Sainz de la Maza was born in
Burgos. At ten, he got his first guitar and started his musical studies with
Santiago Landache (
solfege),
José Nicolás Quesada (
piano), and
Eugenio Rodríguez Pascual (
guitar). In 1910, his family moved to
San Sebastián, where he studied piano with
Germán Cendoya,
harmony with
Beltrán Pagola and guitar with
Luis Soria. A year later, he moved to
Bilbao, where he continued his studies with
Hilarión Leloup. At 18, he performed at his first concert at the
Teatro Arriaga of Bilbao. He later moved to
Barcelona, where he worked as a concert musician. There, he befriended
Miguel Llobet and
Andrés Segovia. In 1920, he played for the first time in Madrid. A year later, he toured
South America, giving 90 concerts. On 20 May 1920, he was awarded a Golden Medal by the
University of Buenos Aires, where he became friends with composer
Antonio José Martínez Palacios, who dedicated some guitar compositions to Sainz de la Maza. He toured Europe, giving concerts in France in 1926, in
Germany in 1927 and
Great Britain in 1928. Five years later, he toured South America for the second time, with concerts in
Uruguay,
Argentina, and
Brazil. On 19 December 1930, he married Josefina de la Serna, daughter of the writer
Concha Espina, at the Real Basílica de
Monasterio de El Escorial. In 1935, he was named professor of guitar at the
Madrid Royal Conservatory. On 6 November 1940, he played the guitar at the premiere of
Joaquín Rodrigo's
Concierto de Aranjuez in Barcelona, conducted by
César Mendoza Lasalle. Rodrigo dedicated the
Concierto de Aranjuez to Regino Sainz de la Maza. On 11 December 1940 he played the concerto in Madrid, with
Jesús Arámbarri as conductor. In 1955 he published the book called
La Guitarra y su historia ('The Guitar and its History'). On 23 May 1958, he became a member of the Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando of Madrid. A day later, he was named a favourite son of the city of Burgos. Sainz de la Maza performed for the last time at the Church of San Nicola di Bari in Italy, on 9 July 1979, aged 82. He died in Madrid two years later. His younger brother
Eduardo Sainz de la Maza (1903–1982) was also an acclaimed guitarist and composer. ==Selected compositions==