Pablo Sáinz Villegas: Americano Tour in Miami

Villegas treats audiences to a musical journey from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego with his latest album, “Americano.”

The soul of the Spanish guitar runs in Pablo Sáinz Villegas’s blood. Born and raised in La Rioja, Spain –the country with unique and deep ties to his chosen instrument– Villegas is distinguished by performances as charismatic as they are intimate. With his singing tone and consummate technique, his interpretations conjure the passion, playfulness, and drama of his homeland’s rich musical heritage.

At just 15, Villegas won the Andrés Segovia Award, launching a succession of international wins that include Gold Medal at the inaugural Parkening Competition. He became the youngest of his generation to appear with the New York Philharmonic, conducted by the late Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, and has since performed for the Dalai Lama and Spanish royal family.

Villegas has collaborated with orchestras in more than 30 countries, including the New York, Los Angeles, and Israel Philharmonics and the Boston, San Francisco, Houston, and Toronto Symphonies. In the 2015-16 season, he makes debuts with six orchestras including the Pacific, Cincinnati and Santa Barbara Symphonies, and Norway’s Bergen Philharmonic.

He launches the season with the release of his Harmonia Mundi label debut, Americano, a solo album on which he explores New World guitar traditions from tango to bluegrass. Previous recordings include Histoire du Tango, with violinist Augustin Hadelich, and Manuel Ponce’s Concierto del sur, a platinum title for Sony Classical. He also recently recorded three Rodrigo concertos with the National Orchestra of Spain.

A dedicated champion of new music, it was Villegas who premiered Rounds, the first guitar composition of Academy Award-winner John Williams, and gave the world and European premieres of Concerto of Rio de Janeiro by Sérgio Assad.

Virtuosic playing characterized by its vividly shaded colors and irresistible exuberance…

—The New York Times