Regino Sainz de la Maza y Ruiz (1896–1981) was a Spanish classical guitarist and composer born in Burgos. He received his first guitar at age ten and studied solfège, piano, and guitar locally before befriending fellow guitarists Miguel Llobet and Andrés Segovia. He built an international touring career, giving 90 concerts across South America in 1921 alone and performing throughout Europe through the 1920s. In 1935 he was appointed professor of guitar at the Madrid Conservatory, and in 1940 he gave the world premiere, in Barcelona, of Joaquín Rodrigo’s “Concierto de Aranjuez,” a work Rodrigo dedicated to him. His own compositions draw deeply on Castilian and Andalusian folk song. He had a younger brother, Eduardo Sáinz de la Maza (1903–1982), also a composer for guitar, best known for the suite “Platero y Yo”; the two brothers are distinct figures who both contributed significantly to 20th-century Spanish guitar music.

Regino Sainz de la Maza’s advocacy and virtuosity helped cement the classical guitar’s place in 20th-century Spanish concert life, and his premiere of the “Concierto de Aranjuez” secured that work’s lasting fame. His own pieces, including “Rondeña,” remain staples of the guitar recital repertoire, valued for their evocation of Spanish folk idiom. The piece “Platero y Yo” performed alongside his work here was composed by his brother Eduardo, reflecting the shared musical legacy of the Sainz de la Maza family.

Sources:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regino_Sainz_de_la_Maza
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eduardo_Sainz_de_la_Maza