Born in the Andalusian city of Cordoba, Paco Peña began learning guitar from his brother at the age of six and made his first professional appearance at the age of 12. In the late 1960s he left Spain for London, where his recitals of flamenco music captured the British public’s imagination.
Since 1970 Paco Peña has performed regularly with his own hand-picked company of dancers, guitarists and singers in a succession of groundbreaking shows. The Paco Peña Flamenco Dance Company has taken flamenco into the realm of music-theater with regular seasons in London (Royal Festival Hall, Sadler’s Wells Theatre and Barbican) and festival appearances in Edinburgh, Adelaide, Amsterdam, Athens, Israel, Istanbul, Singapore and Hong Kong.
1999 brought the most ambitious production yet: Musa Gitana. Peña based the piece on the life and work of another artist from Cordoba, the painter Julio Romero de Torres. Its seven-week season at the Peacock Theatre in London’s West End stands as the longest-ever run of a flamenco show and a further London season followed in Spring 2001.
Another landmark was Misa Flamenca, a 1991 setting of the Mass that juxtaposed Peña’s company with a classical choir. Its premiere at London’s Royal Festival Hall, given with the Choir of the Academy of St Martin-in-the-Fields, was followed by a staging at the 1992 EXPO in Seville. Misa Flamenca has also been seen in Australia, New Zealand, Poland, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and the USA. Paco Peña has further plans to marry flamenco with the forms and forces of classical music.
Venues for his solo performances have included the intimate Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club and the monumental Royal Albert Hall in London, New York’s Carnegie Hall and the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. He has shared the stage with fellow-guitarists, singers and instrumental groups, bridging diverse musical genres, including classical, jazz, blues, country and Latin American.
In 1981 he founded the Centro Flamenco Paco Peña in Cordoba, later becoming Artistic Director of the Cordoba International Guitar Festival.
Paco Peña is based in London, but still spends a significant part of the year in his native Spain. In 1997 he was proud to be named Oficial de la Cruz de la Orden del Merito Civil, an honor bestowed by King Juan Carlos of Spain.
Discography:
The Incredible Paco Peña (Contour, 1968)
Carnival (Fontana, 1969)
Paco Peña Presents The Art Of Flamenco (CBS, 1970)
Flamenco Paco Peña (Fontana, 1970)
Flamenco Guitar (Philips, 1970)
The Art Of The Flamenco Guitar (London Records, 1972)
Fabulous Flamenco (Phase 4 Stereo, 1975)
Flamenco Festival (Decca, 1976)
Toques Flamencos (Musical New Services, 1976)
La Guitarra Flamenca (Decca, 1977)
The Flamenco World Of Paco Peña (Decca, 1978)
Flamenco Vivo Live In Munich (Aconcagua, 1981)
Fragments Of A Dream (CBS, 1987)
Flamenco Guitar Music of Ramón Montoya and Niño Ricardo (Nimbus Records, 1987)
Azahara – Flamenco Guitar Recital (Nimbus Records, 1988)
Leyenda (CBS, 1990)
Misa Flamenca (Nimbus Records, 1991)
The Art Of Paco Pena (Nimbus Records, 1993)
Flamenco Passion (Decca, 1997)
Arte y Pasión (Nimbus Records, 1999)
Flamenco Guitar (Nimbus Records, 2000)
A Flamenco Guitar Recital (Wigmore Hall Live, 2007)
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.