Flamenco Guitar Master Rafael Riqueni to Perform at Flamenco Festival New York 2023

This year's edition of the renowned Flamenco Festival New York will feature celebrated artists from Spain from March 18th to March 26th. The festival will open on March 18th with Rafael Riqueni, who has been acclaimed as one of the greatest masters of flamenco guitar. Noted for his distinctive style, he has appeared at Spain's major flamenco festivals, received many prestigious awards, and toured internationally. His brilliant recordings, which make up one of the most praised discographies in flamenco, include the recent Latin Grammy-nominated Herencia, which deeply explores his solo guitar roots. This program marks his NY debut.

Rafael Riqueni, from the Triana neighborhood of Seville, gave his first performances as a soloist at the age of 12, and, at 14, won the two main national guitar awards: the Ramón Montoya Prize in the VIII Córdoba Competition and first prize in the VI National Competition of Jerez. In 1986, he released he first album, Juego de Ninos, where he introduced novel harmonic and compositional concepts that began to define his unmistakable style with classical music influences. His next album, Flamenco (1987), earned a cult following among generations of guitarists. These recordings were followed by Mi Tiempo (1990), where he composed string arrangements that acted as an extension of his guitar; Suite Sevilla (1992), a conceptual work inspired by flamenco and conceived under the influence of Spanish classical music impressionism; Maestros (1994), where he paid tribute to Nino Ricardo, Sabicas and Esteban de Sanlucar, and Alcazar de Crista (1996), which became his last album for 21 years.

He made his long-awaited comeback in 2014 at the Bienal de Flamenco in Seville, where his performance of "Amarguras" resulted in one of the most celebrated highlights of the festival. As a result, he received the Bienal's Giraldillo a la Maestría Prize. In 2015, he premiered Parque de María Luisa at Teatro de la Maestranza Seville, and, in 2017, Universal Music released his seventh album, Parque de Maria Luisa. That same year he received the xxI Compás del Cante Prize, and the main music press declared Parque de María Luisa a masterpiece and the best flamenco guitar album in recent history. In 2020, he premiered his new album, Herencia, at the Teatro Lope De Vega in Seville, and received the Guitarra con Alma Prize at the xxIV Festival de Jerez and the Giraldillo Ciudad de Sevilla Award at the Bienal de Flamenco. In recent years, he performed with dancer Rocio Molina in theaters around the world.

Performance Details:

"Herencia"

Saturday, March 18, 2023 at 8:00pm

Roulette, 509 Atlantic Avenue at 3rd Avenue, Downtown Brooklyn

Tickets: $30 in advance; $35 at door; $25 students, seniors in advance or at door

Box office: 917-267-0363

Photo by Manuel Naranjo