Pablo Sáinz Villegas at Grant Park Music Festival

The Grant Park Music Festival presents Pablo Sáinz Villegas, praised as “the soul of the Spanish guitar.”

The Festival pays tribute to the music of Spain with a program called The Spanish Guitar, which includes orchestral highlights from one of the most popular operas ever written, Georges Bizet’s Carmen. Pablo Sáinz Villegas makes his debut with Joaquin Rodrigo’s Fantasía par un gentilhombre, and the sounds of Arriaga and Turina complete the program.

Pablo Sáinz Villegas

Praised as “the soul of the Spanish guitar,” Pablo Sáinz Villegas has become a worldwide sensation known as this generation’s great guitarist. With his “virtuosic playing characterized by irresistible exuberance” as described by The New York Times, his interpretations conjure the passion, playfulness, and drama of his homeland’s rich musical heritage. He is known for his passionate, emotive and open-hearted playing, whether he is performing at intimate recital halls, or playing with beloved tenor, Plácido Domingo, to an audience of over 85,000 at Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in Madrid, where maestro Domingo hailed him as “the master of the guitar.”

Born in La Rioja in Northern Spain, Sáinz Villegas was inspired to take guitar lessons at age six and gave his first public performance when he was just seven years old. Over the years, he has received an impressive collection of over 30 international awards, including the Segovia award which he won at age 15 ,and the coveted Gold Medal at the Inaugural Parkening International Guitar Competition. Sáinz Villegas lives in New York City.