When I was in high school I decided to learn classical guitar specifically to play this work. I'm afraid I didn't learn a lot of other pieces and haven't really played guitar in decades. On the other hand I have had a (so far) 45 year carreer as a classical violinist so it isn't like I lost interest in music-making....

A little too fast. 

So here's where Ride in the Night by Jam & Spoon got the inspiration from (actually they "borrowed" the entire riff).

This is my favorite Classical Guitar piece, so the high rating. This performance is not that great though. Some missed notes and the pacing is way too fast. Narciso Yepes on Deutsche Grammophon is the gold standard for this piece, IMHO. Much slower pacing and taking advantages of the spaces and silences built into the music to heighten the intensity of the articulation.

 BillG wrote:

The piece is magnificent. Sadly, is Angel Romero, not Pepe Romero... The best version I've found is from John Williams... and I'm Spanish! Cheers

 Tippster wrote:
It's a remarkable match to the version on the Andres Segovia box set I have - did they play together?

For all the Radio Paradise fans, Mathias Duplessy and the violins of the world performing this piece live:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

 ne1 wrote:

Ha, that just happened right now too.  I was thinking, "Cool, two Doors in a row".

From Riders on the Storm to this, nice transition. 👍

Released: 1892. Just wow.

 Tamandr wrote:

It's Angel Romero performing this, recorded in 2000.

 bruceandjenna wrote: But it WAS released in 1892...

Artist: Isaac Albéniz has died over a hundred years ago. The performer of this record is definitely someone else. Not mentioned here unfortunately.

 Tippster wrote:
 
Albeniz was the composer

Although lesser known than his brother Pepe and father Celedonio, Angel Romero is the most expressive and impressive player

I'm stoked to hear which Doors track BillG plays to follow this one.....
**ok, 78 Saab's All A Lie (LOL!) followed this up today.....and it does feel like a good fit....LLRP

And died in 1909.   Tippster wrote:
 

Funny.  I struggled and failed to play classical guitar in the early 70s.  I associate this song with that period.  But the description has 2000.

Funny.

So shouldn't the listed artist be Angel Romero?  Albéniz was a pianist...

Bill, would you pick a different performance? This is rushed to the point where he's not managing the major transitions smoothly. Check out Julian Bream's rendition. I think you'll like that a lot more. 

 BillG wrote:
 

Julian Bream is exceedingly good, but John Williams has a lightness of touch that makes you believe what Segovia said about him: 'God has laid a finger on his brow'. JW's version of this piece of music is The Only One. Fact.  He's a lovely guy an' all, and very down-to-earth considering his talent.

Saw him a few times in the eighties while he was a member of Sky

Obviously a talented guitarist, but I know several other renditions of this piece, and I prefer all of them to this one.  It seems rushed at times and sometimes off-tempo.

 stargazer1 wrote:
 
Just revisited the Bream recording. I'll have to respectfully disagree. 

 NeuroGeek wrote: 
I was also raised on the Julian Bream version

I took up classical guitar to learn this piece, after playing acoustic for ~15 years. Something just grabbed me out of nowhere, and I had to learn it. I bough a classical guitar, it took about a year before I could play it all the way through (although not without many mistakes).
I don't agree every guitar student learns this piece - it's not for everyone. A lot of people learn the opening bars, e.g. like in the Doors song.

 stargazer1 wrote: 
I'm no guitar expert, but I can appreciate what you mean even without hearing the performance you referenced. 

I'm sorry. This is a great piece of music. Every guitar student learns it. But this performance is just plain bad. Give a list to Julian Bram's performance, and you'll hear what I mean.

Purity itself

 Bushpig wrote: 
What he said!

Anagram or Esperanto! 

krats thce hcilrreh !!!

herrlich   echt stark  !!!

 Jacquetta wrote: 
Coolness!

This brought so many childhood memories back.
I had the pleasure and honour of seeing the Romero brothers perform about 42 years ago and then have them all come back to our home for a reception.
Hearing this again gave me chills of delight. The music is just magical.

He seems in a hurry to get this done.

 NoEnzLefttoSplit wrote: 
Wow! Great story; wish I could have heard her play.

 donnyballgame wrote: 
Same here! (great user name, btw)

 jagdriver wrote: 
...agreed............

Too sexy, Yes?

Masterful!

I for one am glad this doesn't morph into the Doors' version. Sublime, this is.

A rainy day in Hamburg, but this is the kind of music to brighten your day! 

Its nice to hear the roots of some of my favorite music.

Proof that a good riff will always be a good riff !!!!!!

So many of the rock musicians of the 60's had roots in classical music.  That's why it was so good.

Perfect piece of music - the sun is shining and I'm getting ready to hit the long road home - adios amigos!

I grew up listening to this...one of my dad's all time favorites

I kept thinking that Jim Morrision was too drunk and kept missing his intro so Robbie just kept playing waiting for him to stumble out.

Not really paying attention until I noticed that ol' whatshisname didn't start signing.  

Much prefer this version.  Thanks for this Bill and who ever uploaded it.

More Spanish Caravan's Пn RP! «again and again».

10.

Well, that was lovely, indeed. Thanks, B & R!

 impediguy wrote: 

agreed

I had the most amazing experience at a friend's birthday party a few years ago. In the middle of this sultry summer afternoon as conversation was starting to flag in the heat, his neighbor suddenly appeared with her guitar case and said she'd play a few tunes as her present, and I was like, oh yeah, ok, some Dylan tunes or something, why not.

What followed was just jaw-dropping. She went through this amazing suite of classical guitar pieces, starting with this one. Turns out she studied many years under Pepe Romero and was even playing on a guitar he gave her. Don't think I've ever experienced such a crass contrast before between my own low (uneducated) expectations and the perfection of someone else's delivery. Just brilliant.

 Zoinks wrote: 
Well, this Suite was written by Albeniz in 1887, so technically, perhaps he was before the Doors?

Although Leyenda (a.k.a. Asturias) was originally written for piano by Albeniz, and although Angel's performance preceded George Winston's Spanish Caravan, I much prefer to hear Leyenda played on Guitar, especially a by virtuoso guitarist. I also prefer Angel's fiery playing to his brother Pepe's warmer, more accessible style. Needless to say, George Winston is not even in the running.

My goodness. Sometimes it's nice to be reminded of what virtuoso sounds like.

 mandolin wrote: 
You've heard it in "Oh Well" by Fleetwood Mac, "Spanish Caravan(?)" by the Doors . . .

 mandolin wrote: 
When this song first started, I was sure it was Spanish Caravan by the Doors!

...this sounds very familiar to my ears - have we really not heard it before?..