Francisco Tarrega and Gran Vals

Last week, I traveled the central and southern parts of Spain. I watched the Regoletto at the Teatro Real in Madrid, and I saw Lacia di Lammeromoor at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona. In particular, the Regoletto of Leo Nucci, the 73-year-old baritone dubbed the living regoletto, was simply mind-blowing. In return for the enthused standing ovation after his duet song with Gilda, the baritone readily performed an encore.

With the digression set aside, I must confess that I was reminded of the guitarist and the musical composure Francisco Tarrega (1852-1909) when I visited the Alhambra Palace in Granada for the first time in seven years. The palace, which used to belong to an Islam monarch, wore the new coat of Western European architecture later on, and the beautiful palace standing on a hill inspired Tarrega to write the guitar song "Memories of the Alhambra Palace." Characterized by the tremolo technique where the same notes are repeated in a rapid pace, the guitar song is a rite of passage for any guitar player.

There is a song written by Tarrega that is far more famous than others. The song is Gran Vals, which might sound unfamiliar. In fact, the song is better known as the Nokia ringtone. Since 1994, the Finnish cell phone provider has used the guitar song as the ringtone of its cell phones, and the melody soon became very familiar to many consumers around the world. Still, a number of people are using the melody for their cell phones. In 2012, a Romania violist was interrupted by this melody during his concert. He played the song off the cuff on the spot, and this video went viral on the Internet for a while.

December 15 marks the 106th anniversary of the death of Francisco Tarrega. Compared to Pablo de Sarasate, the best contemporary violinist, the talented guitarist was called the Sarasate of the guitar. He was more than a guitarist; the man was a true virtuoso who heightened the status of his musical instrument to a different level. In remembrance of the genius, I will use Gran Vals as my ringtone melody for today.

gustav@donga.com