Rafael Aguirre is an internationally acclaimed musician whose deep understanding of music, dazzling virtuosity and immensely diverse repertoire has taken him to 33 countries. The beginning of his extraordinary career was marked by winning thirteen first prizes at international competitions (including the Tarrega Competition and Pro Musicis, New York), and he is currently one of the most celebrated guitarists worldwide.

His performances have been hailed as “a blessing” (Mainz Echo); “the future of the concert guitar” (Kultur Port); “one of the most acclaimed ambassadors of the Spanish guitar” (El País); as well as emphasizing his “maturity and intensity” (Ritmo).

Rafael performs regularly in prestigious venues, including Carnegie Hall in New York, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Vienna Konzerthaus, Moscow Tchaikovsky Hall, Philharmonie am Gasteig in Munich, Hamburg Laeiszhalle, Palau de la Musica in Barcelona, King’s Place London, Saint Petersburg Philharmonia, Cuba’s National Theatre, the Hyogo Performing Arts Center (Japan) and the Seoul Arts Center (South Korea).

He has been pre-nominated for a Latin Grammy and has received enthusiastic reviews by Gramophone, The Strad and Crescendo Magazine, also appearing on broadcasts by international radios such as the BBC, NPR, CBS, Radio Stephansdom de Viena, Radio Berlin Brandenburg, HR Hessische Rundfunk, la Bayerische Rundfunk, NDR, MDR, Radio Nacional de España and The New Classical FM (Toronto).

Rafael Tarjuelo is a native of Consuegra, Toledo. He began his bandurria studies at the age of eight as a part of the rondalla for the “Rosa del Azafrán” choir and dance group. He later became the musical director of the group at the age of fifteen. In 2007, he won First Prize in the soloist competition at the Miedzynarodowy Folklore Festival in Zakopane, Poland.

Tarjuelo studied Plectrum Instruments at a professional level under the guidance of Caridad Simón, Pedro Chamorro and Fernando Bustamante at the Professional Conservatories Alcázar de San Juan – Campo de Criptana and Arturo Soria in Madrid, where he was awarded the Prize of Honor. He continued his studies at the Manuel Massotti Littel Superior Music Conservatory in Murcia under professors Luis Giménez and Mari Carmen Simón, where he graduated with honors.

Tarjuelo has regularly taken part in advanced instrumental and chamber music training courses under professionals including Pedro Chamorro, Fernando Bustamante, Gertrud Weyhofen, Agostino Cirillo, Joaquín Riquelme, Pedro Mateo González, Kostas Tosidis, Ricardo Gallén and Leo Brouwer, among others.

He has been part of various chamber music and plectrum orchestras such as Ciudad de La Mancha Orchestra, EGMYO (European Guitar and Mandolin Youth Orchestra), Roberto Grandío Orchestra, Modern Mandolin Orchestra, and the Murcia Regional Plectrum Orchestra. He is currently a member of the trio PlecTres. 

Among Tarjuelo’s collaborations that stand out are those with the OSCyL, Verum Symphony Orchestra, Cuenca Philharmonic Orchestra, Philharmonic Orchestra, and Symphony Orchestra of Madrid (the Royal Theatre’s titular orchestra), with whom he has taken part in various symphonic productions, from opera to zarzuela. Furthermore, it is worth mentioning his participation on the singer Francisco’s album 35.

In the area of education, Tarjuelo has worked as a Plectrum Instruments and Chamber Music teacher at the Alcázar de San Juan – Campo de Criptana Professional Conservatory. He is currently a civil servant status teacher specialized in music in the secondary school system in Castile – La Mancha.

The string quartet A Piacere is made up of a group of Valencian professionals who combine teaching with chamber music performance and collaboration with various orchestras.

It was founded in 1997, as part of a project promoted by the University of Valencia, under the name of Universitas quartet. It has performed in several towns of the Valencian Community and Catalonia such as: Capellades, Tortosa, Vinaròs (Auditori), Requena (Auditorio S.M. Santa Cecilia), la Pobla Llarga (Casa de la Cultura), Castelló (Auditori, Casino Antic, etc.. ), Benicàssim (Espai de la Música Mestre Vila), Elx (Convent de les Clarises), Picassent (Casa de Cultura), Alfara del Patriarca (Palau de la Senyoria), Massamagrell (Centre Cultural), València (La Beneficència, Ca Revolta, Col-legi Major Lluís Vives, Col-legi Major Rector Peset, Palau del Marqués de Dosaigües, La Nau de la Universitat de València, Sant Miquel dels Reis, Museu d’Història de València, etc. ).

The group is called A Piacere since 2007. From that year until 2011, and recently since 2014, it performs series of chamber music concerts at the Octubre Centre de Cultura Contemporània (OCCC) in Valencia, where it has offered five concerts per season. It has performed in numerous auditoriums around Spain, as well as abroad, and has actively participated in various festivals and concert series, among which stand out the International Chamber Music Competition Antón García Abril 2012 in Baza (where the quartet was a Finalist), the Chamber Music Festival of Benicàssim Cordes a la mar 2013 and 2015, the XXIX Cicle de Concerts de Música Clàssica de Peníscola 2013, the Cicle Gent d’ací 2014 at l’Auditori de Castelló, the Cicle de música de cambra Ars Musicae d’Elx (2015), and the ones held in 2012 and 2013, when the quartet was invited to participate in the Zeist Music Days International Chamber Music Festival of Zeist and in the Grachtenfestival of Amsterdam, both in Holland. The quartet has continued to improve its skills under the guidance of prestigious soloists and chamber music groups, such as the Jerusalem Quartet, the Szymanowski Quartet, Marc Danel (Quatuor Danel), Natalie Clein, Orfeu Mandozzi, Gilad Karni, Sergey Ostrovsky (Quartet Aviv), among others. He has obtained the Second Prize of the Chamber Music Competition organized in 2015 for the 150th anniversary of Las Provincias and the Second Prize of the VI Chamber Music Competition Ciutat de Borriana.

The quartet A Piacere aims the dissemination and promotion of music through teaching and interpretation. Therefore, as a complement to the concert activity, it also carries out an active pedagogical work in music schools and conservatories, as well as courses of musical improvement. Its members have been invited to the Conservatori Professional de Música Mossén Francesc Peñarroja de la Vall d’Uixó, to the Conservatori Professional de Música de València, to the Curs Internacional de Música de Benicàssim, to the Escola de Música Mestre Agut Manrique d’Almassora, to the Centre d’Estudis Musicals d’Onda and to the summer schools of Alta-lai (Conca). In November 2016 the quartet has participated in the Conference “La integració de les arts”, organized by CEFIRE (Servei de Formació del Professorat, Generalitat Valenciana) in Castelló.

In addition, A Piacere has a collaboration agreement with the Valencian International University (viu). And in October 2016 the quartet has presented its first album, with works by J. C. Arriaga and A. Dvořák.