Joaquín Rodrigo was born in Sagunto, Valencia on the 22th of November 1901, on St Cecilia's day, the patron saint of music. At the age of three his life was drastically changed when he lost his sight almost completely as a result of an epidemic of diphtheria. As he himself was later to affirm, this event undoubtedly led to a vocation towards music. At the age of eight he began his first musical studies, solfa, piano and violin, and from the age of sixteen harmony and composition with teachers from the Conservatoire in Valencia: Francisco Antich, Enrique Gomá and Eduardo López Chavarri.
His first compositions date from 1923: Suite for piano, Dos esbozos (‘Two Sketches’) for violin and...