Classical guitar in Cuba Classical guitar in Cuba The guitar (in the form of its direct ancestor, the “vihuela”) was the first instrument that was heard in Cuba after the conch horns, flutes and drums that the original aborigines used to play; as it was documented by Spanish chroniclers such as Bernal Díaz del Castillo. . Through the centuries, the guitar has continued to be one of the most important and cherished instruments in Cuba, both in the practice of popular music as well as in the classical music tradition. Founded by renowned professors such as Clara Romero, Isaac Nicola, Clara (Cuqui) Nicola, Carlos
Classical guitar composer and player Paco de Lucía are known worldwide. Not many classical guitar concertos were written through the guitar history. Nevertheless, some guitar concertos are nowadays wide known and popular, especially Joaquín Rodrigo's "Concierto de Aranjuez" (with the famous theme from 2nd movement) and "Fantasía para un gentilhombre". Composers, who also wrote famous guitar concertos are: Antonio Vivaldi (originally for mandolin or lute), Mauro Giuliani, Heitor Villa-Lobos, Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Manuel Ponce, Leo Brouwer, Lennox Berkeley... Nowadays, more and more contemporary composers decide to write a guitar concerto. The classical guitar is distinguished by a number of characteristics: The fretboard (also