As with Pau Casals, so Andres Segovia was a master of his instrument. If Casals established the cello’s proper place in the orchestra and as a solo instrument, Segovia raised the guitar to an entirely new status on the concert platform. Born in 1893 in Linares, Jaen – where there is now a statue erected to his honour – he died in Madrid in 1987.
He was self-taught and was playing in public by the time he was sixteen and after performing throughout Spain, in 1919 toured Uruguay and Argentina for the first time. Quickly he became known internationally, giving recitals in France, Switzerland, Germany and Austria and later in Russia, Denmark and Britain. His first visit to the U.S.A. was in 1928 and in the 1950’s his recitals there became an annual event.
Like so many others, he ...
