LTS Guitar Music     by La Tung-Son

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Los Romeros	Guitar quartets
This worldwide proliferation of active guitar quartets, recordings, publications, and new music prompts the question as to the origins of all this. Who, what, where, and when was the first guitar quartet? Many would consider Los Romeros as the first professional guitar quartet, and it is indeed difficult to find any indications of guitar quartets previous to them. The history of Los Romeros as international concert and recording artists dates back to 1961 when they toured in America for the first time shortly after emigrating from Spain. This "Royal Family of the Guitar" was originally formed by Celidonio Romero (1913-1996) and his three sons Celin, Pepe, and Angel. Celedonio, a guitar soloist, taught the guitar to each of his sons from the age of two or three, instilling a right-hand position which he believed to be more relaxed than that advocated by Andrés Segovia (and which in part may account for the speed and clarity of the family’s playing). Each son had made his début in Spain by the age of seven. Due to difficulties in accepting foreign concert engagements while living in Spain under Franco, the family moved first to Portugal and then in 1957 emigrated to the USA, settling in California. Their first American tour, in 1961, led to recitals in New York at Town Hall and Carnegie Hall, followed by a television appearance and a recording contract. Los Romeros became known as ‘the royal family of the guitar’, touring extensively in the USA and also abroad, performing with the major orchestras and making numerous recordings. Initially they played mostly their own flamenco arrangements and transcriptions of classical works, but they soon commissioned works from Rodrigo, Francisco de Madina, Federico Moreno Torroba and others. Morton Gould has also written for them. The brothers have held teaching positions at various universities in Los Angeles and San Diego, and have sometimes performed as a trio or duo. Pepe and Angel have pursued solo careers since the 1970s; Pepe has made numerous recordings, many with the Academy of St Martin-in-the-Fields, and was the first guitarist to record all three guitar concertos by Mauro Giuliani. Angel’s recordings include Claude Bolling’s Concerto for guitar and jazz piano (with George Shearing) and the score of the film Bienvenido. On Celedonio’s retirement in 1990, his grandson Celino joined the group, followed by Angel’s son Lito in 1996.