For Iberian flair within a 60-mile radius of Manhattan, what setting could compare to the Spanish Courtyard of Caramoor? Where better, then, to tune one’s ears to the Concierto de Aranjuez for classical guitar and symphony orchestra? It’s not every composer who receives a hereditary noble title in honor of his prize creation, but such was the case for this gem’s creator Joaquín Rodrigo (1901–1993). Written in Paris in 1939 and introduced in Barcelona the following year, Rodrigo’s score evokes the royal gardens of a pleasure palace dating back to the 1500s and overhauled two centuries later. For the composer, who lost his eyesight in childhood, its strains evoke the fragrance of magnolias, the gushing of fountains, and birdsong. The introspective middle movement, though, carries a more elusive message. For years, listeners speculated that it somehow referred to the Fascist bombing of the Basque town of Guernica during the Spanish Civil War. Only much later did Rodrigo’s wife reveal its source in the happiness she and her husband had shared as newlyweds—and their devastation when her first pregnancy ended in a miscarriage. Irrespective of private subtext, the Concierto de Aranjuez struck an instant and lasting chord with musicians and listeners all over the globe—an accomplishment for which Juan Carlos I created Rodrigo the First Marquess of the Gardens of Aranjuez a half century after the premiere. On his chart-topping recording of the concerto, the superstar classical guitarist Miloš imbues the prismatic solo part with pointillist panache. His Caramoor performance is conducted by Xian Zhang at the podium of the Orchestra of St. Luke’s. The program also includes Nokuthula Ngwenyama’s fantasia Primal Message, which has been gaining a lot of traction since its premiere in 2020, and Mozart’s Symphony No. 39 in E-flat Major, K. 543, a certifiable masterpiece. —Matthew Gurewitsch