Francisco de Asís Tárrega y Eixea was born on 21st November 1852 in Villareal, Castellon, Spain. And died on 15th December 1909 in Barcelona.
Francisco Tárrega was an important Spanish composer whose music and style of guitar playing became strongly influential in the twentieth century. He was central to reviving the guitar as a solo instrument in recital and concerts. Among his most popular compositions are Recuerdos de la Alhambra and Danza mora. He wrote nearly 80 original works for the guitar and over 100 transcriptions, mostly of piano pieces by Chopin, Beethoven, and others.
In his early childhood, Tárrega fell into an irrigation canal and injured his eyes. He was taught his first lessons on guitar by Eugeni Ruiz, a blind musician. In 1862, concert guitarist Julian Arcas, on tour in Castellon, heard young Francisco play and advisedTárrega’s father to allow Francisco to come to Barcelona for study with him. Tárrega’s father agreed, but insisted that he take piano lessons as well. His father was well aware that the guitar, as a solo vehicle, was in decline, coming increasingly to be viewed as an instrument to accompany singers, while the piano was all the rage throughout Europe.
By his early teens, Tárrega had become proficient on both instruments. For a time, he played with other musicians at local engagements to earn money, but eventually he returned home. In 1874 he enrolled at the Madrid Conservatory where he would study composition under Arrieta. He had brought along with him a recently purchased guitar, made in Seville by Antonio Torres. Its superior sonic qualities inspired him both in his playing and in his view of the instrument’s compositional potential. When Arrieta heard his student Tárrega in a guitar concert, he convinced him to focus on guitar and abandon ideas of a career involving the piano.
In about 1876, Tàrrega began teaching and giving regular guitar concerts. He typically received much acclaim for his playing and began travelling to other areas of Spain to perform. By this time he was composing his first works for guitar. In 1880, he met his future wife, Maria Rizo, when he was giving a concert in Novelda. That same year he went on tour to Lyon, Paris, and London, now playing his own works in addition to those of other composers.
In 1881, he and Maria were married in Novelda. He soon began transcribing piano works of Beethoven, Chopin, Mendelssohn, and others to enlarge his guitar repertory, and, no doubt, to make use of his considerable knowledge of keyboard music.Tàrrega and his wife moved to Madrid, but after the death of an infant daughter, Maria Josefa, they settled permanently in Barcelona in 1885.
On a concert tour in Valencia shortly afterward, Tárrega met a wealthy widow, Conxa Martinez, who became a valuable patron to him. She allowed him and his family use of a house in Barcelona, where he would write the bulk of his most popular works, including Recuerdos de la Alhambra. From the latter 1880s up to 1903,Tárrega continued composing, but limited his concerts to Spain. In about 1902, he cut his fingernails and created a sound that would become typical of those guitarists associated with his school. The following year he launched a tour of Italy, giving highly successful concerts in Rome, Naples, and Milan.
In January 1906, he was afflicted with paralysis on his right side, and though he would eventually return to the concert stage, he never completely recovered. He finished his last work, Oremus, on December 2, 1909. He died 13 days later.
This work is written for Flute, Clarinet, Violin and Guitar. The unique combination of two winds and two stringed instruments originated from the four veteran musicians who gave the premiere performance. They are all old friends of the composer. These renowned instrumentalists have devoted themselves to music performance and education wholeheartedly with their perseverance, and this composition is so entitled and written as a tribute to the efforts and contributions helping the art music development of Hong Kong since the 1980s for almost forty years. The single movement linear structure of the piece is therefore the reflection of growth in time that symbolizes the hard works, ups and downs by multiple consecutive passages of different moods and textures.The sections are mostly fast in Movement Perpetual, carrying the strength and giving challenging opportunity for the display of tight interplay between voices as well as flourished passages in leading role for each instrument of the quartet.
The 12-minute composition flows fluently with tightly connected segments of various speeds and rhythms, which gradually becoming more and more energetic and brilliant towards the end. The music goes through diverse musical languages amongst traditional and modern, mixing concepts from neoclassical to minimal, and travels freely through different tonalities and atonality with delightful transformation. This unique amalgamation has been highly praised by the performers and audience alike.
This work was originally written and premiered in 2013 (for a LCSD presented concert), and has been performed again thereafter. In 2018 Hong Kong Jockey Club Music and Dance Fund Awardees Association invited Hui to rearrange specially this work for the association’s outstanding awardees from the past decades, to be the thematic composition of that performance, as the title reflects the encouraging meaning for the growth of local artists. The eminent musicians who have performed for “Vigorous Winds & Tough Strings” include Stephen Chau Kai-leung, Jensen Lung Heung-fai, Peter Chan Kwok-chiu, Martin Choi Kwok-tin, Cindy Cheung, Angus Lee Yi-wei, Johnny Fong Hiu-kai.
Hui Cheung-wai has been composing with verve for over thirty years, writing modern classical music in various genres. More than 200 of his compositions have been performed to date. In 1980s, Hui was a First-Prize recipient of Hong Kong Young Musicians’ Awards (Composition), and his music began to be performed overseas. Hui has been collaborating with many prominent musicians and orchestras. He has outstandingly cultivated on lesser-practiced genres, and contributes significant works for guitar ensemble, harmonica ensemble and guqin. His music has been performed and broadcast in many cities of the world including international showcases including the UNESCO International Rostrum of Composers, and at prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center. World renowned musicians such as the Arditti Quartet (UK), Helen Jahren (Sweden), Pierre Yves Artaud (France), Okko Kamu (Finland), David Atherton (UK), Tsung Yeh (USA), Michael Harvey (Australia) and numerous famous Chinese musicians have interpreted Hui’s works in concert.
Hui, as a well-known Hong Kong composer, is featured in a number of books on local music, including Liang Mao-chun’s Hong Kong Composers:1930s to 1990s, Chu Shui-bing’s The Development of Hong Kong Music, Excellence Education Publishing’s Journey of Music, Chow Fan-fu’s 30 Years of Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, Joint Publishing’s 70 Years of Hong Kong Harmonica Music, Ng Gan-pak’s A Sketch History of Traditional Chinese Music in 20th Century Hong Kong, Liu Ching-chih’s Critical Essays on Modern Chinese Music, etc. Some of Hui’s manuscripts and original copies are collected by the “Hong Kong Music Archive” in the Central Library of Hong Kong. Selected music scores by Hui have been published by Hong Kong Composers’ Guild, Hong Kong Harmonica Association, Hong Kong Choral Society, Vocal Music Anthology and Red House Editions in Australia, among others. Hui’s works have been recorded on CDs by Composers and Authors Society of Hong Kong, HUGO Production, Stephen Chau, Hong Kong Guitar Orchestra, King’s Harmonica Quintet, etc.
Hui was Honorary Composer-in-Residence of Hong Kong Harmonica Association, Composer-in-Residence of Hong Kong Guitar Orchestra, Chief Editor of Hong Kong’s only serious music periodical Music Companion and a Director of Hong Kong Composers’ Guild. He lectured at Hong Kong Music Institute and Chinese University of Hong Kong for years. Hui has been repeatedly receiving commissions from brilliant instrumentalists, professional orchestras, educational institutions, music festival local and abroad. Works were composed specially for Radio Television Hong Kong, Hong Kong Arts Festival, unprecedented premiere pieces for Hong Kong City Chamber Orchestra and Hong Kong Philharmonic with harmonica quintet, extended symphonic work with narration for Hong Kong Sinfonietta, Cadenzas of Hong Kong and L’Annee de la France en Chine, Le French May concerts by Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra. More than a dozen of famous conductors have conducted Hui’s orchestral works.
Since 1992, Hui has been invited to produce the original soundtrack for films. His early collaborations with promising directors were successful and available on “ifva” winners DVD. Hui has also composed and produced music for documentary filmed by veteran director George Chan Lok-yee on Hong Kong famous designers, presented by Hong Kong Heritage Museum. He has also collaborated with Hong Kong Arts Centre, established poet Leung Ping-kwan, visual artist Kan Tai-keung and versatile writer-performer Peter Suart for multi-media arts.
Recent commissioned works by Hui were written for Centennial of Lyricist Harold Wei, 40th Anniversary of the USA Chinese-American Planning Council, World Harmonica Festival, charity concert for Sichuan Earthquake, Asia-Pacific Harmonica Festival, Education Bureau Schools Speech Choir Showcase, Ensemble Sortisatio of Leipzig, and 2010 Hong Kong Arts Festival.
許翔威 作曲
許翔威積極投入創作數十年，體裁廣泛，已發表逾二百首作品。早年曾獲「香港青年音樂家大獎」作曲組別冠軍、「港藝精選」徵文冠軍等獎項，八十年代起已有中樂團、管弦樂曲及室樂作品獲選於海外演出。許氏常為新類型組合作曲，如古琴與口琴、結他合奏，成為這些樂器最具代表性的香港作曲家。其作品曾於世界各地演出及廣播，包括卡奈基演奏廳及林肯中心，亦屢次參展於聯合國教科文組織國際作曲家交流會、世界性音樂節及外地的中華藝樂匯演，演出者有國際知名音樂家如Okko Kamu (芬蘭)、David Atherton (英國)、Tsung Yeh (美國)、Arditti Quartet (英國)、Helen Jahren (瑞典)、Pierre Yves Artaud (法國)、Michael Harvey (澳洲)、海外多個樂團及無數傑出華人音樂家。
論述許氏及其作品的書籍，包括梁茂春著《香港作曲家──三十至九十年代》(1999)、朱瑞冰編《香港音樂發展概論》(1999)、國際演藝評論家協會出版《傳統再造》(2003)、周凡夫著《愛與音樂同行──香港管弦樂團三十年》(2004)、三聯書店出版《香港口琴七十年》(2004)、吳贛伯著《二十世紀香港中樂史稿》(2006)、劉靖之著《中國新音樂史論》(2008)等。許氏樂譜曾由香港作曲家聯會、香港口琴協會、香港合唱團協會、香港童聲合唱協會、香港教育局、基督教文藝出版社、澳洲Red House Editions等出版。部分許氏手稿及樂譜原稿，收納於香港中央圖書館「香港音樂特藏」。而作品錄音，則選輯於香港作曲家及作詞家協會25周年、雨果制作香港作曲家系列(弦樂四重奏、鋼琴曲)、周啟良「Duet」結他二重奏專輯、「六弦新世界」結他樂團專輯、英皇口琴五重奏「Summertime」專輯等唱片。
Muse music services 妙思樂社 