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Andres Segovia, the Father of the Classical Guitar - A Remembrance

Next year, 2007, marks the 20th anniversaryby Bach, Haydn and others.His recital at the
of the death of Andres Segovia, the father ofArlington ranged freely over the body of
the classical guitar for almost the entiremusic available for the guitar, from Luis de
20th Century. This remembrance of what was toNarvaez' "Differencias on a Spanish Theme",
be one of his last concerts, a 1985written around 1538 to "Danza Pomposa" by
performance at the Arlington Centre, SantaAlexandre Tansman, which was written at
Barbara, is a tribute to his extraordinarySegovia's request in the 1950s. The
and ground-breaking influence on the"differencias", or variations, utilising
classical guitar repertory.Segovia was bornstriking contrasts between the sonorous
in Linares, a village in southern Spain.chords and dazzling scale runs, are based on
Originally he was taught to play the violin,a popular folk song of the 16th century,
but after discovering a guitar at the home ofknown as "Guardame las Vacas" (Guard the
a friend he rebelled, determined to make theCows).As was true of all the evening's music,
guitar a "respectable" instrument on thethey displayed a master's command of dynamics
concert stage. Both his family and teachersand sheer musicality, but it would be foolish
at the Granada Institute of Music objected,to ignore the fact that Segovia had by then
but to no avail. Unable to find a teacherlost much of his technical skill. He was
capable of instructing him, the young Segoviaafter all, well over 90 years old, and a
became his own guide. "To this day," he hasguitarist needs great strength and control in
commented wryly, "teacher and pupil havehis hands. The repertoire he chose reflected
never had a serious quarrel."His first publican admission that he was growing old. Instead
appearance was in Granada at the age of 16,of exploiting mechanical virtuosity, his
where his performance was described as aconcert celebrated the breadth of musical
revelation; his name was soon knowndynamics which he displayed and the close
throughout Spain and the rest of Europe. Incommunion created between performer and
1928 he played the first ever guitar recitalaudience, even in a theatre the size of the
in New York, at the Town Hall, which receivedArlington.The ovation that Segovia received,
rapturous reviews. After that he playedat the end of a recital which left the
repeatedly in the United States and attractedaudience rapt, seemed to me a recognition of
a wide and loyal following. His influence waswhat he had been, not what he now was. But
threefold; he established the guitar as anthat was only a fraction of what he deserved;
important concert instrument; many of thewithout his influence, the world of the
world's greatest contemporary composers wroteclassical guitar would have been much
works for him (including Castelnuovo-Tedesco,poorer.You can read more of Tuppy Glossop's
Villa-Lobos and Rodrigo), and he uncovered athoughts on music and popular culture at his
wealth of older literature, either originalWeb site, AtTheFamilyPlace.
works for guitar or transcriptions of works



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