Paco Peña

Steeped in the flamenco tradition, guitarist and composer Paco Peña has also expanded that tradition through collaboration and experimentation. He is considered one of the world's greatest exponents of flamenco guitar. Peña was born Francisco Peña Pérez in Córdoba, Spain, in the heart of Andalusian flamenco country, on June 1, 1942. When he was six, his brother began teaching him to play the guitar, and he was giving public performances by 12. Peña toured Spain on a government folk music bill, and he attracted attention from major Spanish flamenco dance companies; he accompanied some of Spain's top singers and dancers in the genre. In search of new challenges, however, he moved to London in the 1960s. To a British public with little exposure to flamenco, he was a sensation. He performed at Wigmore Hall, collaborated with such artists as Jimi Hendrix, and released the first item in what became a vast recording catalog, the LP Flamenco!, in 1966. Peña went on to appear at major halls internationally, including New York's Carnegie Hall and the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. At the Rotterdam Conservatory in the Netherlands, he established and led the world's first university program in flamenco music, and back home in Córdoba, he founded his own Centro Flamenco Paco Peña, whose associated guitar festival attracted other top talents such as Paco de Lucía. Perhaps Peña's most characteristic activity has been as a collaborator, both as performer and composer. He has performed with the Chilean ensemble Inti-Illimani and many other Latin American groups, tracing connections between the traditions of Spain and Latin America. As a composer, he has written choral works, including a Misa Flamenca (1991) and a Requiem for the Earth. Peña has recorded more than 30 albums and has been active into old age, releasing the album Chopin and Flamenco under the auspices of the Fryderyk Chopin Institute in 2023. ~ James Manheim, Rovi