TARREGA, Francisco
b Villareal, Castellon, 21 November 1852
d Barcelona, 15 December 1909, aged fifty-seven

He began to study classical guitar at the age of ten, and was to pave the way for the rebirth of the instrument in the twentieth century. He entered the Madrid Conservatory in 1874, studying theory, harmony and piano. By 1877 he was earning his living as a music teacher and concert guitarist. He settled in Barcelona in 1885, and made many concert tours. In 1903 he became paralysed in his right side, but continued playing.

His output is largely for guitar, including seventy-eight original works, and over a hundred transcriptions, some of which are for two guitars.