Townsend: Zapateado by Rodrigo

Asturias (Leyenda) and Recuerdos de la Alhambra are in the repertoire of every guitar virtuoso, and with good reason. But there are other, equally good, and also virtuosic pieces, that are heard much less often. One of these is Zapateado by Joaquín Rodrigo (1901 - 1999) one of the very finest composers for guitar. Rodrigo is the composer of the most famous guitar concerto, the Concierto de Aranjuez, which may also be the most popular concerto - for any instrument - of the 20th century. It's a real bear to play though. Well, actually, just about every piece he wrote is a bear to play! Wikipedia has a nice article on Rodrigo, who was blind from the age of three.

Perhaps the leading exponent of the music of Rodrigo has been Pepe Romero, the only guitarist to not only play, but also record, all of Rodrigo's concertos. Recognizing that I could use a little coaching in playing Rodrigo, I spent a summer working with Pepe at the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria.

Pepe Romero and myself in Salzburg

I just worked on a couple of pieces with Pepe that summer--but they were substantial ones. First of all, all three movements of the Aranjuez (and Pepe was an enormous help). After that, a large Fantasia by Fernando Sor. Just as hard as anything in the Aranjuez, but shorter, are Rodrigo's Tres Piezas Españoles for solo guitar consisting of a Fandango, a Passacaglia and a Zapateado. My clip for you today is my performance of the Zapateado.

Wikipedia tells us that:

The zapateado is a dance of Mexican Indian origin characterized by a lively rhythm punctuated by the striking of the dancer's shoes, akin to tap dance. The name derives from the Spanish word zapato for "shoe": zapatear means to strike with a shoe.

The dance was introduced by the natives of Mexico and then taken back to Spain where the Spanish claimed it as their own.

Here is the piece: