‘Al-Andalus’, concerto for guitar and orchestra, is Juan Manuel Cañizares’s latest composition, written as a tribute to Paco de Lucía. This is a special piece for many reasons, particularly the almost instinctive blend of classical music and flamenco, so natural that it seems as if the two genres embraced; as if they had come from the same roots. In addition to this, the descriptive nature of the work faithfully conveys the sorrow of the artist; the anguish for the loss of the friend; the nostalgia for lost things; but also the happiness for that intimate, valuable and deep artistic experience which emerges uncontrollably with the hope and the joy that, without falling into the arms of a deceitful euphoria, pervades the third movement.
It is no surprise, then, that the final result is loaded with emotion. Cañizares combines classical training with a flamenco spirit in order to create and recreate like no one else: his music is unique and unclassifiable.
