Album of the Day — June 23
Andres Segovia — The Segovia Collection, Vol. 5: Five Centuries Of The Spanish Guitar
Andres Segovia — The Segovia Collection, Vol. 5: Five Centuries Of The Spanish Guitar
23.June.2020
Andres Segovia
The Segovia Collection, Vol. 5: Five Centuries Of The Spanish Guitar
1989
Andres Segovia is largely attributed to giving the guitar credibility among the classical music set.
Born in Spain in 1893 he was quickly shuttled off to live with his aunt and uncle, who introduced him to music.
Segovia first learned on a violin in Spain but the instrument fell out of favor with him because he hated the rigidity of his teacher.
Shortly after, his aunt and uncle moved to Grenada to give young Andres a better education. It was there that he discovered the guitar.
As a Spaniard, as his playing evolved, he became aware of the popular Flamenco style of guitar playing but eschewed it. The young Segovia gravitated to classical works like those of fellow Spaniard’s and classical composers Fernando Sor and Francisco Tárrega.
In 1909, as a teenager, he performed publicly for the first time. A few years after, he played his first professional concert in Madrid, playing classical works by Francisco Tárrega and his transcriptions of Bach.
The concert was met by criticism by some of Tárrega’s students and discouragement from his family. Where once they encouraged his playing, now they wanted him to become a lawyer.
Nevertheless, Andres Segovia persisted.
Segovia’s career was driven by serendipity. Just as he was gaining notice internationally, the guitar as a concert instrument was experiencing a revival. It was against this backdrop, coupled with advances in recording and broadcasting that helped him create the foundation of a career. His personality and keen artistry also helped.
While performing in Mexico in 1923, Mexican composer and scholar Manuel Ponce was impressed enough to write a review. This relationship only grew and Ponce would eventually write many works for Andres Segovia, including numerous sonatas.
While he continued to tour and record, it was after World War II that he began regular tours of Europe and the US. He would maintain this schedule for the next thirty years.
He won his first Grammy Award in 1958 for Best Classical Performance, Instrumentalist for his recording Segovia Golden Jubilee.
After many years of scrupulous study to determine exactly how Segovia played. Did he play using his fingertip and nail? Just the nail? How was he able to avoid any unwanted sounds from the lower strings. Finally, he revealed his method of playing:
“The only one there is: nails. Because they bring timbre differences and colour variation, and give sonorous volume to the guitar.”
Segovia’s main musical aesthetic preferences were the music of the early 20th century especially in the Spanish romantic-modern and nationalist style. His repertoire was built around three pillars:
One — contemporary works that written specifically for him by composers he had relationships with.
Two — transcriptions by Segovia of classical works for other instruments like the lute, harpsichord, piano, violin, cello.
Three — traditional classical guitar works by his favorites Fernando Sor and Francisco Tárrega.
As his career grew, Segovia became more selective and only performed works with which he identified personally.
Released posthumously, this album, The Segovia Collection, Vol. 5: Five Centuries Of The Spanish Guitar is a compilation of works by Spanish composers primarily for guitar — as opposed to the usual works for orchestras, string quartets.
This album was largely recorded at various times in New York and Madrid over 16 years — 1952–1968.
Although released posthumously, critics find this series to be a benchmark in the genre.
Adam Greenberg said: “There is little on earth that can rival the Spanish guitar, and few in the Spanish guitar tradition that can rival Segovia — this may be the best album in the series of compilations in tribute to the master.”
Because Andres Segovia considered teaching “vital to his mission of propagating the guitar” he would teach master classes throughout his career. These classes generated some controversy because his approach was viewed by some of his former students as “dogmatically authoritarian.”
One of his most celebrated students, Australian classical guitarist John Williams said that Segovia “bullied students into playing only his style, stifling the development of their own styles.”
Despite the reputation, guitarists everywhere wanted to be associated with the master, causing Segovia to quip: “All over the world I have ‘pupils’ I have never met.”
Besides being a virtuoso, Andres Segovia is considered to be a catalytic figure in giving the guitar respectability as a serious concert instrument. A longtime admirer of Bach, he left several classical guitar transcriptions behind, including one of Bach’s demanding Chaconne from the 2nd Partita for Violin.
If you think that Andres Segovia only carried weight in the classical community, you would be incorrect:
British rockers Ian Dury and the Blockheads paid homage to him with “There Ain’t Half Been Some Clever Bastards.”
Punk icon Johnny Thunders included a song called “Illegitimate Son of Segovia” on his album Hurt Me.
The more you learn about music, the more you learn that it is all connected. And in listening to Andres Segovia you will hear everyone from Carl Perkins to Eddie Van Halen to Otmar Liebert to Chris Stapleton.
That’s a long shadow to cast.