Customer Reviews

Centenary Celebration

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Segovia was and always will be The Maestro. He was, as other reviewers say, the pioneer of modern classical guitar. To say that he has been somehow surpassed and passed by, as one previous reviewer seems to think is pure rubbish. To say that others have followed in his footsteps and become greats as well, is fact.

Music is always open to interpretation. Segovia was a great player and to understand the history of the classical guitar one must have listened to Segovia. He created the yardstick by which others are now measured.

This set not only includes great works played by the Maestro, it also includes Segovia speaking of his own life with the guitar. It is worth having along with other, more modern, gifted players such as Williams, Bream, Parkening and others who followed in the Maestro's footsteps.

Segovia was the greatest classical guitarist that ever lived and always WILL be the greatest that ever lived, for he was the ROCK on which the classical guitar was practically founded! These 3 CD's of his most treasured pieces cut straight through the heart with GREAT brilliance and virtuosity- Words cannot express his mastery of the instrument. I especially liked the autobiography on the fourth CD- VERY thrilling to hear the maestro's voice- In Spanish AND in English. This is a MUST HAVE for the serious classical guitarist-

Musically, it's not just guitar music that he is offering: note the exquisite emotion patterns, the languor and the nostalgia and his sighs...it's most soothing and consolating.

Technically, the subtleties and the phenomenon could partly be attributed to his insistence on the use of the fleshy part, instead of the hard part of his thumb. Like Arrau and Horszowski on the piano or Menuhin on the violin: they always stuck to the hardest way aiming at the best result.

The remastered sound is wonderful. I'm not particularly keen about the narrative part though.

Okay, my classical experience is highly limited, having been raised on a healthy diet of Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and other blazing rock guitarists. But that doesn't mean I can't recognize a powerful guitarist when I see it, and Andres Segovia is just that. Sure you'll find your share of faster, more energetic playing, but you won't find any guitarist (Robert Johnson probably. George Harrison, maybe) in blues or rock that plays with as much melody, texture, and sheer, tear-jerking, beauty. And even if you have, guess what? They weren't the first to do it, and they weren't doing as far back as the 1920s. (Kicking it until the grand old age of 104) He is one of the first truly great guitarists, a virtuoso long before Satriani and Vai, playing classical on guitar long before anyone else, and playing it better then anyone else. This is him, completely solo and absolutely out of this universe in his playing. If you want to play guitar like the greats, then you can't go another day without this in your collection, deserving of a spot on your wall with Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Robert Johnson, and all the imitators that followed him!

I totally agree with the fact that every classical guitarist
owes great respect to Segovia, but the reason I gave this recording such a low rating is a simple matter of evolution. Unlike instruments like the violin, the classical guitar as we know it today is a very young instrument (+-1 century). It also didn't get the recognition it deserved untill segovia came along. From that moment on, the classical guitar's popularity increased immensely, actually it is still growing. As a logical result of this growing popularity, the quality of the technique improved and interpretations were refined.
Though Segovia was incredible guitarist in his time and situation (he was the ONLY international preformer that played this instrument), it would just be irrational to claim that the dozens of great preformers later on never improved compared to segovia. It's like denying that einstein's theories are more accurate than those of Isaac Newton, because Newton was the rock on wich fysics were mostly build.

These recordings are interesting for those who would like to do some historical research on the classical guitar, but for those who just want to listen to a good preformance, I would really recommend the more recent recordings (Russel, Fisk, Sollscher,...).

Who is qualified to review Andr'es Segovia and dare to suggest anything short of brilliant!