Frédéric Chopin

Nocturno op. 9 No.2

In adapting Chopin's masterful Nocturne No 2 for Guitar, Francisco Tárrega simplified some sections while retaining the flavour, style and delicacy of the original. It is a work of extreme difficulty for Guitarists and is just one of the many works by Chopin, Mendelssohn, Beethoven and others that Tárrega adapted. Modern proponents of serious Guitar may not know the debt they owe to Francisco Tárrega, who began his performing and teaching career at a time when the Guitar was at a particularly low ebb in the late 1800's. He studied Guitar and Piano and with the acquisition of an especially loud instrument by a luthier in Seville, he launched a stage career following study atthe Madrid Conservatory. Through his tours and his pupils, Tárrega influenced the popularity of the Guitar in the 20th century enormously.