Francisco Calleja (1891–1950) was a Spanish guitarist and composer who became known primarily through his work in South America (Uruguay, Argentina). He is famous for classical guitar works such as “Canción triste,” “3 Preludios,” and “Suite ancienne.” His style can be classified as early 20th-century classical guitar literature.
He began studying the guitar when he was just three years old. His teacher was his father. As a young child, he gave concerts before the kings of Spain. The great violinist Pablo Sarasate heard this prodigy at the beginning of his artistic life and had words of praise and sympathy for him. He appeared in Buenos Aires and embarked on a long tour of most of the Spanish American republics, achieving well-deserved success. His programs included works from the fine literature of the guitar, as well as notable transcriptions; in the former we find Sor, Tárrega, Moreno Torroba, Turina, and in the latter, works by Albéniz, Borodin, Bach, Chopin, Kreisler, Malats, etc. Let us leave the assessment of this concert performer to the critical judgment of great figures.
Here are a few lines from “La Nación,” of Buenos Aires: “… Viola or harpsichord, beautifully strummed harp, or very soft piano, everything seems like the guitar in Calleja’s hands when he embraces it and draws mysterious sounds of new breadth and color from it. If in Spanish works the transcriptions acquire a notable value, in those of the great masters they are admirable for their beauty and craftsmanship.” We take a leap to the American continent and read in El Universal from Mexico City: “… The eminent guitarist Francisco Calleja, emulator of the unforgettable Segovia, triumphed definitively on Saturday. Even though I had already had the opportunity to hear this virtuoso guitarist in a private concert, I had not been able to write about him in a special review as I am doing now with the Even though I had already had the opportunity to hear this guitar virtuoso in a private concert, I had not been able to write about him in a special review as I am doing now with the greatest of pleasures, not to praise the cold technician who dazzles his audience with acrobatics and juggling “pour épater les bourgeois,” but the artist, the sensory one who makes you feel because he feels deeply; the exquisite one, who convinces because he is convinced…” (Manuel Barajas).