The Romeros is a Spanish guitar quartet founded in 1960s by Celedonio Romero. The quartet comprises members from the Romero family. Breathtaking talent and mastery of musical concepts characterize the group’s performances. They had recorded their first songs by the time they were seven years old.
They relocated to the United States from Spain in 1957. The group has undergone different changes in its membership involving replacements in several instances. Currently, the group is composed of Pepe Romero, Celin Romero, Lito Romero, and Celino Romero. Performances for the Romero return concert took place at the Copley Symphony Hall in San Diego. Performances were from Friday May 17 to Sunday May 19, 2013 and the dominant feature was Spanish music that characterizes the quartet’s genre.
The venue of the performance was the Copley Symphony hall in downtown San Diego. It was elegant and casual, adding to the aura of the event. The fact that the Romeros identify as the masters of the guitar attracted many people to the concert. The quartet did not let down their fans because they gave a sterling performance. Their supporting group, The Concierto de Malaga String orchestra did a good job of supplementing their excellent skills.
The orchestra and the performance by the conductor, Jahja Ling moved the crowd. The program of the performances included an array of different music tastes that included Christmas carols and Spanish classical music that made it appropriate for people of all ages. However, most of the attendees were older people. Frequent coughing and sneezing interrupted performances, which was a put off to many fans. Young people were few as classical music is common among the older generation.
The performances were stunning because of roles played by each member of the quartet and orchestra. Jahja Ling was the conductor while Pepe Romero was the main guitarist. Denyce Graves was the mezzo-soprano and displayed stunning vocal abilities and prowess. The performances aimed at celebrating three main figures in classical music including Enrique Granados, Morton Gould, and Celedonio Romero.
To celebrate their late father Celedonio Romero, the quartet in association with the orchestra performed the Concierto de Malaga. During these performances, Pepe Romero stunned the crowd with his excellent guitar-playing skills. To celebrate the works of Enrique Granados, they performed tres danzas espanolas. The intermission of the concert involvedperformances to celebrate the works of Morton Gould. They performed Troubadour Music for four guitars by Gould.
One of the most amazing aspects of their performances was good stage presence. The conductor was very enthusiastic, and enjoyed every moment of the performances. On the other hand, the orchestra was stunning mainly during the performance of Tres danzas Espanolas by Granados. Among the performers, Denyce Graves’s performance was average.
She sang three out of the thirteen segments of El amor Brujo, which contains a vocal part that is supposed to be sung by a soprano vocalist. Her average performance could be attributed to the fact that the piece is usually performed without the segments which the quarter decided to include to improve performance.
Her poor performance was evident in other pieces such including song of a broken heart during which she had difficulty in maintain the correct pitch. Her voice sounded a little bit off pitch and her interpretation was hesitant in some pieces. In several instances, the orchestra drowned her voice and she could not be heard audibly mostly by people at the rear of the hall. Despite the inaudibility and poor pitch, she gave an excellent performance because the other members came to her aid whenever she missed a note.
However, there were challenges that lowered the quality of the performances. The orchestra’s performance was not up to par with the reputation of the Romero. In addition, Romero mastery of the guitar was not apparent in certain pieces because they mainly played songs that did not involve much use of the guitar.
At certain instances, the guitar was not audible because the orchestra volume was too loud. However, the performance of Celedonio’s pieces revealed their mastery of the guitar. The program included an intermission during which fans were treated to works of Morton Gould. The works of Gould performed at the concert were specially written for the Romeros in 1969 to commemorate Gould, a great musician and composer.
The return of the Romero concert at the Copley Symphony Hall in San Diego was a stunning performance that revealed the mastery of the Romeros quartet. The concert mainly included performances to celebrate the works of Enrique Granados, Morton Gould, and Celedonio Romero. Apart from a few hitch ups, the group lead guitarist, Pepe Romero displayed his excellent guitar-playing skills.
In addition, the mezzo-soprano was stunning except for some misgiving during some performances. The lighting of the stage was appropriate and their stage presence was commendable. The performances were a revelation that the legacy of Celedonio Romero, the founder of the group is still alive and influencing many people.