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Andrés Segovia

Background information
Birth name Andrés Torres Segovia, Marqués de Salobreña
Born February 21, 1893(1893-02-21)
Linares, Spain
Died June 2, 1987 (aged 94)
Madrid, Spain
Genre(s) Classical
Occupation(s) Guitarist
Instrument(s) Guitar

Andrés Torres Segovia, 1st Marquess of Salobreña (21 February 1893–2 June 1987) was a Spanish classical guitarist born in Linares, Spain. Events 362 - Athanasius returns to Alexandria. 1245 - Thomas, the first known Bishop of Finland Year 1893 ( MDCCCXCIII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Linares is a city located in the Andalusian province of Jaén, Spain. Events 455 - The Vandals enter Rome, and plunder the city for two weeks Year 1987 ( MCMLXXXVII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link displays 1987 Gregorian calendar) Madrid (pronounced in English in Spanish and colloquially in Spain) is the Capital and largest city of Spain. Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. A music genre is a categorical and typological construct that identifies musical sounds as belonging to a particular category and type of music that can be distinguished from other Classical music is a broad term that usually refers to mainstream music produced in or rooted in the traditions of Western liturgical and Secular music The guitar is a Musical instrument with ancient roots that is used in a wide variety of musical styles A musical instrument is a device constructed or modified for the purpose of making Music. The guitar is a Musical instrument with ancient roots that is used in a wide variety of musical styles Events 362 - Athanasius returns to Alexandria. 1245 - Thomas, the first known Bishop of Finland Year 1893 ( MDCCCXCIII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Events 455 - The Vandals enter Rome, and plunder the city for two weeks Year 1987 ( MCMLXXXVII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link displays 1987 Gregorian calendar) Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Linares is a city located in the Andalusian province of Jaén, Spain. He is widely regarded as one of the most important figures for the classical guitar in the beginning and mid 20th century.

Contents

Early life

Segovia said that he began playing the guitar at the age of six. [1] Angelo Gilardino, who has worked at the Fundación Andrés Segovia in Spain, noted: "Though it is not yet completely documented, it seems clear that, since his tender childhood, he [Segovia] learnt playing as a flamenco guitarist. Angelo Gilardino (born 1941 in Vercelli) is an Italian Composer, guitarist and musicologist. Flamenco is a Spanish term that refers both to a musical genre known for its intricate rapid passages and a dance genre characterized by its audible footwork In fact, the first guitar he owned had formerly been played by Paco de Lucena, the greatest flamenco guitarist of the epoque, who died when Segovia was five years old. Since then, Segovia was given some instruction by Agustinillo, an amateur flamenco player who was a fan of Paco de Lucena. "[2]

As a teenager, Segovia moved to the town of Granada, where he studied the guitar and soaked up the other-worldly atmosphere of the Palace at Alhambra, a Moorish relic overlooking the town which he regarded as his spiritual awakening. Granada is a city and the capital of the province of Granada, in the autonomous region of Andalusia, Spain. This article is about the Alhambra in Granada Spain For other meanings see Alhambra (disambiguation.

Professional career

Segovia's first public performance was in Spain at the age of sixteen, and a few years later he held his first professional concert in Madrid, playing guitar transcriptions by Francisco Tárrega and some works by J.S. Bach, which he had transcribed and arranged himself. A concert is a live Performance, usually of Music, before an Audience. Madrid (pronounced in English in Spanish and colloquially in Spain) is the Capital and largest city of Spain. This article is about music For other uses see Transcription disambiguation page In Music, transcription is the act of notating Francisco de Asís Tárrega y Eixea, (21 November 1852 — 15 December 1909 was an influential Spanish Composer and guitarist. WikipediaWikiProject Composers#Lead section.2 This article is written in British English including maximised use of "-ise" Although he was always discouraged by his family, and looked down on by many of Tárrega's pupils, he always continued to diligently pursue his studies of the guitar. Segovia's technique differed from that of Tárrega and his followers, such as Emilio Pujol. Emilio (Emili Pujol Vilarrubi (1886-1980 was a composer and the leading twentieth century Musicologist and Classical guitar teacher Both Segovia and Miguel Llobet (who taught Segovia several of his transcriptions of Granados' piano works) plucked the strings with a combination of his fingernails and fingertips, producing a sharper sound than many of his contemporaries. Miguel Llobet Solés ( 18 October, 1878 - 22 February, 1938) was a classical guitarist, born in Barcelona ( Catalonia Pantaléon Enrique Costanzo Granados y Campiña (27 July 1867 &ndash 24 March 1916 was a Spanish pianist and Composer of classical music. With this technique, it was possible to create a wider range of timbres, or tones, than when using the fingertips or nails alone. Historically, classical guitarists have debated which of these techniques is the best approach. While the majority now play with a combination of the fingernails/tips, some still prefer the convenience and mellower sound of flesh alone.

Segovia's status as a student of the guitar is a matter of debate among guitarists. The Segovia autobiography, written for mass consumption at the height of his career, depicts him as being self-taught. There are admissions of his seeking out Llobet's advice only for a short time when in his early twenties, but Segovia is quite clear about the lack of any real influence on his playing. Although at that age Segovia may well have been much more than a neophyte, he was still youthful enough to have received valuable instruction, and to have been significantly influenced by it. Indeed, Ronald Purcell points out that "Segovia, whose performance style and technique reveals [sic] the principles of Tárrega, was basically influenced by Llobet. . . . This stylistic influence can be heard when comparing Llobet's Parlophone Electric recordings (Chanterelle Historical Recordings CHR 001) with Segovia's Angel recordings, ZB 3896" (Llobet 1989, 1: ii).

Purcell later states, "At the age of twenty-two he (Segovia) pursued what he considered the only direct contact to Tárrega, Llobet, for refinement of his technique and especially for the music that both he and Tárrega had written and transcribed for the guitar. . . "(ibid). The accuracy of this date (Segovia would have been twenty-two in 1915) seems to be somewhat questionable. A photograph taken at the exhumation of Tárrega in 1915, clearly shows Segovia at the foot of the coffin, but Llobet does not appear in the photo, and would likely have been present had he, in fact, been in Spain at the time. It may well have been another two years before Segovia began to work with Llobet and there seems to be nothing that would contradict this 1917 date. [3]

The status of the classical guitar at the beginning of the twentieth century had declined, and only in Barcelona and in the Rio de la Plata region of South America could it have been said to be of any significance. Barcelona ( Catalan bəɾsəˈlonə Spanish baɾθeˈlona is the capital and most populous city of the Autonomous Community of Catalonia The Río de la Plata ( Spanish: " Silver River" &mdash which is often referred to in English-speaking countries as the River Plate When Segovia arrived on the scene, this situation was just beginning to change, largely through the efforts of Llobet. It was in this changing milieu that Segovia, whose strength of personality and artistry coupled with new technological advances such as recording, radio, and air travel, succeeded in moving the guitar forward to become more popular again.

In 1924, Segovia visited the German luthier (guitar builder) Hermann Hauser Sr. after hearing some of his instruments played in a concert in Munich. Segovia had been impressed with the quality of Hauser's work[4] and he encouraged Hauser to copy his 1912 Manuel Ramirez guitar (an instrument generally believed to have been built by Santos Hernandez while he was foreman of the Ramirez shop). Manuel Ramirez may refer to Manny Ramírez (born 1972 Major League Baseball player Manuel Ramírez (football player (born 1983 The guitar is a Musical instrument with ancient roots that is used in a wide variety of musical styles He examined and made measurements of this instrument. As Llobet, who also visited the luthier in the same year, owned an 1859 Antonio Torres, Hauser also had opportunity to examine it as well. Antonio de Torres Jurado ( June 13, 1817 – November 19, 1892) was a Spanish guitarist and guitar maker

After World War Two Segovia became among the first to endorse the use of nylon strings instead of gut strings. Overview Nylon is a Thermoplastic silky material first used commercially in a nylon- Bristled Toothbrush (1938 followed more famously by A string is the vibrating element that is the source of vibration in String instruments such as the Guitar, Harp, Piano, and members Catgut is the name applied to cord of great toughness and tenacity prepared from the Intestines of the Sheep or Goat, or occasionally from those of the This new advance allowed for greater stability in intonation, and was the final missing ingredient in the standardization of the instrument.

After Segovia's debut tour in the United States in 1928, the Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos composed his now well known Twelve Études (Douze études) and later dedicated them to Segovia. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Heitor Villa-Lobos (March 5 1887 &ndash November 17 1959 was a Brazilian Composer, possibly the best-known classical composer born in South America An étude (a French word meaning study) is an instrumental Musical composition, most commonly of considerable difficulty usually designed to provide practice This proved to be a lasting relationship as Villa-Lobos continued to write for Segovia. He also transcribed numerous classical pieces himself and revived the pieces transcribed by men like Tárrega. Many guitarists in the Americas, however, had already been playing these same works before Segovia arrived.

In 1935, he gave a premiere of Bach's Chaconne, a difficult piece for any instrument. The Partita in D minor for solo violin (BWV 1004 by Johann Sebastian Bach was written during the period 1717 &ndash 1723 and some scholars suggest it was He moved to Montevideo performing many concerts in South America in the thirties and early forties. After the war, Segovia began to record more frequently and perform regular tours of Europe and the USA, a schedule he would maintain for the next thirty years of his life. In 1954, Joaquin Rodrigo composed Fantasía para un gentilhombre at the request of Segovia. Joaquín Rodrigo Vidre ( 22 November 1901 &ndash 6 July 1999) was a composer of classical music Fantasía para un gentilhombre (Fantasy for a Gentleman is a Concerto for Guitar and Orchestra by the Spanish Composer Segovia won the 1958 Grammy Award for Best Classical Performance, Instrumentalist for his recording, Segovia Golden Jubilee. The Grammy Awards (originally called the Gramophone Awards)—or Grammys —are presented annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences The Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Soloist Performance (without orchestra has been awarded since 1959

In recognition of his contributions to music and the arts, Segovia was ennobled on 24 June 1981 by King Juan Carlos I, who elevated Segovia into the first hereditary Marquess of Salobreña, formally styled as "El señor don Andrés Torres Segovia, marqués de Salobreña" (the Most Illustrious Lord The Marquess of Salobreña). Events 972 - Battle of Cedynia, the first documented victory of Polish forces takes place Year 1981 ( MCMLXXXI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link displays the 1981 Early life Juan Carlos was born in Rome, where his grandfather Alfonso XIII of Spain lived in exile after the proclamation of the Second Spanish Republic Salobreña is a town on the Costa Tropical in Granada, Spain. He was granted the following coat of arms: "en campo de azur sobre ondas de azur y plata, unas rocas de su color, sumadas de una torre donjonada de oro, aclarada de azur" (a field of azur on waves of azur and silver, rocks of the same color, plus a gold dungeon tower, with azur highlights).

Andres Segovia continued performing into his old age, living in semi-retirement during his 70s and 80s on the Costa del Sol. The Costa del Sol ("Sun Coast" or more literally "Coast of the Sun" is a region in the south of Spain in the autonomous community of Andalusia Two films were made of his life and work—one when he was 75 and the other, 84. They are available on DVD called "Andrés Segovia - in Portrait". [5]

Segovia died in Madrid of a heart attack at the age of 94. Myocardial infarction ( MI or AMI for acute myocardial infarction) also known as a heart attack, occurs when the blood supply He is buried at Casa Museo de Linares, in Andalusia. Andalusia (Andalucía is an autonomous community of Spain. It is the most populous and the second largest in terms of land area

Segovia's goals

As Segovia's career and acclaim grew he determined "five purposes" as goals for his legacy. They were outlined by Segovia in Guitar Review No 32, Fall 1969:

  1. To extract the guitar from the noisy and disreputable folkloric amusements. . .
  2. I requested the living composers not in the field of guitar to write for me. This was the second of my purposes: to create a wonderful repertoire for my instrument.
  3. My third purpose was to make the guitar known by the philharmonic public of the world.
  4. . . . to provide a unifying medium for those interested in the development of the guitar. This I did through my support of the now well known international musicological journal, the Guitar Review
  5. I am still working on my fifth and maybe the last purpose, which is to place the guitar in the most important conservatories of the world for teaching the young lovers of it, and thus securing its future.

Critical acclaim and modern perspectives

Awards and bringing the guitar to the concert stage

Segovia was awarded many prizes and honours including Ph.D, honoris causa from ten universities. "PhD" redirects here for other uses see PhD (disambiguation. An honorary degree or a degree honoris causa ( Latin: 'for the sake of the honour' is an Academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding [6]

Segovia was credited by his publicity for bringing the guitar (as a solo instrument) to the concert stage. While this is undoubtedly an exaggerated claim, the fact that he widened the audience for the guitar and was a vital force in helping it to gain respectability among other serious musicians, critics, and academe is beyond dispute.

He received the Danish Sonning Award in 1974 and a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1986. The Léonie Sonning Music Prize, or Sonning Award, which is recognized as Denmark 's highest musical honor is given annually to an international Musician The Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award is awarded by the Recording Academy to "performers who during their lifetimes have made creative contributions of outstanding

Controversy regarding Segovia

Segovia was frequently lauded as the world's greatest classical guitarist[7][8] with the result that many reading such hyperbole believed that he set an unassailable standard of virtuosity. [9][10][11]

Today however, this view has been called into question. [12][13] John Williams (in 1999) has called him "a very limited teacher and a limited musician",[14] though he refers to Segovia's inspiration and the people he met [around Segovia] as "essential". John Christopher Williams (born 24 April 1941 is a Grammy Award winning Australian-born British Classical guitarist Biography Born in Melbourne Allan Kozinn noted (in 1986) that "By today's musicological standards, his rolled chords, quick vibrato and slurred phrases may seem antique; yet they carry Andres Segovia's unmistakable interpretive thumbprint, and they are classics of their kind. "[15]
Many modern performers endeavour to play music in an authentic style of the specific period, thus "tread[ing] a different stylistic path [than Segovia]". The historically informed performance, period performance, or authentic performance movement is an approach by musicians and scholars to research and perform works [16] (article: Articulation and Authenticity in Nineteenth-Century Guitar Music)

David Russell when asked about "romanticizing Baroque pieces like Segovia" responded: "There is a big difference between using baroque phrasing and romanticizing like Segovia"[17]. David Russell (born in 1953 in Glasgow) is a Classical guitarist Russell has earned praise from audiences and critics alike

Raymond Cousté (from the McClelland-Cousté Duo) noted in an interview in 2000, that when a young guitarist today records some of Segovia's transcriptions such as "La Frescobalda", then "it's terrible" and "degrades the guitar" today, since "it's an outdated arrangement" and "the proper references [to the original material] are available to everyone now". [18]

Editorial legacy

Segovia left a large body of edited works and transcriptions. His editions of works originally written for guitar include newly fingered and occasionally revised versions of works from the standard repertoire (most famously, his edition of twenty estudios by Fernando Sor), as well as compositions written for him. Fernando Sor (baptized February 14, 1778 &ndash July 10, 1839) was a Spanish guitarist and Composer, born Many of the latter were edited by Segovia, working in communication with the composer, before they were first published. Because of Segovia's predilection for altering the musical content of his editions to reflect his interpretive preferences, many of today's guitarists prefer to examine the original manuscripts, or newer publications based on the original manuscripts in order to compare them with Segovia's published versions, so as to accept or reject Segovia's editorial decisions.

Teaching

Segovia viewed teaching as vital to his mission of propagating the guitar, and gave master classes throughout his career. His most famous master classes took place at Santiago de Compostela in northern Spain. Santiago de Compostela (also Saint James of Compostela is the capital of the autonomous community of Galicia and a UNESCO World [19]

His teaching style is a source of controversy among some of today's players, who consider it to be dogmatically authoritarian. [20][14][21][22]

John Williams has mentioned

  • "I have to say, with the benefit of hindsight, that I don’t think he was a good teacher. He didn’t tell us what to aim for in the structure. For example, in a Bach suite [. . . ]"[23]
  • "The general mood in all of his classes was one of great fear. People were frightened because he made such an example of the people who failed and would get angry. Everyone knew that he was happiest when they imitated him. "[23]
  • "The Segovia gestures—extra vibrato and dwelling on a note or chord at a cadence—is not musical freedom. There has been a tendency among guitar players to think that doing these things for their own sake quite apart from the context of a piece of music as a whole, is in some way expressive. I view them as simply mannerisms[. . . ]"[23]

David Russell relates the following about his private meetings[24] with Segovia (as opposed to Masterclass situations) :

  • "Segovia was very kind to young, talented students, you know. He was like this grandfather figure. For an hour, I was sitting in front of . . . well, "One next to God" [laughs], and he says, "Hey! C'mon kid, don't be so nervous. Just play me something!" [Laughs] For weeks or months afterward the memory of being with him was inspiring and kept me practicing. He was great—really very nice. "[25]

See also

References

  1. ^ This Day in History - January 4th. The "Michele Pittaluga" International Classical Guitar Competition is an annual music competition for young Classical guitarists held in Alessandria, LikeTelevision.
  2. ^ Angelo Gilardino (4 June 2007). Angelo Gilardino (born 1941 in Vercelli) is an Italian Composer, guitarist and musicologist. Segovia's early years. rec.music.classical.guitar.
  3. ^ Miguel Llobet.
  4. ^ "I immediately saw the potential of this great artisan if only his mastery might be turned to the construction of the guitar in the Spanish pattern as immutably fixed by Torres and Ramirez" (Segovia 1954)
  5. ^ Andrés Segovia - in Portrait DVD
  6. ^ Honores y Distinciones. Andrés Segovia. Síntesis biográfica. Honores y distinciones. by Alberto López Poveda. (Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando, Boletín de la Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando. Segundo semestre de 1986. Número 63. ) [1].
  7. ^ Andres Segovia - Greatest of the great. Guitarra Magazine, Issue 18, p. 4 (1966).
  8. ^ Andres Segovia. Encyclopædia Britannica.
  9. ^ Opinion on Segovia (Mar. 2007). RateItAll.
  10. ^ Opinion on Segovia (Jul. 2007). RateItAll.
  11. ^ Opinion on Segovia (Nov. 2005). RateItAll.
  12. ^ OK, so Segovia was a pioneer, but he doesn't top today's guitarists. by Stephanie von Buchau - Oakland Tribune, Sept. 24, 2004.
  13. ^ A career in guitar. by Renato Bellucci.
  14. ^ a b Takis Atsidakos (May 2007). "John Williams on Segovia". www. tar. gr citing BBC Music magazine, May 1999.
  15. ^ Segovia's Legacy: Half a century of guitar disks. by Allan Kozinn - NY Times, April 6, 1986.
  16. ^ Articulation and Authenticity in Nineteenth-Century Guitar Music. Stephan Kenyon EGTA Guitar Journal no. 8 (1997).
  17. ^ Cross-string ornamentation, romanticizing early music, tone color (5. April 2008, David Russell forum reply). GFA.
  18. ^ Interview. Classical Guitar Magazine, November 2000.
  19. ^ John Mills: The Teaching of Andres Segovia.
  20. ^ John Williams Interview with Austin Prichard-Levy. The Twang Box Dynasty.
  21. ^ The infamous Chapdelaine Segovia incident. by Tony Morris (12 June 2007, rec.music.classical.guitar).
  22. ^ Abel Carlevaro technique: Technique compendium. Renato Bellucci.
  23. ^ a b c John Williams—Into the New World. by Mark L. Small.
  24. ^ Manuel Barrueco Talks to David Russell.
  25. ^ Scottish Fandago. by Patrick Francis.

External links

Biographical information

Graham Wade: Traditions of the Classical Guitar(John Calder, London, 1980), Segovia - A Celebration of the Man and his Music (Allison & Busby, London, 1983), Maestro Segovia (Robson, London, 1986) Graham Wade and Gerard Garno: A New Look at Segovia, His Life, His Music, Volumes 1 & 2 (Mel Bay Publications Inc. allmusic (previously All Music Guide) is a Metadata database about music owned by All Media Guide. , Pacific, Missouri, 1997) Graham Wade: A Concise History of the Classic Guitar (Mel Bay Publications Inc. , Pacific, Missouri,2001)

Publications

Performance reviews and newspaper articles

Recordings

Videos

Other

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