Ricardo Iznaola (born February 21, 1949) is an American guitarist, music educator,

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

, and

arranger In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestrat ...

of Cuban birth.

Life and career

Born Ricardo Fernández-Iznaola in

Havana, Cuba Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Cuban Revolution The Cuban Revolution () was the military and political movement that overthrew the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista, who had ruled Cuba from 1952 to 1959. The revolution began after the 1952 Cuban coup d'état, in which Batista overthrew ...

. The family eventually relocated to Venezuela where Izanola studied under guitarist Manuel Enrique Pérez Díaz at the Escuela Superior de Música José Ángel Lamas in Caracas. He later studied with

Regino Sainz de la Maza Regino Sainz de la Maza y Ruiz (7 September 1896 – 26 November 1981) was a Spanish classical guitarist and composer. Biography Sainz de la Maza was born in Burgos. At ten, he got his first guitar and started his musical studies with Santiago La ...

in Madrid and

Alirio Díaz __NOTOC__ Alirio Díaz (12 November 19235 July 2016) was a Venezuelan classical guitarist and composer, considered one of the most prominent composer-guitarists of South America and an eminent musician. He studied with Andrés Segovia, and gav ...

in Caracas. He won first prize at the Francisco Tárrega International Guitar Competition in 1968 and again in 1971. In 1969 Iznaola performed for the first time internationally, touring Asia, Europe and North and South America. In 1970 he made the first of many recordings; mostly performing music by Spanish and South American composers. In 1976 he performed in London for the first time. In 1980 he moved to the United States; ultimately becomes an American citizen. Iznaola joined the faculty of the Lamont School of Music at the

University of Denver The University of Denver (DU) is a private research university in Denver, Colorado, United States. Founded in 1864, it has an enrollment of approximately 5,700 undergraduate students and 7,200 graduate students. It is classified among "R1: D ...

as a professor of guitar in 1983. He served for many years as the Chair of the Guitar and Harp Department at that institution and served as Director of the Conservatory Program. In 1990 he was awarded the Distinguished Faculty Artist Award and in 2004 he was named a Distinguished University Professor; the highest honor given by that institution to its faculty. Upon his retirement in June 2015, he was named a Professor Emeritus. As a writer, composer, and arranger, Iznaola has published numerous journal articles and compositions and arrangement for the guitar. He is the author of four books on the guitar, including ''Kitharologus: the Path to Virtuosity'' (Heidelberg, 1993) and ''On Practising'' (Aurora, CO, 1992). In 2016 he was inducted into the Guitar Foundation of America's Hall of Fame.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Iznaola, Ricardo 1949 births Living people American classical guitarists American composers University of Denver faculty