2025 Art Llobet

Arts & Guitar Festival

22nd edition | OCT 18 – NOV 9

Wars & Guitar

2025 ART LLOBET FLYER

Wars & Guitar

Music played a fundamental role in the First World War. In an era when there was no radio or television, and recordings were still uncommon, music was still experienced live. For the armed forces, it was not just something to march to—it also influenced morale. It was during the Great War that the use of music as propaganda became more important. And when the war ended, composers reflected on their own experiences and devised compositions that often sought to create new ways of expressing horror and sorrow, thus bringing an end to Late Romanticism and Symbolism. Popular music, as we know it today, has its roots in the First World War.

As José Manuel González, guitarist and researcher, states in his article “The Guitar in Times of War”:

“In Spain, one of the most important periods in the history of the classical guitar was the 20th century, marked by significant political and social events.

One of these events was the most tragic of our recent history: the Civil War. It took place between 1936 and 1939, years during which the guitar was thriving. During the conflict, guitar activity never completely stopped (although it was reduced), on both sides, even though most music history books and musician biographies make a parenthesis and do not describe this period.
The war temporarily halted the stylistic transformation of music, as many composers and performers were forced into exile. However, musical creation, which did not cease during this time, exhibits characteristics of a creative environment immersed in tension and conflict.”

This year, the festival will explore the state of the classical guitar during the Spanish Civil War from both a performance and compositional perspective, in the context of a divided Spain and a turbulent Europe—one that nonetheless continued to support musical life despite the harshness of the circumstances, and in which the guitar held an iconic role for all. For this reason, the Art Llobet Festival will invite the public to experience the settings that told the sad story between “Wars and Guitar”.