Festival de la Guitarra de Madrid

Madrid has two different “guitar festivals” in circulation this spring, and that’s the first thing worth clearing up. The one tied to May 5 and still running now is the Festival Internacional de Guitarra de Madrid — the classical-focused event that opened its eighth edition on May 5, 2026 and runs until June 14. The flamenco-heavy Festival de la Guitarra de la Comunidad de Madrid already happened in late April at Teatros del Canal, with a separate tribute to Niño Ricardo. ### So what is happening right now? Basically, Madrid is in the middle of a six-week classical guitar run, not just a weekend festival. The official festival dates are May 5 to June 14, and the first recitals were held in Rivas-Vaciamadrid on May 5 and 6 with Tom Hodgkinson, Filip Miskovic, Sohta Nakabayashi, and Alberto Quintanilla. That matters because it shows the event is already active, not merely announced. (festivalguitarramadrid.com) ### Why is the name so confusing? Because “Festival de la Guitarra de Madrid” can point to two separate events. One is the international classical festival now underway. The other is the Community of Madrid’s flamenco festival, which this year honored Manuel Serrapí “Niño Ricardo” and ran April 21 to 26. If you only saw a vague listing, it would be easy to mash them together. ### What does this edition actually include? (festivalguitarramadrid.com) The 2026 international festival is built around eight concerts, a guitar competition for young talents, masterclasses, and a closing conference. The programming also carries a clear commemorative thread — Federico Moreno Torroba runs through the edition because 2026 marks 135 years since his birth. That gives the festival a spine, not just a pile of recitals. (madrid.org) ### Which artists are the big draws? The lineup is strong if you follow classical guitar at all. Festival materials highlight Dúo Melis, Rafael Aguirre, Pablo Sainz Villegas, Xingye Li, Dúo Anaura, and David Russell. That is a real prestige roster — established names, not filler — and it helps explain why the event stretches across multiple weeks and venues. ### Where are the main concerts? (soydemadrid.com) This is not a single-hall setup. Early dates landed in Rivas, but the main run uses the Ateneo de Madrid and, for most concerts, the Auditorio Nacional. One tradeoff comes with that spread — it makes the festival feel more regional and accessible, but it also makes casual visitors work harder to understand where the center of gravity is. (esmadrid.com) ### What are the next anchor dates? The main concert series starts on May 30 at the Ateneo with Dúo Melis and the program *La vida breve*, tied to the 150th anniversary of Manuel de Falla’s birth. Rafael Aguirre follows on June 5 at the Auditorio Nacional with a program spanning Bach to Paco de Lucía. The closing conference on June 14 brings the Torroba tribute into focus. (melomanodigital.com) ### Why does this matter beyond guitar fans? Because this is one of those cultural events that quietly builds infrastructure. It mixes headline performers with teaching, youth competition, and a repertory focus that pushes Spanish guitar history back into the foreground. In plain English — it’s not only selling tickets, it’s trying to shape the scene. (melomanodigital.com) ### Bottom line? If you were told Madrid had a guitar festival that began on May 5 and continues this week, that part is true — but the right event is the Festival Internacional de Guitarra de Madrid, now in its eighth edition, and it runs through June 14. The flamenco festival is real too, but that was the April one. (festivalguitarramadrid.com) (soydemadrid.com)