The Spanish guitarist Andres Segovia He was one of the most important personalities not only in the field of the guitar, but in the entire world of 20th century concerts. His contribution of sensitivity and technical experience awakened the interest of musicians for the guitar, opening a new era in the history of this centuries-old instrument. The success achieved by his performances from 1925 on, was also crucial for the revival of the guitar as a solo instrument in classical music concerts.
His great merit was to have resurrected an enormous ancient literature, not to mention the adaptation of the lute music of the Renaissance or the commission of completely new musics.
He started playing the guitar at the age of six. His uncle used to sing songs to him and he pretended to strum an imaginary guitar on his lap. At the age of ten, his uncles moved to Granada, where he received his formal education. He also acquired his first guitar. His first experience with classical guitar music was in a performance by the flamenco guitarist, Gabriel Ruiz de Almodóvar.
Although it is believed that his first instrument was the cello, it did not take long for him to move on to the study of guitar instruction that he received from various private teachers; However, the originality of his teaching, and the decisive consequences they have had on modern guitar technique, can be said to come from no school. Own Segovia declared on several occasions, and with legitimate pride, that “had made himself“If he had been a teacher and a student at the same time. And only a genius could have achieved the results he obtained. Segovia as self-taught.
In 1928, he organized his first trip to the United States where he befriended Heitor Villa-Lobos, the Brazilian composer, who in later years would compose numerous pieces of music for him. In 1932, he became friends with the composer Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco in Venice, who composed many works in later years and dedicated most of them to Segovia.
He continued acting in his old age, living in semi-retirement on the Costa del Sol. He gave master classes throughout his career; During the summer of 1986, he was a lecturer for the last time at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.
On June 2, 1987, at the age of 94, this exceptional artist, one of the greatest musicians of the 20th century, died in Madrd. He not only taught himself and his students, but indirectly taught and influenced thousands of guitarists around the world and is therefore considered the father of classical guitar.
Nor should we forget the sublime, unforgettable and totally idiomatic transcriptions that the great guitarist made of piano pieces by his countrymen Albéniz and Granados, so much so that, at first glance, they seemed music written specifically for the slender six-string instrument (and many still think so today).