Track Listing

1. Allegro con Spirito
2. Adagio
3. Allegro Gentile
4. Triana
5. Albaicín
6. Puerto

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7950 in Music
• Released on: 1993-05-18
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Live

Customer Reviews

pure spirit of aranjuez
I thought I had loved Aranjuez before I heard this performance. Now I know it was merely a romance with its melodic content. This one performance truly opened to me the meaning of this music. And now all others appear bleak and weak; too refined, too assiduous to reveal what lies beneath the tablature. Just close your eyes and listen carefully how Paco plays solo passages in the glorious Adagio, especially the one before the last orchestral piece. At times his guitar will resemble arabian oud: dark and brooding, then it will suddenly turn to festive, untamed flamenco emotions; what a deep insight into the essence of Spanish music! You don't hear Rodrigo, Paco, Adagio, Guitar or Orchestra here - you're one on one with pure legacy of one of the richest and complex European cultures packed into music with lossless compression.

THIS is the spirit of Aranjuez, finally.

Pure genius
I grew up listening to the version of Aranjuez played by John Williams as it was one of my father's favourite pieces of music and became one of my own. I thought Williams version was stunning but now having listened to Aranjuez played by Paco de Lucia, Paco brings something extra to the music, an Andalucian understanding, a flamenco spirit, and such incredible technique, lightening fast fingers that melt into a blur.

All in all, the spirit in which the music is played, in comparison makes Williams superb interpretation appear dull and robotic. This is surely how Rodrigo intended his concerto to be played.

Paco de Lucia is an absolute genius and is to my mind without equal as the world's best guitarist. If you've never heard of Paco de Lucia before, you could do a lot worse than begin your discovery with this album.

It is a beautiful performace. Nobody plays better.
This is the greatest Aranjuez performance. Concerto de Aranjuez is a very difficult to play as its written. Paco plays the concerto very rithmical. Many people says Paco plays adagio not enough melodiously, but I know even adagio contains too much rithmical and technical troubles and Paco plays it as its written. I don't now more accurately perfomances. Many musicains have a very good sound like John Williams or Segovia but I think the concerto is primary spanish based music because Rodrigo is spanish composer and I think the form, rithm and expression is more important than classical sound for this case. Really Paco is one of the greatest musician of our time and he has own point of view.