To be called "the female voice of the Spanish guitar," as OperaWorld magazine once described Andrea González Caballero, is a heavy phrase to carry — and yet it fits. There is something unmistakably idiomatic in her playing, a feeling for the rhythm and the melancholy of the Spanish repertoire that cannot be taught, only inherited and refined. Born in the Basque Country, she has become one of the leading guitarists of her generation, an artist who carries the Spanish tradition without ever sounding like a museum piece.
A Basque beginning
Andrea comes from Eibar, an industrial town in the Basque Country of northern Spain. She began the guitar at seven, taught first by her mother, Ana María Caballero, at the Andrés Eguiguren music school in Eibar, and then by Bienvenido Rodríguez and Carmen Becerra until she was twelve. It was at that age that a single encounter changed her course: a master class with the Cuban composer and guitarist Joaquín Clerch left such an impression that she resolved to study with him in earnest.
From Düsseldorf to Miami
In 2010 she moved to Germany to do exactly that, entering the Robert Schumann Hochschule in Düsseldorf, where she completed both her bachelor's and master's degrees with honours under Clerch — one of the most respected teachers in the guitar world. Her training did not stop there. She earned a Graduate Performance Diploma at the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University, where she won the James Winship Lewis Memorial Prize, and went on to complete a Doctor of Musical Arts at the Frost School of Music, University of Miami. Few players of her generation have pursued the instrument with such academic seriousness.
A laureate many times over
Her competition record reads like a tour of the most prestigious titles in the field. She took first prize and a special prize at the 40th International Fernando Sor Competition in Rome, and first prize at the 13th Alhambra International Guitar Competition in Valencia — where she was the youngest guitarist ever to win. BBC Music Magazine named her one of "today's young stars of the classical guitar," a recognition that confirmed what the competition juries had already heard.
The sound of a tradition
What distinguishes González Caballero is not only technical command but the warmth and rhythmic vitality she brings to Spanish music — to Tárrega, Albéniz and beyond. She plays with a singing, flexible line and an instinct for the small rhythmic give-and-take that makes this repertoire breathe. Alongside her concert career she is also active as a teacher and has worked with new music, including projects with living composers, so her artistry looks forward as well as back.
FAQ
Where is Andrea González Caballero from?
She is from Eibar in the Basque Country of northern Spain, and began playing at the age of seven.
Who was her main teacher?
The Cuban guitarist and composer Joaquín Clerch, with whom she studied in Düsseldorf.
What has she won?
First prizes at the Fernando Sor Competition in Rome and the Alhambra Competition in Valencia, among many others; BBC Music Magazine named her a young star of the classical guitar.
