Guitarist and composer Cañizares is arguably one of the most important and influential flamenco artists worldwide, and he is just as comfortable with classical repertoire and his own compositions.

Cañizares’ career spans over four decades, and is the first and only flamenco guitarist to have been invited to perform with the Berliner Philharmoniker – along with he played the Concierto de Aranjuez under the direction of Sir Simon Rattle in Madrid’s Teatro Real. He has collaborated with the main orchestras worldwide, including Staatskapelle Dresden, NHK Symphony Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Orquesta Nacional de España and Orquesta Sinfónica de Barcelona amongst others.

Cañizares has won many prestigious awards, including ‘Premio Nacional de Guitarra’ (1982), ‘Premio de la Música’ (2008), and ‘Premio Flamenco Hoy’ (2000, 2011, 2013). For ten years Cañizares was a close collaborator of Paco de Lucía, and he has also worked with many other leading artists – Enrique Morente, Camarón de la Isla, Serrat, Alejandro Sanz, Mauricio Sotelo, Leo Brouwer, John Paul Jones and Peter Gabriel, among others.

Cañizares’ work as a composer includes works for the Spanish National Ballet Company and soundtracks for several movies, including “La Lola se va a los Puertos” with Rocío Jurado and Paco Rabal, Flamenco and “La Jota” by Carlos Saura. He has participated in over 100 albums and has published 14 albums as main artist.

Owing to the importance of the event, it is necessary to emphasize the world premiere of the Flamenco Concerto “Al-Andalus”, for guitar and orchestra; “Al-Andalus” was dedicated to the memory of Paco de Lucía and was premiered in the National Auditorium of Madrid. This work was commissioned by the Spanish National Orchestra and Choir (OCNE), and was performed under the direction of Josep Pons provided musical direction. In the words of the renowned composer and critic Tomás Marco: “The work was received with universal public acclaim”. Following the great success of Al-Andalus Concerto, Canizares will premier his second Concerto “Mediterraneo” this season with Barcelona Symphony Orchestra and Kazushi Ono conducting.

Besides his career as an interpreter, Cañizares spends a great deal of his time investigating and teaching flamenco. Since 2003, he has been teaching flamenco guitar at the prestigious Escola Superior de Música de Catalunya (ESMUC), and he also imparts masterclasses both in Spain and internationally.

Recent and upcoming highlights include Mauricio Sotelo’s opera El Público at Teatro Real in Madrid, and performances in Palau de Música de Catalana, Auditorium di Milano, Festival de Granada, Festival de Radio France et Montpellier and La Folle Journée.