Vicente Coves
Who is Vicente Coves?
Vicente Coves Merino was born in 1982 in Linares (Jaén). Classically trained, he began studying music alongside his brother, pianist Manuel J. Coves, who gave him his first lessons, and by the age of eleven he was already performing as a soloist and in instrumental ensembles. In 1997 he became a disciple of Pepe Romero, one of the great classical guitarists in the world, a formative influence that would shape his playing while keeping its flamenco roots.
Career
In 2002 he recorded “Al Maestro, a ‘La Guitarra’”, a tribute to Celedonio Romero, and starred in a DVD filmed at the Arab baths of El Bañuelo, in Granada. In 2003 he performed at the Festival Internacional de Guitarra de Granada alongside Pepe Romero and joined the Libertango Camerata, an ensemble with which he has explored the repertoire of Astor Piazzolla in projects such as the opera “María de Buenos Aires”. In 2004, at just twenty-two, he performed before 2,400 people at Madrid’s Auditorio Nacional together with the Orquesta de la Comunidad de Madrid, receiving an extraordinary ovation that was broadcast live by Radio Nacional de España; that same year he took part in the Bienal de Flamenco de Sevilla and won second prize at the Concurso Internacional de Guitarra Andrés Segovia, held precisely in his native Linares.
Style and discography
He has recorded for Canal Sur Televisión, Radio Nacional de España, Radio Nacional Argentina and BMG-Ariola, and has shared the stage with artists such as soprano María Rey-Joly and singer Enrique Morente, with whom he performed at a music awards gala dedicated to Latin American music projects. His repertoire combines the rigor of classical guitar with forays into tango and flamenco music.
Legacy
With an international career launched at a very young age, Vicente Coves represents a generation of classically trained guitarists who, without abandoning that root, have managed to build bridges toward other repertoires such as Piazzolla’s tango, broadening the traditional territory of the Spanish guitar concert.