Composed in 1896 by Spanish virtuoso Tárrega, it exudes the serene beauty of the Alhambra palace, in Granada’s southern Spain, with its intricate Moorish designs, soothing water features, and quiet graceful gardens; conveying such ornate elegance on the guitar requires both advanced technique and well-rounded musicianship:

“Many consider Recuerdos to be the hardest piece ever written for the guitar. It contains an almost continuous tremolo, a technique that requires a guitarist to repeatedly and rapidly pluck the same note. The technique alone requires countless hours to perfect, but it’s even harder to do it when the tremolo note’s always moving, as in Tárrega’s piece. As if that’s not enough, the player also has to thumb a drifting arpeggiated melody underneath the tremolo note. A successful performance of the work demands nothing less than complete technical proficiency.” (nkoda)