Translating Duende: Flamenco Guitar in the Context of Orchestral Composition

Paper Abstract: In an era when orchestras codify sound into measures and bars, flamenco guitarists continue to push beyond the printed page. This paper peers into the last half-century of orchestral flamenco collaborations, where duende wrestles with discipline. From Paco de Lucía’s genre defying Zyryab moments to Vicente Amigo’s lush phrasings, flamenco artists confront classical structures not with capitulation, but with cunning reinvention. This study unpacks the compositional dialogues between flamenco innovators Cañizares, Manolo Sanlúcar, Antón Jiménez, Juan Carmona, Daniel Casares and their orchestral counterparts Joan Albert Amargós, Leo Brouwer, and others who translate flamenco’s gestural immediacy into symphonic grammar. What emerges is not a hybrid form, but a contest of values: score versus spontaneity, fidelity versus freedom. Here, the flamenco guitarist resists assimilation by embodying compás as lived time, not metronome logic. This paper listens, not for convergence, but for friction, where flamenco’s fire refuses the cool elegance of classical form.

Dr Gerard Mapstone is a guitarist whose work bridges performance, composition, and ethnographic research, with a particular focus on contemporary flamenco practices. His collaborative work with renowned flamenco artists including Serranito, Antón Jiménez, and Paco Heredia reflects a practice led approach grounded in intercultural dialogue. On the stage he has worked with Opera Australia, and supported musical giants, The Buena Vista Social Club, Tomatito, and Estrella Morente. As a composer, Mapstone has written for and performed with the Queensland Chamber Orchestra, and remains an active presence in Australia’s musical landscape through festivals, and recitals.

Key words: Flamenco, Guitar, Orchestra, Composition.

SYMPOSIUM: The Rise of the Guitar Concerto and the Orchestral Guitar in the Twentieth Century