If one person is responsible for the classical guitar as we know it today, it is Andrés Segovia (1893–1987). When he began, the guitar was widely seen as a folk or salon instrument, unfit for the serious concert stage. By the time he died, it was a respected member of the concert world, taught in conservatories worldwide and played in the great halls. Almost single-handedly, Segovia changed the instrument's place in music.
From Linares to the world
Born in Linares, in Andalusia, Segovia was largely self-taught — he found no formal guitar teacher he respected and built his own technique from study and instinct. He gave his first public concert as a teenager and his Paris debut in the 1920s, and from there toured relentlessly across Europe, the Americas and beyond, proving in hall after hall that the guitar could hold a serious audience on its own.
Building a repertoire from nothing
Segovia's greatest gift to the guitar may be the music itself. Frustrated by how little serious modern repertoire existed, he persuaded leading composers to write for him — among them Manuel Ponce, Federico Moreno Torroba, Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Joaquín Rodrigo and Heitor Villa-Lobos, whose Études are dedicated to him. He also made his own transcriptions, most famously of Bach, and edited the studies of Fernando Sor that students still use. The modern concert repertoire largely exists because Segovia willed it into being.
The guitars he played
Segovia's instruments are part of guitar history. After early years on a Ramírez, he famously played a 1937 Hermann Hauser I, which he called the greatest guitar of his era; later he played instruments by Ignacio Fleta and José Ramírez. His choices shaped what generations of players and makers aspired to.
Recordings and recognition
Segovia was among the first guitarists to record extensively, and his recordings carried his sound and repertoire into homes around the world, inspiring countless people to take up the instrument. Showered with honours — including a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and a Spanish title of nobility — he taught and gave master classes into old age, shaping players who became masters in their own right.
His legacy
Every classical guitarist today lives in the world Segovia built: the concert career, the conservatory training, the serious repertoire, the very idea that the guitar belongs alongside the violin and the piano. He was not without his strong opinions — he famously disliked the flamenco and the electric guitar worlds — but his achievement is beyond dispute. To play the classical guitar seriously is, in some sense, to follow him.
FAQ
Why is Andrés Segovia so important?
He raised the classical guitar from a folk and salon instrument to a respected concert instrument, created much of its modern repertoire, and inspired generations through his recordings and teaching.
What guitar did Segovia play?
Most famously a 1937 Hermann Hauser; earlier a Ramírez, and later instruments by Fleta and Ramírez.
Did Segovia write music?
He composed little, but transcribed and edited a great deal — and, crucially, commissioned major new works from composers such as Ponce, Torroba, Castelnuovo-Tedesco and Villa-Lobos.
