Luces y sombras (Lights and Shadows) is a recording of select works by blind Spanish composer Joaquín Rodrigo (1901-1999). Struck by an epidemic of diphtheria when he was three years old, Rodrigo’s deterioration of sight perhaps is what led him to music. Others argue that an innate passion for composition fueled his career. Whatever the reason, from the early 1920s until the late 1980s, Rodrigo never deviated from his path. His profuse creativity celebrated the Iberian landscape, the brilliance of Spanish music and the exuberance of innovative solo literature. Within his own specialty, the piano, he was a virtuoso performer of great sensitivity—aspects which characterized his prolific contribution to its contemporary repertoire. Organized specifically for this recording, the selections take the listener through important moments in the composer’s life.