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Show SMOKEv·s RECORDS 1515 S. 15th East Sdlt Lake City, Utah 841 05 '(801) 486-8709 1 0°/o off with your lAMA card 5195 Emigration Canyon ' 583-1869 Breakfast any time Live lVIusic Classical Corner ... _ by David Norton Homanaje a Andres S~govia (1893 - 1987) On February 21, the world will 75 years of performing experience to · mark the centennial of the birth of Mae- , draw upon; the surprise is lessened stro Andres Segovia. Volumes have been somewhat. , written about him in magazines and The second time I saw met Segovia books, including his own autobiograhy was in 1983. I was in the company of my of the formative years 1893 to 1920. (Cu- teacher, Ron Purcell, who was one of . riously, no ful1-l~ngth biography, self- Segovia's protege's in the early 1960s, penned or otherwi~e, covering the sub- and some fellow students from Cal State sequent years in any sort of detail has Northridge. Ron introduced us as "fa-emerged.) There is some debate over the vorite students," we muttered some precise date of his birth, but the date inanities about how wonderful the per-mentioned is the most generhlly ac- formance was, and I managed to get him cepted one, his birth documentations to autograph his Autobiography. I truth, supposedly destroyed in the Spanish' I hadn't enjoyed the show this time Civil War. nearly as much. The playing seemed No matter. Segovia's contribution to wandering, and was more a case of hear-the musical culture of the 20th century ing a Living Legend than a musical ex-far outweighs questions of birthdays; perience. ironically, the precise date of his death is Lenny Blum made the mistake of also somewhat debatable between May pointing this out to Ron, who perhaps 31 and June 3 of 1987, with June 2 gener- -· was less than objective where Segovia ally accepted. was concerned. The general gist was one I met Segovi? three times, though he does not criticize The Maestro in the would never have recalled the circum- presence of A Disciple, and that objec-stances. The first time was 1981, after a tive musical standards no longer could concert in Pasadena. One thing which be applied to anyofle who had per-struck me about Segoyia's programming formed before Lenny's parents were was that he didn't play "The Segovian born. Oh well ... _ Repertoire." My final meeting with Segovia was Now, while you are trying to make at his 1986 Masterclass at the University sense of that curious statement, let me of Southern California. I asked his opm-explain. "Segovian Repertoire" generally i?n of the music of Agustin Barrios, a is taken to mean well-worn works by · Paraguayan guitarist-composer whose Ponce, Torroba, Turina, Bach, Sor, work I was then intensely studying. Albeniz, Tarrega, and the others. This is Little did I realize that an intense rivalry what is culled together in many student had existed in the 1920s between these recitals. Segovia managed to stay away two titans of the instrument, and from performing only these pieces, and Segovia's reply indicated that he really would almost always offer something had hoped Barrios and his music would unexpected: the complete Platero y Yo remain forgotten. cycle by 'Castelnuovo-Tedesco; a set of Segovia's third-to-last (pen-piano transcriptions by Robert pemiltin;late?) recital was in Los Angeles, Schumann, or even a first performance in April1987. This was prime Segovia, of a new work by Molleda: Torroba, or J?uarte.· When you consider that he had continued next page 8 Intermountain Acoustic Musician, February 1993 |
