-
A short video about the various timbres of the guitar by Maestro Segovia. Enjoy!
Play live . . . Marinero
-
10-08-2021 12:32 PM
-
I had a dream I met Segovia last night. He lived in a massive villa in Spain and he was very charming. I didn't dare play guitar in front of him.
-
Did you move to a place behind his back?
Originally Posted by Christian Miller
-
Originally Posted by Christian Miller
Hi, C,
Watch some of his masterclasses on YT . . . they are worth the time and really interesting if you know/play the music. Segovia, like all great players, was concerned with his students' personal sound and interpretation of the music and for those who were invited to study with the maestro, they had to have real potential for greatness or they were "roughed over the coals". Here's a short example with one of his most successful students, Oscar Ghilia, as well others.
Play live . . . Marinero
-
I am quite a bad classical guitarist, but masterclasses are usually of interest. I enjoyed Bream’s, very interesting…. Originally Posted by Marinero
-
Reminds me of the bit in the ‘Segovia at Los Olivos’ documentary where he says he didn’t look at the scale when the architect sent him the plans for his new villa, so didn’t realise it was going to be so massive. Originally Posted by Christian Miller
A bit like the Spinal Tap ‘Stonehenge’ fiasco, but in reverse.
-
I saw Segovia play live twice, in his late 80s. The first was quite bizarre in that he did only two concerts in the UK: the Barbican in London, and of all places, a cinema in East Kilbride, a former mining town in Scotland, which is where I saw him. The second time was in Edinburgh.
Although I recognise Segovia’s style went contrary to the grain of historical technique and interpretation (which I was obsessed with for twenty years) I loved much of what he did. I even argued that he was MORE authentic than any lute player, for the sole reason that he did what he wanted to do, he wasn’t trying to recreate something. He was alive (then) and absolutely his own master. That said, there’s no denying he was a pompous git at times! Beyond arrogant.
What I liked best about his approach was that it was conversational. He allowed us to listen in to the conversation he was having with the composer. It was a conversation between equals, not master and slave, even when the composer was Bach. But there’s no denying that he did some odd things. But he was an old Romantic, and the 20th-century outgrew him. He made his mark.
-
I saw him just once, at the Fairfield Halls in Croydon, I think he was in his 80s by then.
There were some memory lapses and awkward pauses, but every now and then he played a phrase with an unforgettably beautiful sound and musicality. I was glad I’d seen him.
-
I saw him once, at Massey Hall in Toronto, in March 1982. He filled that large space with such clarity, sensitivity and power, a huge sound although he was such a tiny distant figure alone on the stage from where I sat in the gods. That concert changed my conception of the guitar.
-
haha how bizarre Originally Posted by grahambop
-
To be honest, I suspect it was probably a well-polished anecdote that Segovia had perfected to stop the local peasants moaning about the size of his villa. Originally Posted by Christian Miller
It is pretty big:
-
it’s funny I dreamt that detail without knowing Originally Posted by grahambop
To be honest, I suspect it was probably a well-polished anecdote that Segovia had perfected to stop the local peasants moaning about the size of his villa.
It is pretty big:
-
But I was probably dreaming more of the palace I went to in Seville…
-
It's why he played up until the end, he owed so much money on that Villa. Originally Posted by grahambop
-
I saw him 3 times, twice at Symphony Hall in Boston and once at a smaller venue. One of those three was a good Segovia concert, but he was deteriorating fast in the mid-80s, and at his last in Symphony Hall appearance, he sounded like he was playing a toy kalimba and his program was fairly easy pieces. Sad to see, although I did get to see one magical performance where the very first Em chord of his Frescobaldi transcription signaled a very good experience to come. It was much easier to appreciate and enjoy Bream and Williams' appearances at the 1200-seat Jordan Hall, where the nuances weren't lost and the guitar didn't have to be man-handled. Originally Posted by pcjazz
-
I found some plans and photos of it here (it’s in Spanish). Originally Posted by ronjazz
achefeliz: 1965-1966. CASA PARA ANDRES SEGOVIA EN LA PUNTA DE LA MONA. Fernando Higueras
-
Hi, C, Originally Posted by Christian Miller
Segovia's masterclasses are essential viewing for all serious musicians . . . not just guitarists. The value of them, for me, is that as an artist/teacher he had a strong belief how the guitar should be played properly and was easily irritated if he felt a musician was playing contrary to his suggestions and not listening to his advice . . certainly not a Y2K teaching practice. He was especially tough on Spanish guitarists since he always felt that Spain was the birthplace of the guitar(right or wrong) ,as you can see in the last video I posted, where he brutally criticized one of the Spanish players. However, there is a wealth of musical knowledge he imparts in his videos that applies to all genres of good musicianship ,irrespective of instrument, and this is, especially, why a serious guitarist should watch all of them--even Jazz guitarists.
The only time I saw Segovia play live was in '76-'78(?) in Miami, Florida. He was in his middle 80's ,then, and played unamplified in the large Cultural Center hall. When he went to his chair in the middle of the stage, he said nothing and sat down. He stared at the audience and waited until there was complete silence. Deadly silence. Then, he played. It was an inspiring artistic performance with a mix of the Spanish masters and Bach and after the concert, I ran into a fellow musician who smugly commented that Segovia made a couple of mistakes when he played. I didn't know if I should punch him for his stupidity or just walk away. However, the lessons of Segovia are the lessons of an artist who possessed an innate sense of musicality and style as he transformed the black dots on the page into into one of the highest forms of human communication and emotion. He was an original.
Play live . . . Marinero
-
I saw Oscar Ghiglia 4-5 years ago at the 92nd Street Y. I’d never heard of him before that night. It was a Parkening festival for Segovia. Eliot Fisk was the final act and big dog. Ghiglia got demonstrably pissed because some woman in the audience was trying to say something to him but he couldn’t hear her clearly. He waved his hand in disgust and said agh! Lol. Originally Posted by Marinero
He played well.
-
Andres Segovia - my favorite guitar master.
I have a book of F..Sor Etudes with Segovia fingerings.
The book is probably 50 years old and I always look at it.
Thanks Marinero for the links.
-
Even though Segovia took all those studies from Coste’s Method. Coste was a student of Sor, and a fine composer for the guitar. He made a number of changes to his late teacher’s scores, and Segovia copied them. Most people of Segovia’s youth would have got to Sor via Coste. But what do we see on the Segovia edition? A massive photo of Segovia, and his name in bigger letters than Sor’s, and no mention at all of Coste. Marketing and ego.
If you are really into Sor’s studies, there is only one edition I recommend: https://tecla.com/shop/digital-downl...ital-download/
-
Great. Originally Posted by Rob MacKillop
I think my book is one of the first editions and there are no pictures of Segovia / except the cover.
I think it is from 1975 and price $ 2 in USA.
Best
Kris
Attachment 85286
-
By the way, I have a question: Has anyone used PG Music-The Sor Studies for win?
Looks interesting:
PG Music - The Sor Studies
-
That’s the cover I was talking about. I love Segovia, but when it comes to Sor’s studies, I prefer to work from Sor’s notation.
-
As for the PG Music edition, I listened to a video of the performer extracted from the DVD, and while he’s a very competent performer I can only quote Sor himself: “Never in my life have I heard a guitarist whose playing was supportable, if he played with the nails. The nails can produce but very few gradations in the quality of the sound: the piano passage can never be singing, nor the fortes sufficiently full.”
You and I will have to agree to disagree about Sor versus modern interpreters, Kris
-
Years ago someone gave me an old copy of the Segovia edition, but at some point I wanted to have all the studies so I got the Chanterelle complete edition.
Reply With Quote
Critic my Jazz Improvisation Solo practice
Today, 02:43 AM in Improvisation