Music That Heals
There are few guitar compositions that surpass Maestro Joaquin Rodrigo’s masterpiece in sheer beauty and artistry. The piece evokes a feeling of something lost, as if the world is suffused by some kind of wistful sadness. The notes echo inside one’s soul, and we, the listeners, are transfixed. It is impossible not to stop and listen; we are forced to submit ourselves—our whole being—to the notes that swirl around us, and we are held captive by the harmony created by guitar and English horns and violins and other musical instrument that come together almost miraculously. Written by Joaquin Rodrigo in 1939 for classical guitar and orchestra, Concierto de Aranjuez is the composer’s best-known work. It is said the inspiration for this composition is the Palacio Real De Aranjuez, the spring resort palace and gardens built by Philip II in the last half of the 16 th century and rebuilt in the middle of the 18 th century by Ferdinand VI. The composition transports the listener to another