Spanish virtuoso Pablo Sáinz-Villegas plays at Macky Saturday

By Peter Alexander Nov. 7 at 2:25 p.m.

Pablo Sáinz-Villegas, a classical guitarist from Logroño, La Roja, near the Basque Country in Northeastern Spain, will perform a program of “Guitar Masterworks” as part of the CU Presents Artist Series in Macky Auditorium at 7:30 p.m. Saturday (Nov. 9; details below).

His program will feature his own arrangement of the Chaconne from Bach’s Partita in D minor for solo violin, as well as works by Vila-Lobos, Albéniz, Agustín Barrios-Mangoré and Carlo Domeniconi.

The Five Preludes are the last of many works that Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos wrote for guitar. Each of the five preludes is titled as an homage. The third is an homage to Bach, but the others recognize aspects of Brazilian life and culture: “The Brazilian Backcountry,” “The Scoundrel from Rio,” “The Brazilian Indians” and “The Social Life.”

The instantly recognizable piece by Isaac Albeniz known as Asturias is one of the most popular works for classical guitar. However, it was originally written for piano and titled simply “Prelude.” The title Asturias (Leyenda) was applied after Albeniz’s death by the German publisher Friedrich Hofmeister when he published it in 1911. Hofmeister also included Asturias in what he called the “complete version” of the Suite española, although Albeniz had not included it as part of a larger work at all.

The piano piece was written to imitate the sound of flamenco guitar, and it has been transcribed for guitar several times, including by the great Spanish guitarist Andrés Segovia. In addition to its wide popularity among classical guitarists, it has also been used in by rock and pop groups, including The Doors and Iron Maiden.

The other composers on the program are well known to guitarists but may not be familiar to classical audiences in this country. Agustín Barrios-Mangoré was a guitarist and composer from Paraguay who lived in the first half of the 20th century. Also known as Nitsuga (Augustin spelled backwards!) Mangore and Augstín Pío Barrios, he began university studies in music and other fields when he was only 15.

He was known for both his brilliantly virtuosic performances on guitar and for his poetry. He had numerous students, including 12 that he taught while living in El Salvador who were known as “The Twelve Mangoreanos.”

Many of his works for guitar were influenced by South and Central American folk music. Un sueño en la floresta (A dream in the forest) is known for its extensive use of complex tremolos and its ending on a high C that requires one more fret than are found on most guitars.

Italian guitarist and composer Carlo Domeniconi spent many years living in Istanbul, Turkey. That experience led to Koyunbaba, a suite inspired by Turkish music. The title refers to a region of Turkey, and also means “shepherd.” Domeniconi’s best known work, Koyunbaba uses “scordatura” (an alternative tuning of the strings) to create exotic effects and evoke the Turkish origin of the music.

After musical studies in his native province of La Roja, Sáinz-Villegas has lived and managed his career in New York. Since his debut with the New York Philharmonic with conductor Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, he has played in more than 40 countries with orchestras including the Berlin Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony, Philharmonic of Israel, Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the National Orchestra of Spain. Most memorably, he has performed before members of the Spanish Royal Family as well as other heads of state and international leaders.

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CU Presents Artist Series: Guitar Masterworks
Pablo Sáinz-Villegas, guitar

• Heitor Villa-Lobos: Five Preludes
• J.S. Bach: Chaconne from the Partita in D minor for solo violin (arr. Sáinz-Villegas)
• Isaac Albéniz: Asturias (Leyenda) from Suite Española
• Agustín Barrios-Mangoré: Un sueño en la floresta (A dream in the forest)
• Carlo Domeniconi: Koyunbaba

7:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 9
Macky Auditorium

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