Harmonia Classics HC 0018 · 2026
Alberto Rodríguez Ortíz
The first commercial recording of Rodríguez Ortíz's Guitar Concerto, a three-movement work that draws on Caribbean rhythms from an abstract perspective. Premiered to critical acclaim, it has been praised as a magnificent addition to the classical guitar repertoire.
Following the success of El manco de Lepanto in October 2014, conductor Maximiano Valdés invited composer Alberto Rodríguez Ortiz to write a concerto for his instrument, the classical guitar. The work was conceived for guitarist Eladio Scharrón, with whom the composer had long considered the idea of creating a concerto of this kind.
The concerto was premiered on May 6, 2017, by Scharrón and the Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Roselín Pabón.
The work is structured in three movements: Deciso, Meditación, and Rondó rapsódico. Together, they explore a range of expressive contrasts, from rhythmic drive and assertiveness to introspective lyricism, culminating in a vibrant and virtuosic finale.
Guitarist and composer Alberto Rodríguez Ortiz brings new aesthetic trends to the most demanding audiences, demonstrating that music is an art in constant transformation. His works have been performed at major international venues including Weill Recital Hall in New York, La Salle Cortot in Paris, and the Pablo Casals Hall in San Juan.
He has received commissions from the Conservatory of Music of Puerto Rico, the Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra, Camerata Caribe, and numerous other institutions. In 2018, the documentary El coleccionista, featuring his music, received a Suncoast Emmy Award for Best Historical Documentary.
Rodríguez Ortiz holds a Diplôme de Composition from the École Normale de Musique de Paris (2001), a Master's from the Eastman School of Music (1997), and a B.A. from the University of Puerto Rico (1995). He is currently Associate Professor of Classical Guitar at the Conservatory of Music of Puerto Rico and Artist in Residence at the Ana G. Méndez University.
Born in San Sebastián, Puerto Rico, into a family of guitarists, Eladio Scharrón studied at the University of Puerto Rico with Ernesto Cordero before continuing in Paris under Alberto Ponce, earning the Diplôme de Concertiste at the École Normale de Musique de Paris in 1981.
He has won numerous awards, including the International Guitar Competition of Sable Sur Sarthe in France, and has been invited to prestigious festivals such as the Brussels Guitar Festival and New York's Música de Cámara. During his decade in Paris, he earned critical acclaim as a concert artist and taught at the Paris Municipal Conservatory.
Dr. Scharrón completed his Doctor of Musical Arts at the Eastman School of Music in 1997. Since 1998, he has been a faculty member in the Department of Music at the University of Central Florida in Orlando. He has premiered and is the dedicatee of many new works for guitar.
Producer, arranger, and orchestral conductor, Emanuel Olivieri has been professor at the Puerto Rico Conservatory of Music and principal violist of the Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra.
As a conductor, he has led the Puerto Rico Symphony, Puerto Rico Philharmonic, National Symphony of Costa Rica, National Symphony of Panama, National Symphony of Guatemala, Querétaro Philharmonic, and Sinaloa de las Artes Symphony, among others. He founded the Camerata Filarmónica Orchestra (now Camerata Pops), with which he produces a diverse series of concerts.
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