WHO WE ARE

Jose Maria Gallardo Del Rey long biography  José María Gallardo del Rey made his debut in Seville at the age of eight, and since then, he has been reaping the greatest success with the public and critics worldwide. An artist with unusual training and musical knowledge in the guitar world, he is the soloist most requested and programmed by orchestras around the world. Directors and musicians unanimously confirm him as a reference guitarist. His training as a classical guitarist has been enriched by his intense relationship with the world of flamenco. The conjunction of both styles has created a unique way of interpreting and understanding Spanish music. This is why his presence becomes essential in projects such as “Pasión Española”, with Plácido Domingo (Grammy Latino 2008), “Habanera Gipsy”, with Elina Garança (2010), “Caprichos Líricos”, with Teresa Berganza (1996) or his work as director and artistic adviser to Paco de Lucía in his debut with the Concierto de Aranjuez (Japan 1990). Sir Neville Mariner, Philippe Entremont, Frübeck de Burgos, John Axelrod, Ros Marbá, García Asensio, Josep Pons, José Ramón Encinar, Leo Brouwer, Karel Mark Chichón, with orchestras such as ONE, Royal Philarmonic, RAI Orchestra, Hong Kong Philarmonic , Ton Halle of Zurich, London Philharmonic, Cadaqués Orchestra, ORTVE, Royal Symphony Orchestra of Seville, Philharmonic of Gran Canaria, Orchestras of the Community and Symphony of Madrid, National Orchestra of Belgium, Radio Phil. Saarbrücken, Bucharest Symphony, etc., are regulars on José María's concert tours. 

As a soloist, composer, chamber musician and musical director, he has performed in theatres such as Carnegie Hall, Tokyo Opera House, Konzerthaus in Vienna, Theater des Champs-Elysées and Opera Comique in Paris, Athenaeum in Bucharest, Walt Disney Auditorium in Los Angeles, Sadler Wells and Cadigan Hall in London, National Auditorium in Madrid, Palau de la Música in Valencia, Seoul Concert Hall, Birmingham Symphony Hall, Osaka Concert Hall, Rome Auditorium, etc. Musical ambassador of Spain, his presence is frequently required at concerts and cultural events such as EXPO 92 (Author and performer of the Spanish Pavilion Soundtrack) EXPO AICHI 2005, Years of Spain in China, Korea, EXPO Shanghai 2010, Cervantes Year, Albéniz Centenary, Expo Dubai 2022 and especially the Rodrigo Centenary, which has led him to perform his guitar concerts all over the world. Renowned composer, his works are performed at the most important music festivals and choreographed by dance names such as María Pagés, Víctor Ullate, Lola Greco and Antonio Najarro in shows such as “Sevilla”, “De la Luna al Viento”, “ Don Quixote” and “Iberia”. His production amounts to almost two hundred works, including five concertos for Guitar and orchestra. 

His most recent work, “El Samurai de Sevilla”, commissioned by CultureALL and the City of Kyoto Symphony Orchestra, will be premiered in November of 2021 in that Japanese city, under the baton of John Axelrod. A Deutsche Grammophon artist, he has released “50 Años No Es Nada”, “The Trees Speak”, “14 ways to miss you”, and his album with La Maestranza “My Spain”, reaping the most remarkable successes with critics and audiences. His previous discography includes very diverse works on labels such as Mandala, RTVE, Autor, Almaviva Gallardo Del Rey Ediciones and BMG, which in 1998 published his version of the Concierto de Aranjuez in “Rodrigo Guitar Concerto”. In 2015 his album Lo Cortés no tú lo Gallardo won the Flamenco Vive Award for best concert guitar album. His music performance classes are required at conservatories and universities around the world. Centres such as the Mannes Conservatory of Music in New York, Northridge University in Los Angeles, the UIMP in Santander or the “Spanish Song Project” in Granada, among others, are regular venues for his courses and master classes.

 He has recently been appointed professor of the Andrés Segovia Guitar Chair of the International University Music Courses in Compostela for his work in promoting the Spanish Guitar. Currently, he simultaneously maintains his activity as a soloist along with his work at the Spanish Guitar Academy (spanishguitaracademy.com), an online platform from which he offers weekly content to students from all over the world, with more than 400 recorded works, and with the clear intention of complete the largest number of works from the Classical, Spanish and Latin American repertoire for Concert Guitar. José María Gallardo del Rey is a BBAA Academician at the Real Academia San Carlos de Valencia.