Andr�s Segovia (original) (raw)
Andr�s Segovia (February 21, 1893 - 1987) was a Spanish classical guitarist and a Maestro, generally considered as the most important developer of guitar practice and study ever.
His first appearance was in Spain at the age of sixteen, and a few years later he held his first professional concert in Madrid, playing transcriptions for guitar by Francisco Tàrrega and some he had developed on his own from Bach.
Working together with luthiers, he helped in creating the "modern" classical guitar, introducing nylon strings which could produce louder tones.
After a tour in America in 1928, he soon became famous as "the guitar player", and composers like Heitor Villa-Lobos started writing for him (and for guitar).
Segovia's figure is fundamental for the story of classical guitar, since he brought this instrument to popularity even in classical music, where it had previously been ignored as "too popular". The lack of a sufficient repertoire of works for guitar was filled with the many transcriptions he himself made and played, and he gave life to the many previous works of composers such as Tàrrega.
Technique also was refined thanks to his brilliant touch, which remains still today as a term of comparison.
