Joaquín Rodrigo Vidre (November 22, 1901, Sagunto, Valencia – July 6, 1999, Madrid) was a Spanish composer and pianist of the 20th century, blinded by diphtheria at age three yet trained rigorously in music from childhood, composing in Braille. He studied under Francisco Antich in Valencia and later under Paul Dukas at the École Normale de Musique in Paris, and from 1947 held the Manuel de Falla Chair of Music History at Madrid’s Complutense University. His masterpiece, the Concierto de Aranjuez (1939) for guitar and orchestra, written for guitarist Regino Sainz de la Maza, became one of the most celebrated works in the entire classical guitar repertoire; other major works include the Fantasía para un gentilhombre (1954) and Concierto de estío.

Rodrigo is the towering 20th-century Spanish composer for guitar, almost singlehandedly bringing the classical guitar concerto into the mainstream orchestral repertoire; he received Spain’s Premio Nacional de Música (1983) and was ennobled as Marquess of the Gardens of Aranjuez (1991), and the Adagio of the Concierto de Aranjuez remains one of the most recognizable melodies in classical music.

Sources:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joaqu%C3%ADn_Rodrigo