Concierto del Sur

Manuel Ponce's Concierto del Sur (1941), written at Andrés Segovia's request, is one of the most beloved guitar concertos in the repertoire. Composed while Ponce was in residence in Mexico City, it draws on Southern Spanish and Mexican folk idioms while employing a neo-Romantic harmonic language. The three movements balance the guitar's intimacy with subtle orchestration — Ponce carefully studied how to balance the soloist against the ensemble. The lyrical slow movement is particularly exquisite. Segovia premiered it in Montevideo in 1941 and considered it among the finest concertos written for him. With the Villa-Lobos and Rodrigo concertos, it forms the cornerstone of the classical guitar concerto repertoire.