Biography (read more)
Renata Tarragó Fábregas was a Catalan guitarist and vihuelist. She was born in Barcelona on 23 October 1927, the second of two children of the musician, composer and teacher Graciano Tarragó Pons. She studied at the Barcelona Conservatory, where her first teacher was her father, who had studied the guitar under Miguel Llobet. She first appeared in public at 14 and was appointed an assistant professor at the conservatory upon completing her studies there in 1944. She died on 2 August 2005 in Mataró, Spain, at age 77.
In 1958 she became the first female guitarist to record Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez, with the Orquesta de Conciertos de Madrid. She was the first to edit the Aranjuez score for publication (1959). Rodrigo dedicated his Sonata Giocosa (1960) to her. Her repertoire ranged from vihuela and Baroque guitar music to the twentieth century. Her solo recordings include works by Moreno Torroba, Tárrega, Sor, Sanz, Bach and Boccherini. Her pupils include Jaume Abad, a founder of the Barcelona Guitar Quartet.
Sources: