Dionisio Aguado
Biography
Dionisio Aguado (April 8, 1784 — December 29, 1849) was a Spanish classical guitarist and composer. Born in Madrid, he studied with Miguel Garcia. In 1825, Aguado visited Paris, where he met and became friends with, and for a while lived with, Fernando Sor. Sor's duo "Les Deux Amis" ("The Two Friends") commemorated the friendship: one part is marked "Sor" and the other "Aguado."
Aguado's major work Escuela de Guitarra was a guitar tutor published in 1825. It is still reprinted today (Tecla editions). In the "Escuela" Aguado describes his use of fingernails on the right hand as well as his invention of a "tripodion": a device that held the guitar and thus minimized the damping effect of the player's body on the guitar's back and sides. Aguado's other works include "Trois Rondos Brillants" (Opus 2), "Le Menuet Affandangado" (Opus 15), "Le Fandango Varie" (Opus 16), as well as numerous waltzes, minuets, and other light pieces. The more extended works require a virtuoso technique and left-hand stretches that are almost impossible on the longer string lengths of modern guitars. (see Frederick Noad, "The Classical Guitar")
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Aguado returned home to Madrid in 1838 and died there aged 65.
Works include:
1825 Rondo
Op. 1 : Douze Valses
Op. 2 : Trois Rondo Brillants
Op. 3 : Huit Petites Pièces
Op. 4 : Six Petites Pièces
Op. 5 : Quatre Andantes et Quatre Valses
Op. 6 : Nuevo Método de Guitarra
Op. 7 : Valses Faciles
Op. 8 : Contredanses et Valses Faciles
Op. 9 : Contredanses non difficiles
Op. 10 : Exercices Faciles et Très Utiles
Op. 11 : Les Favorites - Huit Contredanses
Op. 12 : Six Menuets & Six Valses
Op. 13 : Morceaux Agréables non difficiles
Op. 14 : Dix Petites Pièces non difficiles
Op. 15 : Le Menuet Affandangado
Op. 16 : Le Fandango Varié
Biography text from Last.fm, available under CC BY-SA.