All of Tárrega’s printed birth dates since his death in 1909 continued to be incorrect until the publication of Domingo Prat’s book in 1934, in spite of the correct date already on a commemorative plate installed on the wall of Tárrega’s birth house the year after his death.
The “J. K.” of Mertz likely stands for “Joseph Kaspar.” However, the professional name “J. K. Mertz” used during his lifetime should continue to be used and not replaced with “Caspar Joseph Mertz” as suggested by some guitar historians. It is apparent that “Johann” was a misreading of the initials “J. K.” by the editor of the German guitar magazine Der Gitarrefreund in 1901.
(By Masami Kimura, 104 pages)
CONTENTS
- Preface
- The birth and death dates of Francisco Tárrega
- Supplement to "The birth and death dates of Francisco Tárrega"
- Historical aspects of the name "J. K. Mertz"
- Acknowledgments
ERRATA: The publication date of Altmeister der Gitarre: Johann Kaspar Mertzwas erroneously listed as 1924 in the table of contents annotation and in the Bibliography on page 83. The correct publication date is 1920.
