Roland Dyens

Roland Dyens (19 October 1955 – 29 October 2016) was a French classical guitarist, composer, and arranger. He is considered one of the greatest guitarists of his time.

Life and career Dyens was born in Tunisia and lived most of his life in Paris. He studied with Spanish classical guitarist Alberto Ponce and with Désiré Dondeyne.

As a performer, Dyens was known for improvisation. Sometimes he opened his concerts with an improvised piece, and he might improvise the program itself, without planning or announcing beforehand what he would be playing. He said that a journalist once told him he had the hands of a classical musician but the mind of a jazz musician. He played Bach suites and he played with jazz musicians at the Arvika Festival in Sweden. A heavy metal band did a version of the third movement of his Libra Sonatine.

Dyens released several volumes of arrangements that included not only the classical music of Fernando Sor but also the Brazilian music of Heitor Villa-Lobos, jazz standards by Thelonious Monk, the French pop of Edith Piaf, and the Gypsy jazz of Django Reinhardt.

Awards and honors International Competition Città di Alessandria, Italy, 1979 Grand Prix de Académie Charles Cros, Villa-Lobos Concerto for Guitar and Small Orchestra