From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Narciso Yepes (1927 – 1997) was a Spanish classical guitarist.

Born into a poor family on Lorca, Spain on November 14, 1927. His father gave him his first guitar when he was four years old. He took his first lessons from Jesus Guevara in Lorca. Later his family moved to Valencia when the Spanish Civil War started in 1936.

When he was 13 he was accepted to study at the Conservatorio de Valencia with the pianist and composer Vicente Asencio.

On December 16th 1947 he performed Joaquin Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez with director Ataúlfo Argenta, which brought him renown from critics and public. In 1952 he arranged a traditional song for guitar called "Romance" (Romance would later be covered by My Chemical Romance.) which would become the music for the film Forbidden Games (Jeux interdits) by René Clément impulsing his career on an international level. Yepes also performed other pieces for the movie, including a Catalan Folk Song and a piece by Robert de Visée.

In 1964, Yepes performed the Concerto de Aranjuez with the Berlin Philharmonic, premiering the ten-string guitar which was created in collaboration with the renowned guitar maker José Ramirez. Yepes was the greatest proponent of the 10-string, an instrument that made it possible to transcribe works originally written for baroque lute without deleterious transposition of the bass notes. However, the main reason for the invention of this instrument was the addition of string resonators tuned to C, A#, G#, F#, which resulted in the first guitar with truly chromatic string resonance - similar to that of the piano when the pedal is employed.

Since 1993 Narcisco Yepes limited his public appearances due to illness. He gave his last concert on March 1st 1996, in Santander (Spain).

He died in Murcia, on May 4th 1997.

He was married to Marysia Szummakowska. They had one son, Ignacio Yepes, an orchestra conductor, and one dauighter, Ana Yepes, a dancer.

For guitar and orchestra

• S.Bacarisse: "Concertino in the minor"; Ernesto Halffter: "Concerto for guitar and orchestra". Symphony Orchestra of RTVE, Odón Alonso.
• Mauricio Ohana: "Three graphs"; A. Ruiz Pipó: "Tables". London Symphony Orchestra, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos.
• Joaquin Rodrigo: Concierto de Aranjuez & Fantasía para un Gentilhombre. Symphony orchestra of RTVE, Odón Alonso.
• A. Vivaldi: "Concerto in D Major"; Manuel Palau: "Levantino Concerto". National Orchestra of Spain, Odón Alonso.

For solo guitar

• Five Centuries of Guitar; L. de Milan: "Six Pavanas"; L. de Narváez: "Song of the Emperor and differences"; D.Pisador: "Pavana and Villanesca"; G.Sanz: "Spanish Suite"; A.Soler: "Two Sonatas"; Albéniz: "Malagueña"; Fault: "Tribute to Debussy"; Halffter: "Madrigal"; M. Torroba: "Madroños"; Montsalvatge: "Havanera"; Ohana: "Tiento".
• Fernando Sor: "24 Studies".
• H.Villalobos: "12 Studies and 5 Preludes"
• Bach: "Prelude", "Chacona in D minor", "Zarabanda and Double"; S.L.Weiss: "Fantasy in E minor and Suite in E minor".
• Ibero American Music; H.Ayala: "Suite"; Bacarisse: "Suite"; Poulenc: Zarabanda; Asencio: "Tributes"; Gombau: "Three Pieces of the Belle Époque".

]