November 1852
Villarreal, Spain

Died 15 December 1909

(aged 57)
Barcelona, Spain

Occupations Composer · guitarist

Years active 1874–1909
Biography
Tárrega was born on 21 November 1852,
in Villarreal, Province of Castellón, Spain.
It is said that Francisco's father played
flamenco and several other music styles
on his guitar; when his father was away
working as a watchman at the Convent
of San Pascual, Francisco would take his
father's guitar and attempt to make the
beautiful sounds he had heard.
Francisco's nickname as a child was
"Quiquet".

As a child, he ran away from his nanny

and fell into an irrigation channel and
injured his eyes. Fearing that his son
might lose his sight completely, his
father moved the family to Castellón de
la Plana to attend music classes
because as a musician he would be able
to earn a living, even if blind. Both his
first music teachers, Eugeni Ruiz and
Manuel González, were blind.

In 1862, concert guitarist Julián Arcas,

on tour in Castellón, heard the young
Tárrega play and advised Tárrega's father
to allow Francisco to come to Barcelona
to study with him. Tárrega's father
agreed, but insisted that his son take
piano lessons as well. The guitar was
viewed as an instrument to accompany
singers, while the piano was quite
popular throughout Europe. However,
Tárrega had to stop his lessons shortly
after, when Arcas left for a concert tour
abroad. Although Tárrega was only ten
years old, he ran away and tried to start a
musical career on his own by playing in
coffee houses and restaurants in
Barcelona. He was soon found and
brought back to his father, who had to
make great sacrifices to advance his
son's musical education.

Three years later, in 1865, he ran away

again, this time to Valencia where he
joined a family of gypsies. His father
looked for him and brought him back
home once more, but he ran away a third
time, again to Valencia. By his early
teens, Tárrega was proficient on both the
piano and the guitar. For a time, he
played with other musicians at local
engagements to earn money, but
eventually he returned home to help his
family.

Tárrega entered the Madrid Royal

Conservatory in 1874, under the
sponsorship of a wealthy merchant
named Antonio Canesa. He had brought
along with him a recently purchased
guitar, made in Seville by Antonio de
Torres. Its superior sonic qualities
inspired him both in his playing and in his
view of the instrument's compositional
potential. At the conservatory, Tárrega
studied composition under Emilio Arrieta
who convinced him to focus on guitar
and abandon the idea of a career with the
piano.

By the end of the 1870s, Tárrega was

teaching the guitar (Emilio Pujol, Miguel
Llobet, and Daniel Fortea were pupils of
his) and giving regular concerts. Tárrega
received much acclaim for his playing
and began traveling to other areas of
Spain to perform. By this time he was
composing his first works for guitar,
which he played in addition to works of
other composers.
During the winter of 1880, Tárrega
replaced his friend Luis de Soria, in a
concert in Novelda, Alicante, where, after
the concert, an important man in town
asked the artist to listen to his daughter,
María José Rizo, who was learning to
play guitar. Soon they were engaged.

In 1881, Tárrega played in the Opera

Theatre in Lyon and then the Paris
Odeon, in the bicentenary of the death of
Pedro Calderón de la Barca. He also
played in London, but he liked neither the
language nor the weather. There is a
story about his visit to England. After a
concert, some people saw that the
musician was in low spirits. "What is the
matter, maestro?" they asked him. "Do
you miss home? Your family, perhaps?"
They advised him to capture that
moment of sadness in his music. Thus
he conceived the theme of one of his
most memorable works, Lágrima (literally
meaning teardrop). After playing in
London he returned to Novelda for his
wedding. At Christmas 1882, Tárrega
married María José Rizo.

Tárrega pictured c. 1900

To enlarge his guitar repertory and to
make use of his considerable knowledge
of keyboard music, he soon began
transcribing piano works of Beethoven,
Chopin, Mendelssohn and others.
Tárrega and his wife moved to Madrid,
gaining their living by teaching privately
and playing concerts, but after the death
of an infant daughter during the winter,
Maria Josefa de los Angeles Tárrega
Rizo, they settled permanently in
Barcelona in 1885. Among his friends in
Barcelona were Isaac Albéniz, Enrique
Granados, Joaquín Turina and Pau
Casals.
 (Left): Portrait by Vicente Castell (1904); (right): Monument to Tarrega in Castellón, Spain

Francisco Tárrega and María José (María

Josefa) Rizo had three more children:
Paquito (Francisco), Maria Rosatia
(María Rosalia) (best known as Marieta)
and Concepción. On a concert tour in
Valencia shortly afterward, Tárrega met
the wealthy Concepción Gómez de
Jacoby, who became a valuable patron to
him. She allowed him and his family use
of part of her house outside Barcelona.
Later she took him to Granada, which
later inspired the guitarist to write
Recuerdos de la Alhambra, which he first
dedicated to Concepción in 1899 with
the title "A Granada." He later dedicated a
revised published version of this piece to
Alfred Cottin, the French guitarist he had
met in Paris while participating in a
concert on a visit accompanied and
almost certainly sponsored by Gómez de
Jacoby.

From the later 1880s up to 1903, Tárrega

continued composing and traveling, but
limited his concerts to Spain. In 1900,
Tárrega visited Algiers, where he was
said to have heard a repetitive rhythm
played on an Arabian drum and the
following morning composed Danza
Mora based on that rhythm. In about
1902, he cut his fingernails and created a
sound that would become typical of
those guitarists later associated with his
school. The following year he went on
tour to Italy, performing in Rome, Naples,
and Milan.

In January 1906, he was afflicted with

paralysis on his right side, and though he
would eventually return to performing, he
never completely recovered. He finished
his last work, Oremus, on 2 December
1909. He died in Barcelona thirteen days
later, on 15 December, at the age of 57.
Musical style
"Recuerdos de la Alhambra"
4:00
Performed by Carlo Alberto Boni

Problems playing this file? See media help.

Tárrega composed music in the romantic

style of 19th-century European masters.
His conservatory training and familiarity
with contemporary classical genres and
techniques are apparent in his
compositions and transcriptions; these
are more sophisticated than those of
Spanish guitarist-composers of the
previous generation and his
contemporaries, e.g., Magín Alegre,
Tomás Damas, Julián Arcas, José Viñas,
and José Ferrer.

A virtuoso on his instrument, he was

known as the "Sarasate of the guitar,"
although Tárrega preferred small
intimate performances over the concert
stage.

Tárrega is considered to have laid the

foundations for 20th-century classical
guitar and for increasing interest in the
guitar as a recital instrument.
Compositions

Sheet music of Tárrega compositions

Although only 19 original compositions

were published in his lifetime, Francisco
Tárrega composed approximately 80
original pieces and 120 transcriptions –
mostly for his own use and that of his
students. The exact number has yet to be
determined. Most of his later published
works were edited by others, and often
altered. His favored genres were
character pieces (several with Spanish,
'Moorish' and "Arabic" allusions)
including preludes, etudes, caprices,
serenatas, exotic dances, mazurkas,
waltzes, and 'ancient dances' also
favored by his contemporaries Isaac
Albéniz and Enrique Granados (e.g.,
gavota, minuetto, and pavana).

He transcribed many works from the

piano (he was a capable keyboard
player), violin and especially the operatic
repertory. As with several of his Spanish
contemporaries, such as his friend Isaac
Albéniz, he had an interest in combining
the prevailing romantic style in classical
music with Spanish folk elements, and
transcribed several of Albéniz's piano
pieces. The contemporary guitarist and
composer Angelo Gilardino has written
that Tárrega's 9 Preludios are "... the
deepest musical thought of Tárrega in
the most concentrated form."

He is also the composer of Gran Vals, an

excerpt of which was used in the Nokia
tune, the default ringtone of Nokia
phones. It appears on these phones in a
variety of different styles and
instrumentations; for example, phones
from 2002 to 2007 include piano-based
renditions, while phones released during
2008 to 2010 feature a folk-inspired
guitar rendition.

Guitars
The guitars used by Tárrega include:

Tárrega's guitar, made by "Ribot y Alcañiz"

Enrique Garcia, n°74 (1906) - This

instrument was gifted by Tárrega to his
friend Alfred Cottin, to whom he
dedicated the composition Recuerdos
de la Alhambra. It then became the
official guitar of 'Les Amis de la
Guitare', a circle of Parisian guitarists,
where it was played by Django
Reinhardt, among others. In 2019
Kyuhee Park recorded a video of
Recuerdos de la Alhambra on this
guitar. (See External Link)[2]
Torres, FE 17 (1869) – This is the
guitar that was given to 17 year old
Francisco Tárrega by Torres personally
after hearing him play.
Torres, SE 49 (1883)
Torres, SE 114 (1888); in the collection
of Sheldon Urlik[3][4]
Notes
1. "FRANCISCO DE ASIS TARREGA EIXEA
1852-1909" (https://bibliotecavirtualsenio
r.es/investigacion/francisco-de-asis-tarre
ga-eixea-1852-1909/) .
bibliotecavirtualsenior.es. Universitat
Jaume I. 10 May 2018.
2. "Kyuhee Park | Recuerdos de la Alhambra
(F. Tárrega)" (https://www.youtube.com/w
atch?v=t7xROpDzUMk) . YouTube.
3. Photo of a Torres guitar used by Tárrega
(https://www.flickr.com/photos/9446766
9@N00/2758493038/in/set-7215760669
6587125/)
4. Photo (http://www.luth.org/convention/20
04/conv04_20.JPG) Archived (https://we
b.archive.org/web/20101126084732/htt
 p://luth.org/convention/2004/conv04_20.
JPG) 26 November 2010 at the Wayback
Machine: "Jeff Elliott (left) restored these
important guitars by Gonzalez and Torres.
They are owned by Shel Urlik (centre) and
were played by Kenton Youngstrom
(right.)" (source (http://www.luth.org/conv
ention/2004/conv-2004.htm) Archived (h
ttps://web.archive.org/web/20091215160
527/http://www.luth.org/convention/200
4/conv-2004.htm) 15 December 2009 at
the Wayback Machine)

References
Diccionario biográfico–bibliográfico—
histórico: crítico de guitarras
(instrumentos afines), guitarristas
(profesores–compositores–
concertistas–lahudistas–amateurs),
guitarreros (luthiers). Danzas y cantos—
terminología by Domingo Prat (Buenos
Aires: Romero y Fernández [1934]
Tárrega. Ensayo biográfico by Emilio
Pujol (Lisboa: Talleres Gráficos de
Ramos, Afonso & Moita, L.D.A., 1960/
Valencia: Artes Gráficas Soler. S.A.,
1978).
Francisco Tárrega Biografía Oficial by
Adrián Rius Espinós, published by
Ayuntamiento de Vila-Real, ISBN 84-
88331-82-7
Concepción Gómez de Jacoby:
Tárrega’s Enigmatic Patron and
Recuerdos de la Alhambra by David J.
Buch
(http://michaelorenz.blogspot.com/20
20/11/concepcion-gomez-de-jacoby-
tarregas.html )
Francisco Tárrega – Selección de Obras
by Adrián Rius Espinós (includes CD
with historical recordings by Josefina
Robledo; example: (https://web.archiv
e.org/web/20090325222455/http://gui
tarra.artelinkado.com/guitarra/tarrega
_archivos/caprichoarabe_josefinaroble
do.MP3) "Capricho árabe", published
by Excmo. Ayuntamiento de Vila-Real
and Instituto Valenciano de la Música
Francisco Tárrega, Werden und
Wirkung (http://www.wolfmoser.de/bu
echer.htm) by Wolf Moser, published
by Edition Saint-Georges. ISBN 3-00-
012750-X.
Francisco Tárrega, Complete Guitar
Works by Michel Beauchamp, edited by
Productions d'Oz. ISBN 978-2-89655-
079-1
Francisco Tárrega y la guitarra en
Espana entre 1830 y 1960 by Wolf
Moser, published by Piles Editorial de
Música S.A. ISBN 978-84-96814-34-9
Francisco Tárrega, Collected Guitar
Works, reprints of early editions, by
Rafael Andia, Chanterelle 1001 and
1002. ISBN 3-89044-125-4
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media
related to Francisco Tárrega.
Free scores by Francisco Tárrega at
the International Music Score Library
Project (IMSLP)
The Mutopia Project has compositions
by Francisco Tárrega (http://www.muto
piaproject.org/cgibin/make-table.cgi?C
omposer=TarregaF)
Francisco Tárrega (https://www.imdb.c
om/name/nm0850656/) at IMDb
Free Scores and biography (http://clas
sicguitare.com/viewtopic.php?f=253&t
=1094)
Complete work and biography (http://al
iso.pntic.mec.es/~jheras1/tarreng.htm
l) (with MIDI music files, that are not
at all reflective of Tárrega's
performance style, but instead of
sheetmusic)
Tárrega / Walter Leckie Manuscripts (h
ttp://www.theguitarmuseum.com/f_m
usic.htm) ,
www.theguitarmuseum.com
Francisco Tárrega (https://web.archive.
org/web/20120222194151/http://may
ores.uji.es/proyectos/proyectos2006/
Tarrega.pdf) and Música (https://web.
archive.org/web/20120222194248/htt
p://mayores.uji.es/proyectos/proyecto
s2006/FranciscoTarrega.pps) by
Carmen Copovi Llop (in Spanish)
Photos (https://web.archive.org/web/2
0000311153855/http://www.geocities.
com/TheTropics/Shores/8063/tarrega
2.htm) from Francisco Tárrega's room
in the Vila-real City Museum
Monument in Vila-Real (http://www.gui
tarreriabsas.com.ar/galeria/francisco_
tarrega_monumento.jpg)
Estudio Temático Filatélico sobre
Francisco Tárrega (https://web.archive.
org/web/20091027040708/http://es.g
eocities.com/carraben/index.2.htm)
at the Wayback Machine (archived
 October 27, 2009) by Salvador
Carracedo Benet (in Spanish)
"Kyuhee Park | Recuerdos de la
Alhambra (F. Tárrega)" (https://www.yo
utube.com/watch?v=t7xROpDzUMk)

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