Pablo Sáinz Villegas
Guitarist Pablo Sáinz Villegas is a popular figure who draws large crowds in his native Spain and his adopted U.S. homeland. In addition to traditional Spanish repertory, Sáinz Villegas champions new music for the guitar.
Sáinz Villegas was born June 16, 1977, in Logroño in La Rioja province in northern Spain. He began studying the guitar there at age six and made his public debut just a year later. His right hand is significantly larger than his left. Sáinz Villegas continued his studies in Logroño and quickly made the transition from child prodigy to international touring attraction. In 2001, he moved to New York and lived there for some years, finally returning to Madrid, Spain. After making his debut with the New York Philharmonic, Sáinz Villegas went on to appear with orchestras in more than 40 countries, including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Israel Philharmonic, and the Bergen Philharmonic in Norway. He made his recording debut in 2004 on the Naxos label with the album Guitar Recital, later moving to Avie, Harmonia Mundi, and, since 2018, Sony Classical.
Officially designated a cultural ambassador of La Rioja, Sáinz Villegas has drawn enormous crowds to concerts in Spain (85,000 to Madrid's Santiago Berabéu Stadium) and the U.S. (11,000 in Grant Park in Chicago). In Brazil, he mounted an internationally televised concert from a floating stage on the Amazon River, viewed by millions. As for more conventional indoor venues, he has appeared at top-rank international stages, such as the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall in Moscow, the Musikverein in Vienna, and the Philharmonie in Berlin, where he became the first solo guitarist in 38 years invited to perform with the Berlin Philharmonic. In addition to Spanish music, his concerts have often featured new commissions from composers such as soundtrack giant John Williams, David del Puerto, and Sergio Assad. During the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, Sáinz Villegas was stranded for a time in San Diego, California, because of Spain's lockdown; he gave free streamed concerts under the auspices of the La Jolla Chamber Music Society. While in San Diego, he also singlehandedly forged links between the youth orchestras of San Diego and Tijuana, Mexico, which had previously been unconnected. Sáinz Villegas released the album Soul of the Spanish Guitar on Sony Classical in 2020, returning in 2023 with The Blue Album.
© James Manheim /TiVo
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Discography
9 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller
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The Blue Album
Classical - Released by Sony Classical on 9 Jun 2023
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Soul of Spanish Guitar
Classical - Released by Sony Classical on 20 Nov 2020
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sáinz-Villegas Plays Santaolalla (EP)
Classical - Released by Sony Classical on 12 Mar 2021
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Del Pago (From "Ronroco")
Classical - Released by Sony Classical on 19 Feb 2021
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Volver
Plácido Domingo, Pablo Sáinz Villegas, Plácido Domingo & Pablo Sáinz Villegas
Classical - Released by Sony Classical on 12 Oct 2018
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Americano
Classical - Released by harmonia mundi on 3 Sep 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Cavatina (Arr. for Guitar by John Williams)
Classical - Released by Sony Classical on 14 Apr 2023
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Pájaros (From "My Blueberry Nights")
Classical - Released by Sony Classical on 29 Jan 2021
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Lima (From "The Motorcycle Diaries")
Classical - Released by Sony Classical on 12 Mar 2021
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo