Bartolomé Calatayud was born on the Spanish island of Majorca in 1882, where he began his study of the Classical Guitar at an early age under the guidance of Antonio Mestres. He also studied harmony and composition with the great Majorcan musicologist and composer D. Antonio Noguera. Something of a prodigy, while still in his early teens Calatayud travelled to Valencia on the Spanish mainland, where he met and took lessons from the great maestro, Francisco Tarrega.

A personable young man with great love of life and music, Bartolomé was modest about his musical talents, even though he became a renowned performer at a very early age. Giving concerts throughout Spain, France, Switzerland, Portugal and Algiers, he also toured in South America with Spanish Chorus and Dance groups, but he always returned to his native Majorca. There he established himself as a composer for the guitar and as a teacher, sharing his knowledge with numerous pupils.

While he never achieved the status of Tarrega or his other idol, Fernando Sor, Bartolomé Calatayud nevertheless left a prodigious amount of wonderful music as his legacy. He died in 1973 at the age of 91.

(Contribution by <ashram2@eircom.net>.)