Where
Secret Garden View Map
The guitar has a unique way of speaking directly to the soul, intimate, expressive, and endlessly colourful. In this summer concert, Maltese guitarist Karol Aquilina invites the audience into a world of warmth and refinement, performing a selection of classical and flamenco works that showcase the instrument’s lyrical beauty and rhythmic vitality.
Refundable booking available
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Minimum Age
5+
Tickets
When
Sunday, 14 June 2026 at 20:00
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Description
This programme traces a vibrant journey through the many voices of the guitar, from the fiery rhythms of Spain to the poetic lyricism of Latin America and the refined clarity of the Baroque. It opens with the dramatic sweep of Albéniz’s Asturias, a work whose flamenco‑infused intensity sets the tone for an evening of colour and character. Piazzolla’s Invierno Porteño follows with its smoky, tango‑tinged melancholy, while Barrios’s La Catedral offers a deeply spiritual contrast, moving from quiet contemplation to virtuosic brilliance.
A moment of classical poise arrives with Bach’s Prelude from the Lute Suite in E major, a luminous example of Baroque elegance. Contemporary Maltese voice Karol Aquilina adds a distinctive Mediterranean flavour with Taranta and Ima Ġieri, works that blend rhythmic vitality with lyrical warmth.
Romantic and early‑modern Spanish repertoire brings its own expressive richness: Tárrega’s Capricho Árabe with its nostalgic beauty, Castelnuovo‑Tedesco’s Capriccio Diabolico with its theatrical virtuosity, and Albéniz’s Sevilla with its lively Andalusian charm. Flamenco legend Paco de Lucía deepens the Spanish thread with the atmospheric Granaina, while Lecuona’s Malagueña adds bold, sweeping drama.
The programme also celebrates the guitar’s capacity for brilliance and playfulness: Tárrega’s Recuerdos de la Alhambra with its shimmering tremolo, Barrios’s Las Abejas with its buzzing virtuosity, and Dyens’s Tango en Skaï with its witty, modern twist on tango style. To close, Gallardo del Rey’s “Anda Jaleo” from the Lorca Suite brings folk energy and Andalusian colour to a joyful, spirited finale.
Programme
1. Isaac Albéniz - Asturias
2. Astor Piazzolla - Invierno Porteño
3. Agustín Barrios Mangoré - La Catedral
4. Johann Sebastian BacH - Prelude from Lute Suite No. 4 in E Major
5. Karol Aquilina - Taranta
6. Francisco Tárrega - Capricho Árabe
7. Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco - Capriccio Diabolico
8. Karol Aquilina - lma Gieri
9. Isaac Albéniz - Sevilla
10. Paco de Lucía - Granaina
11. Ernesto Lecuona - Malagueña
12. Francisco Tarrega - Recuerdos de la Alhambra
13. Agustín Barrios Mangoré - Las Abejas
14. Roland Dyens - Tango en Skaï
15. José María Gallardo del Rey - 'Anda Jaleo' from Lorca Suite