Regino Sainz de la Maza y Ruiz (7 September 1896 – 26 November 1981) was a Spanish

classical guitar The classical guitar (also known as the nylon-string guitar or Spanish guitar) is a member of the guitar family used in classical music and other styles. An acoustic wooden string instrument with strings made of gut or nylon, it is a precursor o ...

ist and composer.

Biography

Sainz de la Maza was born in

Burgos Burgos () is a city in Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the province of Burgos. Burgos is situated in the north of the Iberian Peninsula, on the confluence of t ...

. At ten, he got his first guitar and started his musical studies with Santiago Landache ( solfege), José Nicolás Quesada (

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

), and Eugenio Rodríguez Pascual (

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

). In 1910, his family moved to

San Sebastián San Sebastian, officially known as Donostia–San Sebastián (names in both local languages: ''Donostia'' () and ''San Sebastián'' ()) is a city and Municipalities of Spain, municipality located in the Basque Country (autonomous community), B ...

, where he studied piano with Germán Cendoya,

harmony In music, harmony is the process by which individual sounds are joined together or composed into whole units or compositions. Often, the term harmony refers to simultaneously occurring frequencies, pitches ( tones, notes), or chords. However ...

with Beltrán Pagola and guitar with Luis Soria. A year later, he moved to

Bilbao ) , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = 275 px , map_caption = Interactive map outlining Bilbao , pushpin_map = Spain Basque Country#Spain#Europe , pushpin_map_caption ...

, where he continued his studies with Hilarión Leloup. At 18, he performed at his first concert at the

Teatro Arriaga The Arriaga antzokia in Basque or Teatro Arriaga in Spanish is an opera house in Bilbao, Spain. It was built in Neo-baroque style by architect Joaquín Rucoba in 1890, the same architect that built the city hall In local government, a ...

of Bilbao. He later moved to

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

, where he worked as a concert musician. There, he befriended

Miguel Llobet Miguel Llobet Solés (18 October 187822 February 1938) was a classical guitarist, born in Barcelona, Spain. Llobet was a renowned virtuoso who toured Europe and America extensively. He made well known arrangements of Catalan folk songs for the ...

and

Andrés Segovia Andrés Segovia Torres, 1st Marquis of Salobreña (21 February 1893 – 2 June 1987) was a Spanish virtuoso classical guitarist. Many professional classical guitarists were students of Segovia or their students. Segovia's contribution to the m ...

. In 1920, he played for the first time in Madrid. A year later, he toured

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, giving 90 concerts. On 20 May 1920, he was awarded a Golden Medal by the

University of Buenos Aires The University of Buenos Aires ( es, Universidad de Buenos Aires, UBA) is a public university, public research university in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Established in 1821, it is the premier institution of higher learning in the country and one o ...

, where he became friends with composer

Antonio José Martínez Palacios Antonio José Martínez Palacios (12 December 190211 October 1936), professionally known as Antonio José, was a Spanish composer. Maurice Ravel apparently said of Antonio José: "He will become ''the'' Spanish composer of our century", howev ...

, who dedicated some guitar compositions to Sainz de la Maza. He toured Europe, giving concerts in France in 1926, in

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in 1927 and

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in 1928. Five years later, he toured South America for the second time, with concerts in

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

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, and

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. On 19 December 1930, he married Josefina de la Serna, daughter of the writer

Concha Espina María de la Concepción Jesusa Basilisa Rodríguez-Espina y García-Tagle, short form Concha Espina (15 April 1869 or 1877 or 1 April 1879 or 15 April 1879 in Santander – 19 May 1955 in Madrid), was a Spanish writer. She was nominated for ...

, at the Real Basílica de

Monasterio de El Escorial El Escorial, or the Royal Site of San Lorenzo de El Escorial ( es, Monasterio y Sitio de El Escorial en Madrid), or Monasterio del Escorial (), is a historical residence of the King of Spain located in the town of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, u ...

. In 1935, he was named professor of guitar at the

Madrid Royal Conservatory The Madrid Royal Conservatory ( es, Real Conservatorio Superior de Música de Madrid) is a music college in Madrid, Spain. History The Royal Conservatory of Music was founded on July 15, 1830, by royal decree, and was originally located in Moste ...

. On 6 November 1940, he played the guitar at the premiere of

Joaquín Rodrigo Joaquín Rodrigo Vidre, 1st Marquess of the Gardens of Aranjuez (; 22 November 1901 – 6 July 1999), was a Spanish composer and a virtuoso pianist. He is best known for composing the ''Concierto de Aranjuez'', a cornerstone of the classical gui ...

's ''

Concierto de Aranjuez The ''Concierto de Aranjuez'' (, "Aranjuez Concerto") is a classical guitar concerto by the Spanish composer Joaquín Rodrigo. Written in 1939, it is by far Rodrigo's best-known work, and its success established his reputation as one of the mos ...

'' in Barcelona, conducted by

César Mendoza Lasalle Cesar, César or Cèsar may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''César'' (film), a 1936 film directed by Marcel Pagnol * ''César'' (play), a play by Marcel Pagnolt * César Award, a French film award Places * Cesar, Portugal * C ...

. Rodrigo dedicated the ''Concierto de Aranjuez'' to Regino Sainz de la Maza.Victor Coelho and Jonathan Cross: '' The Cambridge Companion to the Guitar'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003), p. 188. On 11 December 1940 he played the concerto in Madrid, with

Jesús Arámbarri Jesús Arámbarri Gárate (13 April 1902 in Bilbao – 11 July 1960 in Madrid) was a Spanish classical music conductor and composer native to the Basque Country. Jesús Arámbarri has been classed among the cultural treasures of the region, wi ...

as conductor. In 1955 he published the book called ''La Guitarra y su historia'' ('The Guitar and its History'). On 23 May 1958, he became a member of the Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando of Madrid. A day later, he was named a favourite son of the city of Burgos. Sainz de la Maza performed for the last time at the Church of San Nicola di Bari in Italy, on 9 July 1979, aged 82. He died in Madrid two years later. His younger brother

Eduardo Sainz de la Maza Eduardo Sainz de la Maza (5 January 1903 – 5 December 1982) was a Spanish composer. Born in Burgos, he was brother of Regino Sainz de la Maza. Composing for the classical guitar, some of his notable works include the suite ''Platero y yo'' for ...

(1903–1982) was also an acclaimed guitarist and composer.

Selected compositions

Guitar solo *''Alegrías'' Danza (Madrid: Union Musical Española, 1933) *''Cuatro obras originales'' (Madrid: Union Musical Española, 1955). Contains: ''Baile de Muñecas''; ''Meditacion''; ''Recuerdo''; ''Minueto''. *''El Vito'' (nueva version) (Madrid: Union Musical Española, 1962) *''Rondeña'' (Madrid: Union Musical Española, 1962) *''Zapateado'' (Madrid: Union Musical Española, 1962)

References

External links

Guitar magazine article
about Guitar in Spain
Historic Recording of Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez
;Sheetmusic
Rischel & Birket-Smith's Collection of guitar music
Det Kongelige Bibliotek, Denmark {{DEFAULTSORT:Sainz de la Maza, Regino 1896 births 1981 deaths 20th-century classical composers 20th-century composers 20th-century Spanish musicians Composers for the classical guitar Spanish classical composers Spanish male classical composers Spanish classical guitarists Spanish male guitarists People from Burgos 20th-century guitarists 20th-century Spanish male musicians