Andrés Segovia

Maestro Segovia on Guitar

Andrés Segovia came to the world of guitar and classical music from Spain. He was born in 1893. Perhaps the greatest figure to represent his art in all of the 20th century, Segovia came to be known as the "ambassador of the guitar". He travelled the world, had stage presence, charisma, and approached his music as a skilled conservative, working within Spanish traditions.

Although Andrés was for the most part self-taught, he did learn from the traditions and men of his time, including Tàrrega. He made his debut in the world famous city of Granada at the Centro Artistico in 1909. By 1912, he was performing in Madrid and during 1916 he toured South America. Segovia went to London and Paris in 1924 and played to the glowing praise of enthusiatic audiences.

One of the Maestro's great accomplishments at this period in his life was transcribing and adapting some of the work of J.S. Bach (1685-1750). During his very first recording session, in 1927, Segovia played a Gavotte and Rondeau from Bach's Partita. During this period, Andrés worked on Bach's Chaconne, also from Partita, but did not perform it until 1935 in Paris.

Throughout the 1930s, Andrés Segovia recorded a wide range of material from Viseé and Tàrrega. His fame was growing and so was his repertoire. He encouraged good composers to write for guitar. Spanish composers Turina and Torroba obliged him by producing such pieces as "Sevillana" and "Fandanguillo" in 1923 and 1925. They also did "Sonatina in A" in 1924.

The Mexican composer, Manuel Ponce (1882-1948) became a friend of Maestro Segovia in the 1930s and 1940s. He drew on Mexican folk music and Spanish flamenco. In 1932, the result was the three movement "Sonatina Meridionel". In 1939, the Italian composer Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco (1895-1968) wrote the first guitar concerto of the 20th century especially for Segovia. It was entitled "The Guitar Concerto in D Op.99".

Always an innovator and individualist, Andrés became interested in using nylon for guitar strings in the 1940s. It was durable, reliable, and could be used to produce well formed, consistent strings. These strings had a more even response and superior intonation when compared to the gut string. Following World War II, the Maestro had taken on many talented pupils, but continued to be active on and off the stage.

In all, Andrés Segovia had a long and very successful career. He was an artist of great presence and he played a leading role in the establishment of the classical guitar as a premier instrument of the 20th century. He even performed for appreciative audiences when he was over eighty years of age. He was welcomed by throngs of fans around the world. The Maestro passed away in 1987. Andrés Segovia began his playing on a Ramirez guitar in 1912. During the 1930s he met the German, Herman Hauser (1882-1952) who built the "Herman Hauser I" for Segovia in 1937. It was his favorite until the 1960s. Steve Krenz