Giants of the Guitar - The Performers

 Happy Monday all and welcome to another week of Music, Men and More!  Today we begin our focus on the Giants of the Guitar.  When I conceived this plan, I had no idea the wealth of material I would find in regards to the Classical Guitar, its Music, Composers and its Performance Artists.  There was so much material, I could not possibly do an adequate job of this in just a week, so our focus will be spread over this week and next.  

When I think of Classical Guitar and Spanish Classical Guitar in particular, two names immediately come to mind, Andres Segovia and Joaquin Rodrigo.  Segovia, of course, was perhaps the greatest classical guitarist of all time and Rodrigo was a Composer and virtuoso Pianist.  Rodrigo never mastered the guitar as a performer, but composed some of the finest works ever written for the instrument.  Oddly enough, both men are 20th Century figures with Rodrigo Composing many of the works most endeared by the audiences of Segovia. 

Therein lies the crux of the problem I encountered when trying to come up with a viable plan for this series of posts.  Do I stick with The Performers of which there are a great many or do I go with The Composers whose numbers are greater than those of The Performers.  To resolve the conflict, I have segmented our focus into two parts,  This week then we will look at The Performers among our Giants of the Guitar and next week we will scratch the surface of The Composers of all the glorious music written for the acoustic guitar. 

Unlike the Grand Masters of the Cello and the Grand Pianists, there was not a lot of documentary type footage available on You Tube for these musical artists, so I decided I would focus on their performances which is why they are among the Giants in the first place.  Where else could I start but with Andres Segovia?  Once again Wikipedia is our friend with more on this Giant of the Guitar:

Andrés Segovia Torres, 1st Marquis of Salobreña (Spanish: [anˈdɾes seˈɣoβja ˈtores]) (21 February 1893 – 2 June 1987),[1] known as Andrés Segovia, was a virtuoso Spanish classical guitarist from Linares, Spain. He has been regarded as one of the greatest guitarists of all time. Many professional classical guitarists today are students of Segovia, or students of his students.[2]

Segovia's contribution to the modern-romantic repertoire not only included commissions but also his own transcriptions of classical or baroque works. He is remembered for his expressive performances: his wide palette of tone, and his distinctive musical personality, phrasing and style.

Segovia's repertoire consisted of three principal pillars. Firstly, contemporary works, including concertos and sonatas, usually specifically written for Segovia himself by composers he forged working relationships with, notably Spaniards such as Federico Moreno Torroba, Federico Mompou, and Joaquín Rodrigo, the Mexican composer Manuel Ponce, the Italian composer Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, and the great Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos. Secondly, transcriptions, usually made by Segovia himself,^[26] of classical works originally written for other instruments (e.g., lute, harpsichord, piano, violin, cello) by Johann Sebastian Bach, Isaac Albéniz, Enrique Granados, and many other prominent composers. Thirdly, traditional classical guitar works by composers such as Fernando Sor and Francisco Tárrega. Segovia's influence enlarged the repertoire, mainly as a commissioner or dedicatee of new works, as a transcriber, and to a far lesser extent as a composer^[27] with such works as his Estudio sin luz.

Today's video presentation  is of Volume 4 of Segovia's The Baroque Guitar box set of LP's now digitally remastered on CD.  The play list includes the following:

1	–Purcell*	Prelude	0:36
2	–Purcell*	Minuet	1:24
3	–Purcell*	A New Irish Tune	1:03
4	–Purcell*	Jig	1:08
5	–Purcell*	Rondo	1:30
6	–Scarlatti*	Sonata In A (L. 483 / K. 322)	3:36
7	–Handel*	Sonata In D Minor	3:26
8	–Handel*	Fughette	1:00
9	–Handel*	Menuet	3:46
10	–Handel*	Air	2:46
11	–Handel*	Passepied	0:50
12	–Frescobaldi*	Passacaglia	5:25
13	–Frescobaldi*	Corrente	1:30
14	–Weiss*	Fantasie	2:30
15	–Weiss*	Tombeau Sue La Mort De M. Comte D'Logy	5:06
16	–Weiss*	Minuet I - Minuet II	3:46
17	–Bach*	Prelude (From Cello Suite No. 1)	2:10
18	–Bach*	Gavotte (From Cello Suite No. 6)	3:45
19	–Bach*	Bourée (From Lute Suite In E Minor, BWV 996)	1:26
20	–Bach*	Bourée (From Violin Partita No. 1)	3:27
21	–Bach*	Courante (From Cello Suite No. 3)	2:47
22	–Handel*	Allegretto Grazioso	2:45
23	–Handel*	Gavotte	1:18
24	–Handel*	Minuet	2:17
25	–Handel*	Sarabande	3:50
26	–Scarlatti*	Sonata (L. 79 / K. 391)	2:45

The companion piece over on my tumblr is Segovia's The Spanish Guitar: My Favorite Works Volume 3.  While there, you may want to check out your Hottie of the Day!, Toby Tucker.  However, before you head over to my tumblr, be sure to indulge your underwear fetish with this collection of hunks and hotties in their Monday's Undies posted down below.  Tune in tomorrow to find the identity of the next Performer among our Giants of the Guitar.  Until next time as always, Enjoy!