Romance De Amor
Vicente Gomez
Browse 1 Sheet
Sort:
Song library
Browse piano sheets by Vicente Gomez on Zen Virtual Piano. Madrid in 1911 was where Vicente Gomez was born, to a father who kept a tavern in the red-light district, which sailors and gypsies frequented. In the tavern's kitchen he began practicing guitar at six, picking up flamenco rhythms from the patrons. Quintín Esquembre, a former pupil of Tárrega, taught him classical technique from age 12 at Madrid's Real Conservatorio; his first concert came in 1924 at the Teatro Español. Flamenco rhythms picked up from tavern patrons and critics' remark that he was then the only guitarist playing both classical and flamenco music may point to a link between his childhood surroundings and that distinction. The pianist Arthur Rubinstein heard him play and encouraged him to turn professional. On the day of his debut in Leningrad the Spanish civil war broke out, and as a loyalist opposed to Franco he faced danger of imprisonment if he returned to Spain. An American booking agent heard a Mexico City radio broadcast and convinced him to travel to New York in 1937; radio work came at once, then a triumphant Town Hall debut in April 1938. His stand as a loyalist opposed to Franco and a working life in New York and Los Angeles may suggest that his career played out mainly outside Spain. Critics ranked him among the finest guitarists ever, and were doubly enthusiastic because he was then the only one playing both classical and flamenco music. Decca released his first album in 1939, the start of more than a dozen albums over 25 years. In 1941 the composer Alfred Newman invited him to play flamenco and classical guitar in background music for the film Blood and Sand. He joined ASCAP in 1945, and his popular instrumental pieces include Granada Arabe, Lamento Gitano and El Albaicin. Playing flamenco and classical guitar for the background music of Blood and Sand and a nightclub audience drawn from Broadway and Hollywood may suggest that his playing reached the entertainment world by more than one route. U.S. Army service ended in 1946, and in 1948 he opened La Zambra, his own nightclub on New York's 52nd Street, where nightly performances drew the elite from Broadway and Hollywood. He served as vice president of the Classical Guitar Society of New York. He moved to Los Angeles in 1953 or 1954 and opened the Academy of Spanish Arts, whose classes ran from guitar and flamenco dance to ballet, Spanish and even bullfighting. Joining ASCAP in 1945 and serving as vice president of the Classical Guitar Society of New York may suggest that he took part in organized musical life through memberships and offices as well as through concerts. He retired to teaching and composing after a farewell European tour in 1958, and died in December 2001. His own classical training at Madrid's Real Conservatorio and the classes later offered at the Academy of Spanish Arts may point to a line from a student's lessons in Madrid to a teacher's school in Los Angeles.
Browse piano sheets by Vicente Gomez on Zen Virtual Piano.
Madrid in 1911 was where Vicente Gomez was born, to a father who kept a tavern in the red-light district, which sailors and gypsies frequented. In the tavern's kitchen he began practicing guitar at six, picking up flamenco rhythms from the patrons. Quintín Esquembre, a former pupil of Tárrega, taught him classical technique from age 12 at Madrid's Real Conservatorio; his first concert came in 1924 at the Teatro Español. Flamenco rhythms picked up from tavern patrons and critics' remark that he was then the only guitarist playing both classical and flamenco music may point to a link between his childhood surroundings and that distinction.
The pianist Arthur Rubinstein heard him play and encouraged him to turn professional. On the day of his debut in Leningrad the Spanish civil war broke out, and as a loyalist opposed to Franco he faced danger of imprisonment if he returned to Spain. An American booking agent heard a Mexico City radio broadcast and convinced him to travel to New York in 1937; radio work came at once, then a triumphant Town Hall debut in April 1938. His stand as a loyalist opposed to Franco and a working life in New York and Los Angeles may suggest that his career played out mainly outside Spain.
Critics ranked him among the finest guitarists ever, and were doubly enthusiastic because he was then the only one playing both classical and flamenco music. Decca released his first album in 1939, the start of more than a dozen albums over 25 years. In 1941 the composer Alfred Newman invited him to play flamenco and classical guitar in background music for the film Blood and Sand. He joined ASCAP in 1945, and his popular instrumental pieces include Granada Arabe, Lamento Gitano and El Albaicin. Playing flamenco and classical guitar for the background music of Blood and Sand and a nightclub audience drawn from Broadway and Hollywood may suggest that his playing reached the entertainment world by more than one route.
U.S. Army service ended in 1946, and in 1948 he opened La Zambra, his own nightclub on New York's 52nd Street, where nightly performances drew the elite from Broadway and Hollywood. He served as vice president of the Classical Guitar Society of New York. He moved to Los Angeles in 1953 or 1954 and opened the Academy of Spanish Arts, whose classes ran from guitar and flamenco dance to ballet, Spanish and even bullfighting. Joining ASCAP in 1945 and serving as vice president of the Classical Guitar Society of New York may suggest that he took part in organized musical life through memberships and offices as well as through concerts. He retired to teaching and composing after a farewell European tour in 1958, and died in December 2001. His own classical training at Madrid's Real Conservatorio and the classes later offered at the Academy of Spanish Arts may point to a line from a student's lessons in Madrid to a teacher's school in Los Angeles.
Search the library
Vicente Gomez
Common questions
Vicente Gomez was a Spanish-born American guitarist who played classical and flamenco music.
La Zambra was a nightclub he opened in 1948 on New York's 52nd Street.
After a farewell tour of Europe in 1958 he retired to teaching and composing.
He made his triumphant debut at Town Hall in April 1938, after coming to New York in 1937.