Antonio Rey

He is, without any doubt, one of the most important guitarists of the new batch. His name is Antonio Rey. And his main virtue is that in addition to eating up the “bajañí” (guitar) with both hands, as much in the harmonics as in the right hand technique, he never loses the “aire” (tune) on the touches. They always sound the way they have to sound. And this is not something obvious. The flamenco guitar is currently suffering from an appalling disease: young ones playing very well while disfiguring the character of the styles, people of whom you can only distinguish the
“soleá” touch only by reading the playbill. And so we have to take hold of what Antonio Rey does if the essence of all this is to be safeguarded.
At the Central he gave a concert out and out, by his right, point-blank, in which he drew the paths to success. It started with an imposing tremolo, of the maximum technical and musical category, performed with colossal cleanness and volume. He can afford it, because he is holding in his hands all that sprouts from his head. Because he has everything. Rhythmically he is exceptionally gifted. He had a wonderful time himself in the “alegrías” with the games of the right hand, “rajeando” (strumming) permanently in a contratempo and linking “falsetas” (falsettos) of a
supreme value. Opening the left hand to extend the passing chords, but never betraying the truth of this touch. At this moment he is the King of the “paqueros”, but it looks like soon enough he will be just the King. - ABC

¡What strength! What a barrage of flamenco energy! Like water for a scorched land was the flamenco music with which this new king of the guitar delighted us with in the early hours from Friday to Saturday. A
perfect concert, without a single technical slip: Rey did not fail a single note. And although it is not the most important, it was what happened. A perfect pulsation, overwhelming, alive, eloquent, truthful, ”jonda”
(deep). A sheet music without great fanfare: neither on a harmonic level nor on a compositional level there is any desire to overwhelm the audience. Quite the contrary. Pure delivery. Pure heart. With solos, like the tremolo startup that triggered delirium in the audience, or the “taranta granaína” (“taranta” from Granada), as keen as intimate. Duets. Trios like the brilliant three guitars in “Amistad” (Friendship). And plenty of energy,
which the group unfolded in rhythmic themes: tangos, alegrías, bulerías, and rumbas. What hypnotic “soniquete”!
Rey rang flamenco through and through. This guitarist dominates every facet of his instrument, from a melodic trifle to the forcefulness rhythm that, on the other hand, never overflows the limits of the melody. That is to
say, we do not have the feeling of listening to a dance recital without a dancer, but that even when accompanying the dance, he does not forget the lyricism of his compositions.
Compositions and performances, which have the power to tweak us to seek us on our privacy, and to connect with our emotions. Sometimes with a brief harmonic detail, with a pittance in the musical phrase that refines, underlines or alters all the sense of the discourse. And that is a privilege available to few. - Diario de Sevilla