Andrés Segovia

Spanish musician and composer

• Born: February 21, 1893
• Birthplace: Linares, Spain
• Died: June 2, 1987
• Place of death: Madrid, Spain

Renowned as one of the foremost concert performers of the twentieth century, Segovia established the guitar as a serious musical instrument. In addition to adapting works of Mozart, Haydn, Bach, and others for the classical guitar, Segovia stimulated modern composers to write new works for his instrument.

Early Life

Andrés Segovia (ahn-DRAYS seh-GOHV-yah) was born in Linares, Spain. A baptismal certificate suggests that the date of his birth was probably February 17, but various sources list dates ranging from February 17 to 23. His parents were Rosa Torrez Cruz and Bonifacio Segobia y Montoro, but Segovia was adopted at an early age by an aunt and uncle in Granada. (Although his father’s name is spelled with a “b” on the baptismal certificate, he has been universally known as Segovia.) He was interested in music as a child and received instruction in piano, violin, and cello, but none of these inspired him. The guitar became Segovia’s choice as soon as he heard a flamenco guitarist play. In fact, after the performance at a friend’s home, the guitarist is said to have given Segovia his first lesson, though he could, in fact, teach the boy very little. Segovia’s interest was at first clandestine, because the guitar was thought to be appropriate only for flamenco or folk music, as an accompaniment for exuberant singing and dancing. Despite opposition from family and teachers at the Granada Music Institute, young Segovia pursued his instrument. The first techniques he learned, and later had to unlearn, were those used by flamenco players. When Segovia could not find a qualified teacher, he taught himself. He applied his previous musical knowledge particularly piano techniques to the guitar, and his principles of fingering are said to stem from this early period. During his teenage years, Segovia became increasingly familiar with the works of Johann Sebastian Bach, Ludwig van Beethoven, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and others and became aware of guitar virtuosos of the nineteenth century such as Fernando Sor, Julian Arcas, and Francisco Tárrega.

Although Segovia acknowledged the influence of these early masters, he developed a style and a technique that were essentially his own and distilled his program from various sources, transcribing and adapting lute, vihuela, and early guitar compositions. The encouragement of a young aristocrat, Rafael de Montis, based on what Segovia considered to be more cosmopolitan standards than the praise of the local people, helped convince him to attempt a concert career. In 1909, at the age of sixteen, Segovia made his public debut in Granada under the auspices of a local cultural organization, Circulo Artístico. He eventually moved to Madrid, where he heard musicians of international reputation perform, and Segovia considered that his “real debut” took place in 1916 at the Madrid Ateneo, the Spanish equivalent to Carnegie Hall. In 1919, he toured in Latin America, playing for enthusiastic Spanish-speaking audiences who were already inclined toward the guitar and, until 1923, performed only for such audiences.

Life’s Work

The year 1924 was pivotal in Segovia’s career. He performed at the home of well-known French musicologist Henri Prunières, who had invited top musicians to hear Segovia play this instrument, which was still considered unusual; the positive reception set the stage for Segovia’s most important early success: his Paris debut in April, 1924. At this debut, arranged with the encouragement of fellow countryman Pablo Casals, Segovia played to a large audience that included such musical dignitaries as Paul Dukas, Joaquín Nin, Albert Roussel, Miguel de Unamuno y Jugo, Manuel de Falla, and Madame Debussy. Unveiling the brilliance of the Spanish guitar, Segovia was an immediate sensation with the general public and critics alike. In 1924, he also made successful debuts in Berlin and London, and he undertook a second Latin American tour including Argentina, Mexico, and Cuba (where he had his first recording session). In that same year, Segovia met George Krick, an American who later persuaded impresario Sol Hurok to arrange a recital tour in the United States.

By this time, Segovia’s international reputation was firmly established, and he was attracting composers such as Federico Moreno Torroba, Joaquín Turina, Roussel, Manuel Ponce, Gustave Samazeuilh, Alexandre Tansman, and de Falla, who were stimulated to compose original works that liberated the guitar from the restrictions of its past. During the next four years, Segovia gave concerts in Spain, France, England, Italy, Germany, Scandinavia, and the Soviet Union. In 1926, the first editions of Schott’s Segovia Guitar Archive series were published, an important event in the guitar’s history. While on tour in Germany, Segovia came across a complete edition of Bach’s compositions for lute, which he transcribed for guitar and later became a familiar part of his repertoire. Several of these were published in 1928 in the Segovia Guitar series, and, in 1934, Segovia’s most important transcription of Bach was published as his edition of the “Chaconne.” For some musicians, transferring this piece written for violin to the guitar amounted almost to blasphemy, but mastery of Segovia’s edition eventually became a standard by which classical guitarists were measured.

In January, 1928, Segovia undertook his first performance tour in the United States. His first engagement was an intimate recital in Proctor, Massachusetts. His U.S. concert debut was at the Town Hall in were chosen, with a program that included music by Bach and Joseph Haydn. Critics praised him highly, some even comparing him with Casals and Fritz Kreisler. He played five more sellout concerts and then toured about forty other American cities in eleven weeks. For the next ten years, Segovia toured annually in the United States and developed an enthusiastic following. In 1928, he also toured in the Far East and again in Latin America. Segovia made his first trip to Japan in 1929 and subsequently performed there regularly. In the twenty years since his first public debut at age sixteen, Segovia rose from obscurity to international acclaim, and his reputation was to grow still more over the next years, as he continued to give concerts and recitals, transpose and adapt compositions for guitar, and inspire others to compose original works for him.

In 1932, Segovia traveled to Venice with Falla and attended the International Festival of Music. While there, he met Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, a leading Italian composer, who became a great guitar enthusiast and composed for Segovia until he died in 1968. By the 1930’s, many composers were writing for the guitar. Those such as Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Ponce, Joaquín Rodrigo, and Heitor Villa-Lobos introduced woodwind, brass, and percussion into guitar compositions, a practice that soon became popular with both guitarists and audiences. Then, Segovia’s life in Spain was disrupted by the Spanish Civil War. In 1938, he left his home in Barcelona and lived away from his native land for the next sixteen years. After a brief stay in Italy, Segovia established residence in Montevideo, Uruguay, and toured extensively from there, though, during the years of World War II, Segovia did not perform in Europe. In 1943, he returned to the United States after a hiatus of five years. It seemed at first that Segovia had been almost forgotten by the public, but his popularity was soon reestablished, and he was also introduced to a wide American audience through the medium of television. During the 1940’s, the guitar world experienced two important technological events, and Segovia incorporated both advances into his work. The first was Albert Augustine’s introduction of nylon guitar strings, which gave the instrument a more reliable sound than gut strings. The second was the invention of the long-playing (LP) record; the LP recordings that Segovia made in the 1950’s are considered some of his finest. Segovia gave about one hundred concerts each year during the 1950’s and 1960’s and performed in almost every noncommunist country.

By this time, through Segovia’s influence, the repertoire for the guitar had become rich in depth and scope. Composers, both old and new, wrote for Segovia and his instrument. The unrivaled master of classical guitar, Segovia inspired and challenged the next generation of guitarists. He taught at Santiago de Compostela in Spain; the Academy Chigi in Siena, Italy; and the University of California, Berkeley, among other schools, and helped to establish the guitar as a respected part of the curriculum at music schools throughout the world. In addition, he made numerous recordings, including a wide range of composers and periods from classical to romantic to modern. Into his seventies and eighties, Segovia continued to perform internationally. Even into his nineties, he was still playing up to sixty concerts each year though in his later years he decided to forego concert tours to faraway places and he conducted master classes into the final months of his life. Segovia’s commitment to the guitar as the central focus in his life never wavered; in recognition of his service to music, he received many honors, including two dozen grand crosses and medals and many honorary doctorate degrees. He was also made an honorary citizen of several cities.

Segovia preferred to discuss his instrument rather than himself, and thus many details about his personal life are not well documented. Segovia married three times. His final marriage was to a former student in 1960, and he and his wife Emilie had a son, Carlos, in 1970. Segovia’s autobiography indicates that one previous marriage was to pianist Paquita Mardiguera, and he also had a son Andres and a daughter Beatrice. Throughout his long and celebrated career, Segovia was nourished by his music. He said that he belonged to “that small minority of artists that toil in good faith. Around these the world of phenomenal vanishes, and happens to mystics when they give themselves to prayer.” On June 2, 1987, Segovia died in Madrid at age ninety-four. His musical tradition lives on, especially through celebrated guitarists such as Julian Bream, John Williams, and Alirio Diaz, who themselves continued to perform Segovia’s masterpieces and inspire composers to write for classical guitar.

Significance

Segovia has been called the founder of the modern guitar movement. Almost single-handedly, he elevated the guitar to the status of solo concert instrument, achieving a brighter sound by plucking with his fingernails rather than playing with his fingertips in the traditional manner. He established a wide repertoire, arranging works for the classical guitar himself, encouraging others to do so, and inspiring composers to compose original works. Segovia dedicated himself to the creation of beauty, even though he lived through times of great international unrest; his music reflects order in the middle of chaos. In recitals that delighted audiences and critics, Segovia filled huge concert halls with the intimate sounds of the guitar, which he called an orchestra in miniature, and classical guitar study became widely available through the efforts of this tireless master who generously encouraged young artists.

Segovia stated in Guitar Review that he had five main ambitions in life, which included elevating the guitar’s status as a sophisticated musical instrument.

During his lifetime, Segovia achieved his goals. In later years, he was pleased by the instrument’s expanding popularity but remained steadfastly opposed to electronic amplification of the guitar. “The real music lover wants to hear the small instrument speaking straight to the heart of the people,” he said. Fortunately, numerous recordings are available so that Segovia will continue to speak to the hearts of people for generations to come.

Bibliography

Chotzinoff, Samuel. A Little Nightmusic. New York: Harper & Row, 1964. This volume presents seven interviews with distinguished musicians. The thirteen-page chapter on Segovia, written in an informal style, describes a lunch with Segovia in 1961 and offers a glimpse of Segovia’s charming personality and wit as he discusses his early influences and recollections.

Clinton, George, ed. Andrés Segovia: An Appreciation. London: Musical News Services, 1978. This collection of facts, opinions, and anecdotes contains articles and reviews published in Guitar as well as previously unpublished interviews, essays, and reminiscences from Julian Bream, Alirio Diaz, John Duarte, Christopher Nupen, Alice Artzt, John Williams, Vladimir Bobri, Akinabu Matsuda, and Ivor Mairants.

Gavoty, Bernard. Andrés Segovia. Geneva: Rene Kister, 1955. Written by a music critic with Figaro, this pamphlet presents an intimate portrait of Segovia illustrated with twenty-three photographs by Roger Hauert and three drawings. Part of the Great Concert Artists series, it includes a selected list of Segovia’s Decca recordings as well as a copy of a handwritten letter from Segovia to Gavoty and its English translation.

Gelatt, Roland. Music Makers. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1953. Reprint. New York: Da Capo Press, 1972. This volume includes twenty-one entries on musicians who interested the author. The chapter on Segovia gives a brief account of his life to 1950, which includes interesting detail as well as thoughtful commentary by Gelatt.

Purcell, Ronald C. Andrés Segovia, Contributions to the World of Guitar. 2d ed. Melville, N.Y.: Belwin Mills, 1975. This is a compilation of Segovia’s many contributions to the world of music. Its forty pages include listings of articles by Segovia, books and articles about Segovia, his music editions, and his discography. It is illustrated with five photographs and an unusual line drawing of Segovia by Bobri.

Rings, Steven. “Overview: Guitar Music.” American Record Guide 66, no. 5 (September/October, 2003): 58. Examines the origin and background of classical guitar music, delineating Segovia’s achievements in refining techniques of playing the instrument.

Segovia, Andrés. Andrés Segovia: An Autobiography of the Years 1893-1920. Translated by W. F. O’Brien. New York: Macmillan, 1976. Segovia intended to publish several volumes of memoirs, but this indexed first volume is the only one he completed. Written without a ghostwriter, its two hundred pages present a fascinating picture of Segovia’s life, and the reader comes away realizing that it is the guitar that is really the main character.

Wade, Graham. Segovia: A Celebration of the Man and His Music. London: Allison and Busby, 1983. Although it does offer some biographical details, the volume focuses on aspects of Segovia’s development that had previously been unexplored, such as his relationship with flamenco and the influence of Spanish literary and artistic figures on his life. Illustrated with photographs, it includes lists of Segovia’s honors, his principal recordings, and composers’ works recorded by him. It also includes a listing of his music editions, a representative selection of his recital programs from 1936 to 1982, and a bibliography.