Biography - Segovia A., Golden Guitar Studio, Dmitry Teslov's project, classical guitar, pieces for guitar, works for guitar, works for guitar, sheet music archive, audio mp3 of guitar music.

Andrés Torres Segovia is a Spanish guitarist considered the father of modern classical guitar.

SEGOVIA Andres (1893-1987) - an outstanding Spanish guitarist and teacher. As a child, he learned to play the piano, violin and cello, and at the same time independently studied playing the guitar. Listening Helped Him folk music, playing flamenco and studying music literature. Segovia's first concert took place in 1909, but world fame came to him in 1924, after a concert in Paris. A. Segovia's playing is marked by exceptional virtuoso skill and depth of interpretation; he expanded technical and expressive capabilities guitars, introduced classical and modern music into the repertoire (many works in own processing), raised guitar performance to a high artistic level. Works by H. Turina, H. de Manen, A. Roussel, M. Castelnuovo-Tedesco, S. Scott, E. Villa Lobos, A. Tansman and others were written and dedicated to Segovia.

Segovia is one of the few concertists in whose playing critics could not find any flaws. On the contrary, each subsequent performance of the artist revealed new advantages of his playing, which is associated both with his outstanding talent and with the intense daily work to improve his skills.

Andres Segovia came to the USSR four times: in 1926, 1927, 1930 and 1936 and gave concerts in Moscow, Leningrad, Kharkov, Kyiv and Odessa with constant success. Segovia not only gave concerts, but also met with local guitarists, listened to them play, held methodological discussions and open lessons. This also affected the development of guitar art in the Soviet Union: after the tour, many professional musicians began to look at the guitar as an instrument worthy of serious study. The consequence was the opening of guitar classes in music schools akh (then technical schools), as well as in individual music universities. An ardent supporter of Segovia was P. S. Agafoshin, who was the first in the USSR to create the “School of playing on six string guitar", based on the methodological principles of the outstanding guitarist. Thus, Andres Segovia was not only an artist, but also an active promoter of his instrument.

Andres Segovia performed in Kharkov in 1926 and 1927. His concerts, tickets for which were sold out at lightning speed, took place in the hall of the first state Ukrainian opera on the street. Rymarskaya, 21, where the Kharkov Philharmonic is now located. Already at the beginning of the last century, this hall gained fame as one of the best acoustic structures. Half a century later, Segovia fondly recalled visiting both Kharkov itself and this amazing hall with its enchanting acoustics: “My memory with great pleasure revives in my soul trips to Soviet Union and all the friends I left there... Kharkov is memorable and unforgettable to me. Its quiet cobblestone streets resemble a guitar “piano”, and with the power of construction the city is directed into the future, like a rapid passage." Kharkov residents should be doubly grateful to Segovia: both for the gift of music and for the wonderful review of their hometown, who has heard many unfair words addressed to him. For example, Sergei Prokofiev, who visited Kharkov at the same time (they even “crossed paths” with Segovia in the same train and were traveling in neighboring compartments), spoke very poorly of the first capital of Ukraine. “In contrast to ugly Kharkov,” he wrote in his diary in March 1927, “Kyiv is very beautiful.”

While in the USSR, A. Segovia also showed interest in young guitarists and conducted open lessons with them. On March 27, 1927, he gave a concert especially for young Leningraders - students of P.I. Isakov. Segovia’s communication with young guitarists continued in 1936 during his visit to Leningrad, as evidenced by photographs depicting the Spanish artist with the students of V. I. Yashnev.

A. Segovia with students V.I. Yashneva. In the bottom row, second from the right is Vil Belilnikov, from the left in the bottom row is Liliana Sedletskaya. Leningrad, hotel "European", 1936

A. Segovia with V.I. Yashnev and his students. To the right of Segovia is Vil Belilnikov, to the left is Liliana Sedletskaya; behind Segovia is Vasily Ivanovich Yashnev. Leningrad, hotel "European", 1936

Segovia trained a brilliant galaxy of guitarists - D. Williams, Julian Bream (Great Britain), Alirio Diaz (Venezuela), Jose Thomas (Spain), K. Parkening (USA), M. Gasbarroni (Italy) and others. The activities of Andres Segovia acquired such a scope because already at the very beginning of his musical career he viewed the guitar as one of the components of the whole musical culture generally. With his help the old one was revived and born new literature for guitar, he became interested in guitar professional musicians and composers, which led to a rise in interest in the art of playing the classical guitar. His musical activity is considered and assessed as an outstanding event of the twentieth century. In Venice, Segovia was awarded the most honorable prize - “A Life Dedicated to Art.”

The active work of a concert artist did not prevent Segovia from conducting guitar courses in Santiago de Compostela, in Music Academy Chijana in Siena, at the University of Berkeley. At the same time, he enriches his repertoire with guitar transcriptions of works famous composers, as well as pieces for lute and vihuela.

A special merit of Segovia in the field of repertoire is the fact that he managed to convince many composers to abandon established negative stereotypes in their views on the guitar and turn them to writing works for this instrument.

Formulating the goals of his work, Segovia wrote: “I devoted my life to four main tasks:

1. separation of the guitar from mindless amusements of the folklore type;
2. providing her with a repertoire High Quality, composed of works of great importance in music and written by composers who usually write for orchestra, piano, violin, etc.;
3. bringing the beauty of the guitar sound to the philharmonic audience around the world;
4. influence and influence authorities in conservatories, academies and universities in order to include guitar training in the programs of these educational institutions on the same rights as the violin, cello, piano, etc."

“My whole being was overwhelmed with indescribable happiness when I started playing the guitar, because the sound in the bass was deep and sweet, and in the highs tremulous and trembling. And her accent, her soul in her voice were expressed firmly and convincingly. I forgot about everything in the world except the guitar."

It was as if Spain had been gathering strength for centuries to create such a giant as Segovia. Segovia could not have been born outside of Spain, because it was here that the guitar was born. To the question: “When did you start playing guitar?” – Segovia replied: “Before I was born.”

Andres Segovia was born in Andalusia, in the city of Linares, on February 21, 1893, and a few weeks later the family moved to Jaén. Wonderful art improvisations by folk guitarists of Andalusia and original culture this ancient land greatly influenced his worldview.

Monument to A. Segovia in Linares.

In his autobiography, Segovia described meeting his first guitar teacher:

“One day a flamenco guitarist came to our house. At the first strong rasgueado, I jumped out of my chair and fell. But when he started playing beautiful folk melodies, I was captivated.
– Do you want to learn how to play? - he asked. I nodded in agreement."

In 1910, the first public concert of A. Segovia, organized by his friends, took place at the Artistic Center of Granada.

“On the way to the stage (my friend was carrying the guitar), an old flutist approached me:

– Do you know the guitarist who will play now?
I smiled and said:
– We know each other well: we are close friends.
– Is he talented?
- Not at all. Now you will hear for yourself.
He was surprised by my unkind characterization of a close friend and asked:
-Are you jealous of him? - And turning away from me with hostility, he entered the hall. But after the concert the flutist came to hug me and said:
“Indeed, your friend deserves both my congratulations and your envy.”

Segovia's first significant success was associated with Seville. Inspired by success, he began to dream of a concert in the capital, however, the first performance did not bring the desired success.

In 1915, Segovia met guitarist Miguel Llobet, thanks to whom he was able to give a concert in Barcelona in January 1916. However, they did not try to let the guitar into large halls. She was not popular tool, and everyone believed that the strength of its sound was insufficient, and it simply would not be heard in a large room.

The turning point in the fate of the guitar was a concert at the Palau Chamber Music Palace in Barcelona, where Andres Segovia finally received permission to perform. Sound beauty acoustic guitar literally bewitched the listeners.

Segovia's further success was facilitated by the atmosphere of Renacimiento, a movement for the revival of folk traditions in the music and culture of Spain. Over the next six years, the guitarist gained recognition for his instrument not only in concert halls Madrid and Barcelona, but also in other cities of Spain. To this must be added the success of two tours in South America in 1919 and 1921.

The main problem that Segovia seeks to solve is the creation of an original professional repertoire. He established creative contacts with other musicians and personally addressed requests to many composers. Manuel de Falla, responding to his request, wrote the play “In Memory of Debussy.” Federico Moreno Torroba - dances, nocturnes, plays, preludes, "Castilian Suite", "Castilian Concerto". In 1919, Segovia transcribed Albéniz's piano piece "Legend", which had a truly legendary future ahead of it.

The 20s were the time of birth new era in guitar art and the beginning of the world recognition of Segovia. Each performance of Segovia was perceived as a miracle, as a new discovery. He sought to overcome stereotypes and establish the guitar as a solo instrument.

Andres Segovia and the guitar conquer Paris, London, Buenos Aires. In 1928, on the day when the seventh concert was supposed to take place in Buenos Aires, at the same hour the world famous pianist Arthur Rubinstein was giving a concert opposite, at all of whose previous performances, as well as at Segovia’s concerts, the halls were overcrowded. But fears about the “duel” of the guitar and the piano were in vain: signs constantly hanging outside the halls where Rubinstein and Segovia performed reported: “there are no empty seats.”

If in the 20s the name of the great guitarist was associated with the birth of a new art, then in the 30s he could rightfully be called the creator of the guitar art of the twentieth century. His noble goal was to elevate the guitar, and only a highly artistic professional repertoire could provide the guitar with a worthy place. Segovia did not stop searching for new works, turning to different composers. Moreno Torroba, Pablo Casals, Joaquín Rodrigo, Federico Mompú, Gaspar Cassado, Manuel Ponce, Vila-Lobos and many other composers from Europe and America responded to his requests. Many people had not composed for guitar before meeting Segovia. Thanks to Segovia, a guitar class was introduced in most conservatories and music schools in the world. Since 1955, he taught students in the picturesque Italian city Siena, and then taught in Santiago de Compostela, medieval city in Spain (in Galicia), where, in order to entertain wealthy tourists, since 1958, two-week festivals called “Music in Compostela” began to be organized, the main purpose of which was to promote Spanish ancient and modern music. The organizers of the festival also attracted Segovia to participate in them, who began to conduct classes with students here. The room where they were held - Big hall With stone vaults, - resembled a church or monastery. Silence, the harsh architecture of a feudal castle with its courtyards, fragrant roses, walls covered with climbing grapes. In this environment, every instruction from an authoritative musician was perceived with almost religious awe, and the lessons were remembered for a lifetime.

Guitar by Hermann Hauser, 1937, Munich, Germany. Concert guitar of Andres Segovia's from 1937 until 1962. Gift of Emilita Segovia, Marquesa of Salobrena, 1986 (1986.353.1). Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Styles to which the performer can be classified:Jazz, Instrumental music, Acoustic music, Classical music, Heavy metal, Guitar music, Classic rock, Latin, Classic, Baroque, Flamenco

Andrés Torres Segovia (Spanish: Andrés Torres Segovia, since 1981 with the addition of the title Marqués de Salobreña, Spanish: marqués de Salobreña; February 21, 1893, Linares - June 3, 1987, Madrid) is a Spanish guitarist, considered the father of the modern academic guitar.

Since childhood, Segovia dreamed of making the guitar as recognized an instrument in the field of academic music as the piano or violin. He began learning to play the guitar from childhood with his relatives, inspired by the virtuoso technique of flamenco guitarists. As a teenager, Segovia moved to the city of Granada, where he took guitar lessons, and at the age of 16 he gave his first concert in Madrid, performing transcriptions of various works made for guitar by Francisco Tárrega, and his own transcriptions of Johann Sebastian Bach. Segovia's early performances were met with a cool reception, partly due to the fact that his performing technique was markedly different from that of Tárrega and most of his students: following Miguel Llobet (from whom Segovia may have received several lessons), he played using more than just pads fingers, but also nails, which makes the sound stronger and sharper (there is a point of view that this difference is due to Segovia’s desire to take the guitar out of living rooms and salons into large concert halls).

Since the mid-1910s. Segovia's performance skills gained increasing recognition for academic guitar in Spain. In 1919 and 1921 His first tour took place in South America, and in 1928 his first trip to the USA. Constantly expanding his guitar repertoire (this was one of the main merits of this musician), Segovia transcribed a wide range of works by different authors for guitar - including such outstanding and complex works, like "Legend" by Isaac Albéniz and<<Чакона>> Bach. At the same time, Segovia turned to contemporary composers with a request to write for guitar, and over time, Spanish, as well as European and Latin American composers (F. Moreno Torroba, J. Turina, M. Castelnuovo-Tedesco, M. Ponce, etc.) started to respond. The creative collaboration between Segovia and Heitor Villa-Lobos, who wrote for famous guitarist whole line works, starting with the famous “Twelve Etudes”.

Since the mid-1950s. Segovia taught a lot - first in Siena, and then in Santiago de Compostela, where he also contributed a lot to the creation of a local music festival. Among his students are many outstanding modern guitarists(D. Williams, D. Brim, A. Diaz, K. Parkening, etc.)

In 1958, Segovia became the owner Grammy Awards behind best entry solo academic music.

In 1981, the King of Spain, Juan Carlos I, in recognition of Segovia's services to Spanish culture, elevated him to the dignity of nobility with the title of Marquis. In 1985, Segovia was awarded the most prestigious award in the world of academic music - the Ernst Siemens Prize.

Until a very old age, Andres Segovia continued his concert and pedagogical activity. lasted more than seventy years creative path this great artist!

Since the mid-1910s. Segovia's performance skills gained increasing recognition for academic guitar in Spain. In 1919 and 1921 His first tour took place in South America, and in 1928 his first trip to the USA. Constantly expanding his guitar repertoire (this was one of the main merits of this musician), Segovia transcribed a wide range of works by various authors for guitar - including such outstanding and complex works as “Legend” by Isaac Albéniz and > Bach. At the same time, Segovia turned to contemporary composers with a request to write for guitar, and over time, Spanish, as well as European and Latin American composers (F. Moreno Torroba, J. Turina, M. Castelnuovo-Tedesco, M. Ponce, etc.) started to respond. Segovia’s creative collaboration with Heitor Villa-Lobos, who wrote a number of works for the famous guitarist, starting with the famous “Twelve Etudes,” turned out to be long-lasting.

Since the mid-1950s. Segovia taught a lot - first in Siena and then in Santiago de Compostela, where he also contributed greatly to the creation of a local music festival. Among his students are many outstanding modern guitarists (D. Williams, D. Brim, A. Diaz, K. Parkening, etc.)

In 1958, Segovia won the Grammy Award for Best Recording of Solo Academic Music.

Until a very old age, Andres Segovia continued his concert and teaching activities. The creative path of this great artist lasted more than seventy years!

The 20th century brought such significant, truly revolutionary changes to the guitar that it became the century of its second birth. The guitar owes this to Andres Segovia. It was as if Spain had been gathering strength for centuries to create an artist of such magnitude. Andres Segovia is an artist born in the era of the Renacimiento - national revival, which covered all spheres of socio-political and cultural life Spain late XIX- beginning of the 20th century.
Today it is difficult to imagine that at the beginning of his career the doors of concert halls in Spain were closed to the guitar...
Segovia's concert in the huge Barcelona Palau concert hall in 1916 was the first step towards changing the fate of the guitar, the beginning of overcoming views of the guitar as an instrument of limited capabilities.
But to establish the guitar as a concert instrument, it lacked what the piano or violin possessed—a highly artistic repertoire. The historical merit of Andres Segovia consists, first of all, in the creation of such a repertoire...
Today we are not surprised solo concerts guitarists in the largest halls of Madrid and Barcelona, Moscow and New York, London and Paris, Buenos Aires and Tokyo. Segovia was the first to perform in these halls, overcoming the centuries-old opinion of the guitar as an inexpressive instrument. Under his miraculous fingers, the guitar became equal among solo instruments - piano, violin, cello. The name of Andres Segovia is associated with the beginning of the revival of the guitar in our country. The four visits of the great Spaniard to the USSR are not only the triumphant success of his concerts. This is the development of traditional musical ties between Spain and our country, ties at the origins of which stood the great Glinka. On his last visit to the USSR in 1936, Segovia gave concerts in many cities...
To the question: “When did you start playing the guitar?” - Segovia replied: “Before I was born.” This answer, in addition to the wit characteristic of the artist, contains a deep meaning.
The guitar is a symbol of Spain. It contains her history, her soul. People trust the guitar to “express” their most cherished feelings: To you from the heart of completeness
I’ll answer with an old song:
“Let the guitar speak for me.”
(Translation by T.L. Shchepkina-Kupernik) So Lope de Vega in the play “The Dance Teacher” through the mouth of Aldemaro, and with him the whole of Spain, expressed their attitude towards their favorite instrument. Andres Segovia could not have been born outside of Spain, because it was here that the guitar was born, the use of which is as natural for a Spaniard as breathing. It is impossible to understand Segovia, to penetrate into this truly national phenomenon, without touching its origins - the centuries-old culture, the traditions of folk music playing in Andalusia - the southern region of Spain. Andres Segovia was born here and spent his childhood and teenage years here.
Where and when was Andres Segovia born? To this question various sources They answer differently. Encyclopedia spanish culture states that "Andrés Segovia was born in Jaén on February 18, 1894." The same data is provided by German and Italian encyclopedias.
However, according to Riemann's Musical Lexicon, Andres Segovia was born on February 17, 1893 in Linares. Baker's American Biographical Dictionary of Musicians also gives the same dates, but does not specify the place of birth: “near Jaén.” B. Wolman, the author of the book “Guitar and Guitarists,” claims that “Andres Torres Segovia was born on February 18, 1894 in Linares (Spain),” accompanying this data with the following explanation: “Among the conflicting information about the time and place of birth Segovia, given in reference books, the data indicated is apparently the most reliable.” Andres Segovia himself, with his characteristic sense of humor, once remarked that researchers are unlikely to fight to establish exact date his birth. “The truth is,” says Andres Segovia, “that I was born on February 21, 1893.”
Andalusia. City of Linares. Street Jose Antonio. The house in which Segovia was born has not survived. A large four-story building was built in its place. On the marble plaque attached to it we read: “In this house, on February 21, 1893, the brilliant guitarist Andres Segovia Torres, an outstanding son of the city of Linares, 1968, was born.”
A few weeks after Andresito’s birth, his family moved to the city of Jaén, famous for its olive groves and fierce winds that can make the bells of the local cathedral ring melodiously. It is possible that these winds were the cause of the newborn Andresito’s severe cold, which, apparently, should have ended tragically. Fearing that the child would remain unbaptized, the parents took him to church. But Andresito was strong enough to spit out the sea salt that the priest put into his mouth. It was a good omen: he survived.
Domingo Prat, the author of the famous “Dictionary of Guitarists”, published in Buenos Aires in 1934, managed to find the act of baptism of Andres Segovia, which took place in Jaén in the Church of St. Pedro March 24, 1893. This act is the only document from which we learn the names of Andres's parents: father Bonifacio Segovia y Montoro, a native of Linares, and mother Rosa Torres Cruz, a native of Malaga. The name Andres was given in honor of his paternal grandfather.
Domingo Prat notes that in this document the surname of Segovia’s father is given not with the letter “c”, but with the letter “b”: Segobia.
Returning to the distant years of childhood, Andres Segovia in his “Autobiography” sadly recalls the day when his parents left him in the care of his childless uncle Eduardo and aunt Maria. In order to calm the bitterly crying child, his uncle took his little hand in his and began to beat out the rhythm of a song with the following words: To play the guitar,
You need a strong hand and perseverance.
“This song,” wrote Andres Segovia, “made such an impression on me that even today, remembering it, I experience a warm feeling. This is the first musical seed thrown into my soul.” Uncle Eduardo could not, of course, even imagine what a magical hand and what enormous perseverance his nephew would have!
“Music is like the ocean, and musical instruments like islands scattered in this ocean. My island is the guitar,” Segovia later wrote in his autobiographical essay “The Guitar and Me.” An interesting fact about Segovia’s development as a musician-artist is that he was entirely engaged in self-education. He independently studied history, literature, art, and learned the secrets of guitar mastery. According to him, he was both teacher and student. But Segovia the teacher was merciless and irreconcilable, and Segovia the student was zealous and diligent.
At the age of 14, with impressive musical and technical training, Segovia gave his first concert in Granada. This was followed by concerts in Cordoba, Seville, and Madrid. A year later, he gave 15 concerts in Barcelona, the last of them at the Catalan Palace of Music. Then continuous concerts and tours began. For a number of years Segovia has been touring Spain, then, after the end of the First World War - in South and Central America.
In 1924, his debut took place in Paris. Segovia's brilliant skill received unanimous recognition from Parisian critics, and contracts were concluded with him for performances in all capitals of Europe.
In 1926-27, Segovia visited the USSR, in 1928 he played in New York, then toured all the countries of the Far East with concerts.
Regarding his tour in the USSR, People's Commissar of Education A.V. Lunacharsky wrote: “When they talk about a guitar concert, it immediately seems that it’s about some kind of pure tricks.” external character. The guitar is a fascinating instrument, but admittedly poor in resources and most likely an accompanist instrument. However, it would be a mistake to apply these criteria to Segovia... It is difficult to imagine such a complete overcoming of the limits of the instrument - and not by artificially forcing it, but by the extraordinary ability to extract from it all the hitherto unknown possibilities hidden in it - combined with a wonderful artistic taste and high musicality” /* Lunacharsky A.V. Segovia (For the upcoming concert). Worker and Theater, 1926, No. 10/.
In a review of Segovia's concert, outstanding Soviet composer and scientist B.V. Asafiev wrote: “...Segovia is, first of all, a serious and strict musician. His performance cannot in any way be accused of cheap panache and virtuosity in bad taste. Listening to it is a unique pleasure: the nobility of sound, rhythm, intense restraint of performance, exceptional clarity and purity of intonation (the harmonics are simply amazing!), impeccability of taste, refined, not ostentatious craftsmanship and, of course, a fabulous wealth of dynamic and coloristic shades - this is what especially and mainly attracts Segovia’s enchanting play, a play so unusual in our country, where art has become so vulgar. Segovia He does not lose sight of the plasticity of form for a single moment: he beautifully and consistently emphasizes structural details, brilliantly colors the main melodic line with lush patterns or develops it with a fragile, like a refined carving, ornament. And behind all these qualities of a virtuoso there burns a deep feeling that warms the sound (golden, juicy and tender...) and vitally rhythmizes it” /** “Krasnaya Gazeta” (evening issue), 1926, No. 66 (1070 )/.
Segovia has reached great heights artistic skill in mastering the instrument. His impeccable musical taste and performing talent give him the right to make transcriptions of the most complex musical works and create a new guitar repertoire. His talent inspired many composers to write pieces for the guitar. Manuel Ponce, Heitor Villa-Lobos, Alexander Tansman, Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Joaquin Turina, Federico Moreno-Torroba, Joaquin Rodrigo - this is an incomplete list of the names of composers who created new valuable works for Segovia's guitar.
A. Segovia was proclaimed honorary president of the Classical Guitar Society in New York; The University of the Spanish city of Santiago de Compostello awarded him the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and literature; Florida State University awarded him a Doctor of Music degree.

Andres Segovia visited 70 countries of the world, and everywhere he was accompanied by success, which never left him, starting from the first concert in Granada. At one of the concerts he was called the great patriarch of the guitar, and this is completely true!

SEGOVIA Andres ( Segovia Andres)

SEGOVIA Andres (1893-1987) - an outstanding Spanish guitarist and teacher. As a child, he learned to play the piano, violin and cello, while simultaneously studying the guitar on his own. Listening to folk music, playing flamenco and studying music literature helped him. Segovia's first concert took place in 1909, but world fame came to him in 1924, after a concert in Paris.

Three times, in 1926, 1927, 1935-1936, he came to the USSR and gave concerts in Moscow, Leningrad, Kyiv and Odessa with constant success. Segovia not only gave concerts, but also met with local guitarists, listened to them play, and conducted methodological discussions and open lessons. This also affected the development of guitar art in the Soviet Union: after the tour, many professional musicians began to look at the guitar as an instrument worthy of serious study. The consequence was the opening of guitar classes in music schools (then technical schools), as well as in individual music universities. An ardent supporter of Segovia was P. S. Agafoshin, who was the first in the USSR to create the “School of Playing the Six-String Guitar”, based on the methodological principles of the outstanding guitarist. Thus, Segovia was not only an artist, but also an active promoter of his instrument.

Segovia trained a brilliant galaxy of guitarists - D. Williams, D. Brim (Great Britain), A. Diaz (Venezuela), H. Thomas (Spain), K. Parkening (USA), M. Gasbarroni (Italy), etc. Activities of Andres Segovia acquired such a scope because already at the very beginning of his musical career he considered the guitar as one of the components of the entire musical culture as a whole. With his help, old literature for the guitar was revived and new literature was born, he interested professional musicians and composers in the guitar, which led to a rise in interest in the art of playing the classical guitar. His musical activity is considered and assessed as an outstanding event of the twentieth century. In Venice, Segovia was awarded the most honorable prize - “A Life Dedicated to Art.”

Active work as a concert artist did not prevent Segovia from teaching guitar courses in Santiago de Compostela, at the Quijan Academy of Music in Siena, and at the University of Berkeley. At the same time, he enriches his repertoire with guitar transcriptions of works by famous composers, as well as pieces for lute and vihuela.

Formulating the goals of his work, Segovia wrote:

"I have dedicated my life to four main goals:

separating the guitar from mindless amusements folklore type;

providing it with a repertoire of high quality, composed of works that have great importance in music and from the pens of composers, usually writing for orchestra, piano, violin, etc.;

bringing the beauty of guitar sound to philharmonic audiences around the world;

Segovia was born in Andalusia, in the city of Linares, on February 21, 1893, and a few weeks later the family moved to Jaén. The wonderful art of improvisation of the folk guitarists of Andalusia and the original culture of this ancient land greatly influenced his worldview.

In his autobiography, Segovia described meeting his first guitar teacher:

“One day a flamenco guitarist came to our house. At the first strong rasgueado, I jumped out of my chair and fell. But when he started playing beautiful folk melodies, I was captivated.
- Do you want to learn how to play? - he asked. I nodded in agreement."

In 1910, the first public concert of Andres Segovia, organized by his friends, took place at the Artistic Center of Granada.

“On the way to the stage (my friend was carrying the guitar), an old flutist approached me:
- Do you know the guitarist who will play now?
- I smiled and said:
- We know each other well: we are close friends.
- Is he talented?
- Not at all. Now you will hear for yourself.
He was surprised by my unkind characterization of a close friend and asked:
- Do you envy him? - And turning away from me with hostility, he entered the hall. But after the concert the flutist came to hug me and said:
“Indeed, your friend deserves both my congratulations and your envy.”

Segovia's first significant success was associated with Seville. Inspired by success, he began to dream of a concert in the capital, however, the first performance did not bring the desired success.

In 1915, Segovia met guitarist Miguel Llobet, thanks to whom he was able to give a concert in Barcelona in January 1916. However, they did not want to let the guitar into large halls. It was not a popular instrument, and everyone believed that its sound was not strong enough and would simply not be heard in a large room.

The turning point in the fate of the guitar was the concert at the Palace chamber music"Palau" in Barcelona, where Segovia finally received permission to perform. The beauty of the sound of an acoustic guitar literally bewitched the listeners.

The atmosphere of the Renacimiento, the revival movement, contributed to Segovia's further successes folk traditions in the music and culture of Spain. Over the next six years, the guitarist won recognition for his instrument not only in the concert halls of Madrid and Barcelona, but also in other cities in Spain. To this must be added the success of two tours to South America in 1919 and 1921.

The 20s became the birth of a new era in guitar art and the beginning of the world recognition of Segovia. Each performance of Segovia was perceived as a miracle, as a new discovery. He sought to overcome stereotypes and establish the guitar as a solo instrument.

If in the 20s the name of the great guitarist was associated with the birth of a new art, then in the 30s he could rightfully be called the creator of the guitar art of the twentieth century. His noble goal was to elevate the guitar, and only a highly artistic professional repertoire could provide the guitar with a worthy place. Segovia did not stop searching for new works, turning to different composers. Moreno Torroba, Pablo Casals, Joaquín Rodrigo, Federico Mompú, Gaspar Cassado, Manuel Ponce, Villa-Lobos and many other composers from Europe and America responded to his requests. Many people had not composed for guitar before meeting Segovia. Thanks to Segovia, a guitar class was introduced in most conservatories and music schools in the world. From 1955 he taught students in the picturesque Italian city of Siena, and then taught in Santiago de Compostela, a medieval city in Spain (in Galicia), where, in 1958, a two-week festival called "Music in Compostela" was organized to entertain wealthy tourists. ", the main purpose of which was to promote Spanish ancient and modern music. The organizers of the festival also attracted Segovia to participate in them, who began to conduct classes with students here. The room where they were held - a large hall with stone vaults - resembled a church or monastery. Silence, the harsh architecture of a feudal castle with its courtyards, fragrant roses, walls covered with climbing grapes. In this environment, every instruction from an authoritative musician was perceived with almost religious awe, and the lessons were remembered for a lifetime.

In the history of Spain there was no artist who so actively promoted Spanish music around the world. Once, explaining why the guitar is the favorite instrument in Spain, Andres Segovia said that one Spaniard is already a whole society, just like one guitar is a whole orchestra!