The Best Spanish Guitarist You’ve Probably Never Heard Of
The child looked pensively through the glass window of the shop, his small hands pressed around his face to block the glare of the Spanish sun. Classical guitars hung from the rafters of the small, dark space and the luthier was hard at work, carving wood, setting inlay and stringing his wares. “Oh to have a guitar. I know I could make it sound beautiful,” the child sighed.
A sharp voice made him jump away from the glass and turn. “Come away. We shall be late for your violin lesson” called his uncle. “Come away from there, Andres. A guitar is only fit for gypsies to play in a café. It is not a serious instrument.”
Eighty four years later, on April 8 1987, which was only three days prior to a scheduled performance at Carnegie Hall in New York City, a guitar master would be admitted to a NYC hospital for emergency heart surgery. Two months later, in his beloved city of Madrid, he would pass away at ninety-four years old, leaving an indelible legacy of performance, recording and teaching.
Over the course of his life, Andres would become the undisputed master of the classical guitar. He became the modern father of the instrument as we know it today and was known the world over by his middle name: Segovia.
Early Life
Andres Segovia Torres was born in the town of Linares Spain on February 21, 1893 to a humble family. His father was a lawyer and wanted his son to follow in his footsteps. Andres was never interested in a legal career but was intrigued at an early age by music, particularly the music of the guitar.
His father was horrified.
At that time, the guitar was a disreputable instrument, mainly associated with gypsy flamenco music and performance. For centuries, the guitar was only considered an accompanying instrument for singers and dancers. It was never considered an appropriate instrument for solo performance. Despite enjoying a renaissance of sorts in the early 19th century, attributed mainly to the masters Fernando Sor and Mauro Giuliani, the guitar, by Segovia’s introduction to it, languished in a netherworld. “The guitar was caught in a kind of vicious circle” remarked Master Segovia, recalling his early infatuation with the instrument. “There were few guitarists because no music was being written for guitar. And no music was being written because there were so few guitarists.”
Ignoring his son’s love for guitar, Segovia’s father and subsequently his uncle, with whom Segovia spent his formative years, arranged piano, cello and violin lessons for the child in an attempt to distract Segovia from the despised instrument. So hated was Andres choice of guitar that his father actually destroyed his son’s instruments to try and dissuade him from playing them, which only fired Segovia’s love of his precious guitar.
The pupil and teacher as one
Segovia professed to “never have a taste for” flamenco, the music with which the classical guitar of his time was most closely associated. The young Segovia chose to study the sparse works of early 19th century virtuosos Fernando Sor and Mauro Giuliani.
Because there were few guitar masters to learn from and virtually no music to play on the instrument other than flamenco compositions, the young Segovia set himself on a musical path of being both teacher and pupil, seeking out ancient music written for the lute and adapting it to a classical guitar form. The master guitarist Tarrega acquiesced to give young Segovia a few lessons, but Tarrega passed away before the two could meet.
Segovia was, therefore, self-taught, and was fond of saying his early education was a double function. “I was professor and pupil in the same body” he said.
Segovia arrives on the international stage
In 1909, at the age of sixteen, Segovia presented his first public performance in his hometown of Granada, Spain. In 1912, he played his first professional concert at The Paris Conservatory in Madrid. A South American tour was arranged in 1919 when Segovia was twenty-six. He performed works from Francisco Tarrega and his own transcriptions from Bach. Even as a touring, professional performer, Segovia spent many hours a day honing his craft and diligently pursuing his guitar studies.
On January 8, 1928, Segovia made his US debut at a recital at Town Hall. Olin Downes, describing the thirty-four year old Segovia, wrote: ”The appearance of Mr. Segovia is not that of the trumpeted virtuoso. He is rather the dreamer or scholar in bearing, long hair, eyeglasses, a black frock coat and neckwear of an earlier generation.”
The age of technology and Segovia
Segovia’s personality, artistry and devotion to his craft helped revive the guitar as a concert instrument. The early twentieth century was a new technological era, and Segovia arrived on the international scene as radio, sound recording and the age of air travel were in full swing, making his music accessible worldwide.
Segovia continued to tour into old age, and in 1958, at the age of sixty-five, Segovia won the Grammy Award for “Best Classical Performance, Instrumentalist” for Segovia Golden Jubilee. In 1981, he was ennobled by Spain’s King Juan Carlos I in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the arts and music.
Segovia died in Spain in 1987 after suffering a heart attack and was laid to rest at Casa Museo de Linares in Adalusia. One of his most famous quotes speaks to his devotion and love of music. “Lean your body forward slightly to support the guitar against your chest, for the poetry of music should resound in your heart.”
In Linares, Segovia’s birthplace, a bronze statue of The Master by artist Julio Lopez was unveiled in May of 1984 and in May 1995, the “Fundacion Andres Segovia” (Segovia Museum) opened its doors to the public.
