Celedonio Romero; Founded Guitar Quartet

Musical patriarch Celedonio Romero, a gifted classical guitarist who founded the acclaimed Romeros Quartet with his three sons after fleeing Franco’s Spain, has died. He was 83.

Romero died Wednesday of lung cancer in San Diego. He had given a concert as recently as March 3.

The quartet, which he formed in 1960 with sons Angel, Pepe and Celin Romero, has performed with nearly every major symphony orchestra in the United States, in Carnegie Hall and on television’s “Ed Sullivan Show.” Romero also gave hundreds of solo concerts, including two at the White House and one at the Vatican for Pope John Paul II.

The group played regularly in Southern California in such venues as the Hollywood Bowl, Ambassador Auditorium, the Shrine Auditorium, the Wilshire Ebell Theater, the Long Beach City College Auditorium, the Oakleaf Music Festival in Thousand Oaks, Segerstrom Hall in Costa Mesa and the Lyceum Stage in San Diego.

The Romeros’ repertoire ranged from Bach to American composer Morton Gould. Critics called them the “royal family of the guitar.”

In addition to his performances, Romero recorded hundreds of works and composed hundreds more, including 10 concertos for guitar and orchestra.

“My father was the greatest guitarist in history,” said Pepe Romero. “He was the creator of a school of playing. He was a genius.”

The senior Romero’s method for the classical guitar is taught in master and doctoral programs at universities in North America and Europe.

Born in Malaga, Spain, Romero was the son of an engineer. As a young man he studied music at the Royal Conservatory in Madrid and gave his first public recital at 22.

Romero left his native country in 1957 because he felt his artistic freedom was jeopardized under the regime of Francisco Franco.

His children said he felt uncomfortable playing in a country headed by a dictator who had executed citizens to assume power. Romero never embraced the Franco regime, and his career faltered because of it.

After Franco’s death, Spain lauded Romero. King Juan Carlos presented Romero with the Order of Isabel, the monarch’s highest civilian honor. His birth city also awarded him its highest honor, a gold medal.

The Vatican made him a knight of the Holy Sepulchre in 1991.

In the 1970s, the family moved from the Los Angeles area to Del Mar.

Romero is survived by his wife, Angelita, his three sons, nine grandchildren and four great-grandsons.