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The Romeros Quartet
Thursday - April 19, 2007 - 8 p.m.
•Watch video of the Romeros live in concert. |
A veritable institution in the world of classical music, the quartet has dazzled countless
audiences and won the raves of reviewers worldwide. Celedonio Romero, founder and creator of The Romeros guitar
dynasty, died on May 8, 1996 in San Diego, California. As the family says, "the spirit of the quartet is him;
all our concerts now will be to pay homage to him"; his sons and grandsons continue Celedonio's legacy.
To some fortunate musicians, it is given to rise to the peak of a musical art form; to some very few musicians, it is given to
originate an art form. The Romeros have achieved both. In a lengthy feature article The New York Times said: "Collectively, they
are the only classical guitar quartet of real stature in the world today; in fact, they virtually invented the format."
The legendary Celedonio Romero, with his sons Celin, Pepe and Angel, founded the internationally renowned ensemble known to
millions as "The Royal Family of the Guitar." With the introduction of Celin's son, Celino, into the quartet in 1990, and Angel's
son Lito joining his father in duo recital, The Romeros encompasses three generations of concert artists. To have so many virtuosi
of the same instrument in one family is unique in the world of musical performance, and in the realm of the classical guitar it
is absolutely without precedent.
Those who are privileged to hear these world-renowned musicians perform have the delightful opportunity to experience a musical
phenomenon: "One of the enduring mysteries of musical talent is how skills seem to flow genetically from musical parent to musical
child. In the Romero family the flow has been swift and unimpeded. The virtuosity of the four Romeros was uniformly solid and
finely considered, as if these techniques had derived from a single mold" (The New York Times).
Celedonio Romero was a renowned soloist in Franco's Spain. As each of his sons reached the age of two or three, they began
learning the guitar from their father. All of his sons had made their debuts in Spain by the time they were seven years old.
In 1957, the family immigrated to the United States where "The Romeros" walked onto the world stage as its first guitar quartet
while the boys were still in their teens. Since then The Romeros have given hundreds of concerts all over the world and have
consistently dazzled audiences everywhere and have inspired enthusiastic praise from critics coast to coast. They continue to
this day to produce music, which is extraordinary.
The sterling reputation of the Romeros has been continually confirmed by repeated appearances with virtually every major symphony
orchestra in the United States including those of Boston, Cleveland, Chicago, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Pittsburgh,
Detroit and many others. The family has twice been invited to the White House; in 1983 they appeared at the Vatican in a special
concert for His Holiness Pope John Paul II, and in 1986 they performed for His Royal Highness Prince Charles, Prince of Wales.
Regular festival appearances include the Hollywood Bowl, Blossom, Wolf Trap, Saratoga, Flagstaff and Garden State.
After a performance at the prestigious Gewandhaus in Leipzig, Germany in November 1996 the Leipzig Volkszeitung stated
"The Romeros: Guardians of the Holy Grail of the Classical Guitar. What the 'Three Tenors' are to the world of opera,
The Romeros are to the classical guitar." Whether performing as a quartet, duet, or as soloists in recital and with symphony
orchestra, The Romeros prevail as champions in the realm of classical guitar. |
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