Rene Izquierdo | Gran Jota | Fracisco Tarrega | The Guitar Studio International Festival

René Izquierdo Performs Gran Jota by Francisco Tárrega | Guitar Studio International Festival and Competition Cuban-born classical guitarist René Izquierdo performs Francisco Tárrega's Gran Jota on the final night of the first annual Guitar Studio International Festival and Competition, recorded live at TCU's Van Cliburn Concert Hall on Sunday, January 18, 2026. Izquierdo, recognized as one of the leading classical guitarists in the world today, currently serves as Distinguished Professor and Director of Classical Guitar Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee's Peck School of the Arts. A native of Havana, he trained at the Guillermo Tomás, Amadeo Roldán Conservatory and the Superior Institute of Art before earning his Master of Music and Artist Diploma from the Yale School of Music. He has won prizes in over 35 international competitions, including the JoAnn Falletta International Guitar Competition, the Stotsenberg International Guitar Competition, and the Schadt String Competition, and his playing has been praised by Eliot Fisk, Benjamin Verdery, and critics from Gramophone, the New York Times, and Soundboard Magazine. In this performance, Izquierdo plays Tárrega's Gran Jota, also known as Gran Jota Aragonesa, composed in 1872. The piece is widely considered one of the most demanding works in the guitar repertoire, a theme and variations built on a Spanish jota that touches on nearly every major technique in the classical guitar vocabulary, from rapid tremolo to the percussive tamburo effect. Many scholars believe Tárrega's version was reworked from an earlier jota by guitarist and composer Julián Arcas. Today it is often regarded as a rite of passage for concert guitarists. The guitar heard in this performance is an Altamira Hanson N3 Double Top, handcrafted by luthier Hanson Yao. Yao trained in woodworking and craftsmanship at the China Art Academy before traveling to Spain in the early 2000s to study classical guitar making. The Hanson N3 is built using German-style double top construction, pairing two exceptionally thin soundboards reinforced with nomex honeycomb, a design that produces a rich, deep tone with exceptional projection and a wide spectrum of tonal color. This performance took place as the closing performance of the inaugural Guitar Studio International Festival and Competition, hosted at TCU's Van Cliburn Concert Hall. The event was made possible by The Guitar Studio Foundation, with generous support from TCU, Altamira Guitars, and Savarez Strings. The Guitar Studio Foundation supports classical guitar education, artist development, and performance opportunities through events like the Guitar Studio International Festival and Competition, bringing together world-class performers, emerging artists, and the broader classical guitar community. #ClassicalGuitar #ReneIzquierdo #Tarrega #GranJota #AltamiraGuitars #Savarez #GuitarStudioFoundation #VanCliburnConcertHall #TCU