Sir Simon Rattle conducts Chabrier, Rodrigo, and Rachmaninov – With Juan Manuel Cañizares

Every year for the past 20 years, the Berliner Philharmoniker has celebrated its 1882 founding with a concert in a European venue of cultural importance. With music by Chabrier, Rodrigo, and Rachmaninov on the program, the 2011 Europakonzert took place in Madrid's beautiful Teatro Real and highlighted the incredible talents of the famous guitarist Juan Manuel Cañizares.

A symphonic love letter composed after a trip to Spain, 19th-century French composer Emmanuel Chabrier’s exuberant rhapsody for orchestra, España, opened the concert. The Berliner Philharmoniker and their music director Sir Simon Rattle then welcomed flamenco guitarist Juan Manuel Cañizares for a performance of Joaquín Rodrigo’s beloved Concierto de Aranjuez. The guitarist's famed virtuosic technique and musical sensitivity shine in this multi-faceted jewel of a concerto. The concert closed with Rachmaninov's Symphony No. 2 in E Minor, one of the composer's best-known compositions.