20th BALATONFÜRED INTERNATIONAL GUITAR FESTIVAL – June 20–27, 2026

Falla: A Chamber Reimagining

On the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the birth of Manuel de Falla (1876–1946)

The Andalusian Guitar Quartet (CGA) presents a tribute concert to the Cádiz-born composer, celebrating the decisive influence he exerted on 20th-century Spanish and Ibero-American music.

At the heart of the program is the Cuatro piezas españolas (Aragonesa, Cubana, Montañesa, and Andaluza), an early masterpiece by Manuel de Falla, performed in an arrangement for guitar quartet by Javier Riba. This chamber music version vividly highlights the timbral richness, rhythmic vitality, and expressive nuances of these miniatures, in which the fundamental elements of Falla’s unmistakable musical language are already clearly present.

In dialogue with Falla’s music, the program also features works by composers closely linked to him through their aesthetics, generation, or artistic spirit. Ernesto Lecuona, whose music blends Spanish traditions with a distinctively Caribbean sensitivity, transforms the legacy of Falla’s Cubana into a vibrant homage to Andalusia in his suite Andalucía, where folkloric color, lyricism, and rhythmic drive converge.

The program also highlights the figure of Rodolfo Halffter, one of the most prominent representatives of Spanish musical exile, who had a defining impact on Mexico’s modern musical life. His ballet Don Lindo de Almería—presented here in a previously unpublished arrangement for guitar quartet—shows a clear kinship with Falla’s El amor brujo, whose expressive and rhythmic innovations left a deep mark on Halffter’s musical language.

The concert culminates in two dances from Falla’s ballet El sombrero de tres picos (The Three-Cornered Hat), a work in which the composer uses his brilliant orchestral imagination to evoke the plucking gestures of the guitar and the modal colors of Andalusian folk music. Collectively, this program blends tradition and modernity, Spain and the Ibero-American world, paying tribute to one of the most universal figures of Spanish music through the warm, diverse, and evocative sound of the guitar quartet.

About the Quartet: Cuarteto de Guitarras de Andalucía (CGA)

The CGA was founded in 2019 by Andalusian guitarists Francisco Bernier, Antonio Duro, David Martínez, and Javier Riba, all of whom boast distinguished international careers as both concert artists and educators. The quartet made its debut in September of that same year at the Cartuja Center in Seville, performing Joaquín Rodrigo’s Concierto Andaluz to mark the 10th anniversary of the city’s Guitar Festival.

Since then, Spanish and Spanish-inspired music has been at the core of the quartet’s repertoire, featuring works by Albéniz, Halffter, Falla, Lecuona, and Scarlatti in transcriptions created specifically for this ensemble. Thanks to its unique sound and technique, the guitar is capable of evoking and coloring music that, although conceived outside its natural domain (such as piano and orchestral music), was often directly inspired by the very nature of the instrument. In this sense, the guitar quartet expands this potential by multiplying textures and broadening acoustic boundaries.

The CGA is committed not only to the Spanish music of the past but also to that of the present, commissioning new works from contemporary composers. David del Puerto’s “Cuerdas del viento” for soprano and guitar quartet—based on poems by Federico García Lorca—was recorded with soprano Sachika Ito (Contrastes Records) and performed at venues including the Córdoba Guitar Festival. Similarly, the premiere of César Camarero’s Transparente / vacío / ciego / alado, dedicated to the quartet, is among their upcoming plans.

Their collaborations also include the renowned flamenco guitarist Juan Manuel Cañizares, with whom they performed the Concierto Mozárabe. In 2025, the quartet entered a new chapter with the addition of the outstanding guitarist Marco Socías, who succeeded David Martínez, bringing new artistic energy and interpretive horizons to the ensemble.

The CGA’s upcoming projects include their debut with the Royal Symphony Orchestra of Seville at the Teatro de la Maestranza (Rodrigo’s Concierto Andaluz), as well as preparing the Concierto de Cienfuegos for four guitars and orchestra by the recently deceased Spanish composer Lorenzo Palomo.

Members of the Quartet