PALACE OF LA ALHAMBRA
GRANADA The guitar begins to weep. The nightcap glasses
are breaking. The guitar begins to weep. Useless to stop it. Impossible to stop it. It's crying and crying, crying like water, crying like the wind across the snow. Impossible to stop it. Crying for things far away. Hot southern Sands
asking for white camellias. Arrow with no target,
Evening with no morning. And the first dead bird
on the branch. Oh, guitar! Wounded heart
from five swords. THE CATHEDRAL
OF THE SIX STRINGS FIRST STRING E Let's start with this. We are just going to do G-B. Spain took the guitar
as its national instrument, MASTER IN CLASSICAL GUITAR
ALICANTE you go to Japan, to Indonesia and they know the guitar
has a connection with Spain. Now it's a totally
international instrument and our repertory is too. GUITARIST The works developed by Turin,
Falla, Albéniz, Granados, etc. have a connection
with Spanish folklore, where the guitar
is the king of instruments. Spain is still
the cathedral of the six strings. Classical guitar,
Spanish guitar, it's called that
because of its particular sound thanks to being conceived of a composition of materials,
with an interior bracing, so that when you listen to
a guitar made in Spain, VICE PRESIDENT-ART
OF THE SPANISH GUITAR ASSOCIATION the guitar makers, many of them abroad,
distinguish the sound. "PANTOMIME" (EL AMOR BRUJO) IGNACIO RODES AND FABIO ZANON The Spanish Guitar
is the name given to an instrument whose
probable origins are in diverse instruments of the Muslim
Arab and Mediterranean world, which around
the 15th and 16th centuries DIRECTOR
BARCELONA MUSEUM OF MUSIC began to transform
into a popular instrument. At present, it is probably the
number 1 instrument in the world, but what give it power
are the people, its social base. Knowing how to participate
in collective life, from the most popular fiestas to the most sophisticated
expressions of music of the court or of the nobility. The Moorish guitar
calls out, in high-pitched voices,
and rough tones; the portly lute
accompanies a rustic dance, and the Spanish guitar
joins in. GUITARIST The history
of the guitar is fragmented. Each generation
wanted to change the instrument, improve on the past. This recuperation of the guitar
was the most genuine one. GUITAR MAKER 1817-1892 Through the figure of Torres
and some good luthiers. Antonio de Torres is a legend. Being a great legend, he was a man of capabilities, with a character,
with stronger sensitivities than in the world of other
guitar makers of his time. When we analyze the guitars
in the mid-19th century, we see that sometimes they're
attributed with innovations that someone had already advanced,
but he knew how to synthesize. He knew how to assemble good ideas
in order to find solutions that gave a sound, a warmth,
a capacity to his guitars that was described as magic,
as very special. Or that it is the Stradivarius
of guitars, that he's a great guitar maker. You arrived. The world was still. A thousand pieces of wood
looking for a corner at the beat of hands
you touched imprecise. Looking for the deep sadness of the anxious bass string. Guitar-maker fingers inlaid the wood seeking among its veins the longed for sound. Amid the hitches sighing, you formed a beautiful guitar
for beautiful music. The soundboard is,
to me, the fundamental part. GUITAR MAKER The quality of the wood
changes in relation to the growth of the tree. I am doing this to use
the best part of the wood to make the sound happen. When the string is strummed, sound is emitted and spreads
through the guitar. Through experience
I calculate to which thickness the movement has elasticity and I am convinced
it will come out as I expect. GUITARIST José Luis Romanillos
is a great guitar maker. The main virtues
of the guitars José makes have to do with the sound, ROMANILLOS GUITAR with the spirit and tradition
of the great Spanish guitar makers since the 17th and 18th centuries. He is a scholar
of the Spanish guitar. These guitars bring together the excellence
of the Spanish tradition in terms of construction. They have deep low tones, clear high tones and very well represent what can be called "Spanish sound". "HOMAGE TO THE TOMB OF DEBUSSY" It took me a month to do this. This guitar, when I finish it... As it's not continuous, I don't know if I'll finish,
I'll do my best. Without this lady here
I wouldn't have managed. That's for sure. "ALHAMBRA GUITARS"
MURO DE ALCOY (ALICANTE) There's an industry that lives
from guitars, from making them. As watches are Swiss
par excellence, PROFESSOR MUSICOLOGY
COMPLUTENSE UNIVERSITY guitars are Spanish
par excellence. There are great firms, Rolex,
which are like Ramírez o Romanillos, and then there is Swatch,
like Alhambra and Rodríguez, which makes it an industry
of the highest technical level, because the number of pieces
of a guitar can be compared to a watch. The equipment of a guitar
is very sophisticated, every part must accomplish
an exact function so that the instrument
performs as it should. You heaved a sigh beautiful pearl work. With a bit of glue and a lot of feeling. CAVES OF CANELOBRE
BUSOT (ALICANTE) The guitar you dreamed of, sometime dreamer, will turn your struggle into holy devotion. Leave your rooted bench. Go peacefully on your way and listen to your steps that mark the sound. And the noble wood you used in your tenacity will repeat resoundingly: you have made music! SECOND STRING B <i>Rescuing the guitar</i>
<i>from the world of flamenco,</i> GUITARIST <i>and I am clearly not alluding</i> <i>to the magnificent creations</i>
<i>of the Andalusian people</i> <i>and what they express</i>
<i>in song, playing and dance,</i> <i>but to the inept flamenquería,</i>
<i>that almost held it hostage,</i> <i>so rescuing the guitar</i>
<i>from that environment</i> <i>has been one of the four points</i>
<i>I've dedicated my life to.</i> <i>The second, to create</i>
<i>an extraguitaristic repertoire,</i> <i>composed</i>
<i>by great symphonic musicians.</i> Andrés Segovia, from his first commercial
recording in 1927, he awoke a worldwide interest
in the instrument, his concept of sound,
his virtuosity, his musicality, his interest
in expanding the repertoire, I think, are the characteristics that attracted
a multitude of composers and the public in general. Segovia will be considered
like Rubinstein on the piano and Casals on the cello. Segovia represented a revolution
in the guitar world, coinciding
with the expansion of vinyl, the incorporation
of a classical repertoire to an instrument traditionally connected
with brass bands and tambourines, and the personality
and unquestionable genius of Maestro Segovia. Yepes developed
an important activity parallel to Segovia
as a promoter of music that was a bit more advanced than that which interested Segovia, who was more anchored
in post-romanticism. <i>I've had illustrated predecessors,</i> <i>who, if not lucky,</i> <i>still worked</i>
<i>with the same enthusiasm as I</i> <i>for the restoration</i>
<i>of the guitar.</i> PALACE OF THE CUARTO REAL
DE SANTO DOMINGO, GRANADA Tárrega knew
how to soak in tradition and knew how to develop it. Without Tárrega we wouldn't have
the great school of musicians and of compositions for guitar
from the 20th century. He is the only Romantic
Spanish composer whose music is heard worldwide. The works of Tárrega:
"Capricho árabe", "Preludios", "Recuerdos de la Alhambra",
salon works, ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPT
"RECUERDOS DE LA ALHAMBRA" polkas, mazurkas
are the works which exemplify what Spain was creating
in Romantic music. Tárrega passed on
this interest in guitars to all of his disciples, among whom greatly stood out
the figure Miguel Llobet. Miquel Llobet was
a great interpreter who, at the end of the 19th century, somehow brought the guitar
to the concert halls of everywhere in the West. He gave the guitar
great prestige and did it
with an Antonio de Torres guitar, which we have here in the museum,
and which has something particular in that it developed
the sound technology of a part for
resonance amplification which is located,
in simple terms, around the guitar sound hole and which increases
some registers of this guitar, giving it enormous warmth. Tárrega was a great figure in the 2nd part of the 19th century and of the early 20th, who demonstrated
that he could play on the guitar the great music
of the great composers. For example, the music of Albéniz. Albéniz composed it for the piano and Tárrega brought it
to the guitar. It seemed as if "Asturias",
as if "Andalucía", as if all of these pieces
had been written for the guitar. Ah, the guitar, this hot woman
who speaks in her song and dies in her silence. Your fresh healthy music toasts
me with almost painful pleasure and this because your strings
tell you what I'm saying and what I'm saying is sad. Ah, the guitar, a sensitive woman who invades
the estate of the night, moves the dew on the foliage and brushes
against somnambulant trees. Ah, the woman, this erotic guitar exposed nude on the terrace. THIRD STRING G <i>When they separated me</i> <i>from the living crib</i>
<i>from my mother's arms,</i> <i>I cried bitterly,</i>
<i>as is natural.</i> <i>My uncle sat down facing me</i>
<i>and to quiet my sobbing</i> <i>took my little right arm</i>
<i>and started marking the beat.</i> <i>Playing the guitar</i> <i>is not in the science,</i> <i>but in the strength of the arm,</i> <i>staying with it</i>. Anyone who approaches
the classical guitar with love COMPOSER AND GUITARIST knows that its birth was difficult. For Andrés Segovia
it was a constant struggle bringing the guitar onto the great
stages of classical music. Today, it has been accomplished. We still have to normalize it, so it will be, like in Germany,
an instrument equivalent to the violin, the piano,
the oboe or the French horn. The future of the guitar
is sure to be interesting, because there is worldwide
interest in the guitar. "DANCE Nº 10" The guitar has a lot of charm. Therefore,
the artistic world, not only the musical one, but whoever has
artistic sensitivity, wants a connection among the arts, in the guitar
will find an evocation, a strength, a capacity, and immediately artistic
possibilities of expression appear. For the one who wants
to communicate something special, the guitar is the answer. Tavern Guitar
that today plays a jota, tomorrow maybe petenera,
depending on who comes and plays, on your dusty strings. Tavern Guitar of the roads, you never were nor will be a poet. The guitar is an instrument
of such great plasticity that it has been the answer
to a great number of social situations
and personal experiences. It is the lyric voice,
it is the communicative voice, it is the declarative voice
of many people. ADDA
ALICANTE DIPUTACIÓN AUDITORIUM ORQUESTRA OF VALENCIA
DIRECTOR: YARON TRAUB The inside of a guitar sound box
is a superhuman cathedral where the explosion of sound
is produced, and comes humbly
out of the mouth, transforming into something
much more human and accessible. For me, to be inside would
be to experience music in heaven, beyond that of what the action
of a man could have. FOURTH STRING D Alicante is a city
that has a lot of recognition around the world
as the city of the guitar. MASTER IN CLASSICAL GUITAR
INTERPRETATION Students come here,
stay in a historical building, GUITARIST near a church. They enjoy it, have peace and quiet,
are comfortable for their work. It's an attractive proposition, to live in Spain,
and even more in Alicante, which has a long
guitar tradition, in a historical building, with
good climate, with good friends. The atmosphere is incredible. In any university
where you study for a Master's, you study with a teacher, MASTER'S STUDENT besides the complementary subjects. All of the teachers here, anyone I would mention,
is a maestro. Imagine having so many maestros
in just one course. I think it is something exceptional that doesn't exist
in other parts of the world. That's right. Two more. Very good. Look at mine. When I was young,
to study with a maestro, we had to go to Italy, we had to
go for a week to France, GUITARIST another week to Germany, but in Alicante,
such a pretty city, in half a year
you can study with eight maestros. Easy. I've worked a lot, and now, I find it is a richness GUITARIST that I want to share
with the young people and in this encounter,
in the master's, we are working a lot
on various concertos and I am enjoying it a lot, because there is nothing
I would rather do than let the young people
eat the fruit off the tree that I have created
and that my family has created, and that they can enjoy and then they will go off
and plant more trees. "MURMURS FROM THE COVE" Out of the significant students
that Segovia had, VICE PRESIDENT-ART
OF THE SPANISH GUITAR ASSOCIATION José Tomás and José Luis González
dedicated their activity to pushing for the highest teaching
of the guitar. They developed their work
in Alicante. There was no classical guitar
student in the world who would not pride himself
in having benefited from the teaching
of either José Luis González or José Tomás. With Andrés Segovia
is where my grandfather happened to meet José Tomás, another important figure
in Spain. GRANDSON OF JOSÉ LUIS GONZÁLEZ It is very important, because they
were two great guitarists in the same province. I met José Tomás
when I was 14 and I had the good luck to study
with him for almost eight years. It was decisive
in my musical training. We ended up having
a close relationship. I considered myself lucky, because I saw guitarists
who came from Australia, from the USA, from Japan,
and I had him right beside my house. I was very lucky, I didn't have to relocate
to find a great maestro. José Tomás is fundamental in the history of the guitar
in the 2nd half of the 20th century. "ALDABA", FEDERICO MORENO TORROBA
INTERPRETED BY JOSÉ TOMÁS I was a student
in Santiago de Compostela and he was substituting
for Andrés Segovia, who was already quite old. I thought
he was a fantastic maestro. I came here the next year
to study with him. Forty years ago. José Luis González
was a great guitarist of classical guitar who had performed
practically everywhere in the world. He had a lot of students. Moreover,
in the 70s, 80s and 90s, Japanese, Australians English, Icelanders...
all came to Alcoy to study. There is a deep mystery in your loud
and burning heart, my guitar, you enjoy thinking,
in your happiness are vehicles of passion, drops of tears. Thus, in your sovereign strings, that vibrate
with an almost human accent, sometimes it is your voice like a lament. Like grumbling of your solitary soul in whose sad and mystical prayer feeling blooms unendingly. When the students
study guitar, the focus is on the technical part,
which is very important, as it is the base
for developing all the rest, but one cannot put aside sound
and interpretive capacity. Those were two very important
qualities of José Luis González's for which students came from around
the world to study with him. Moreover, when he went
to other countries to give various guitar courses, they sought him out
for these qualities. "You studied in England,
won a prize in Italy. So when you return to Japan
and prepare your CV, when you name your prizes,
you'll make money. But what a shame! If you stay longer,
you'll be a better guitarist." I told him:
"I don't have enough money and can't go to your class". Maestro González said:
"There is no problem. Between money and life,
which is more important? Next week you'll come
to my house to study with me, and I'll give you money". I lived like that half a year,
and here I am. To be able to have,
during these MA courses, personalities that come
to share their experiences VIOLAGAMBIST, ORCHESTRA DIRECTOR
AND RESEARCHER is an enrichment, because everyone of us
has a world behind us, a life, experience, specialties, that bring to these young people
greater enrichment. It is very good initiative. The Master's in Guitar is
one of the most important events celebrated, by the figures that pass
through here. It is no coincidence
that this occurs in a city with such a connection
to the instrument. It is one of those places
where any guitarist would like to participate. That is why an event like
the Master's in Guitar is crucial, because it can put them
more in contact, not only with the training
of guitarists by the great maestros, but also to put them in contact
with orchestras to be able to perform
both symphonic concerts, and chamber music. To get the guitar out
of this kind of ghetto where it has been for years
and make it into an instrument of the highest order
in classical music. The Master's in Alicante, where
various institutions collaborate, which mixes, on one hand, more theoretical university teaching with practical interpretation is one of the avenues to the future, which will need to be developed
everywhere in order to give the guitar
this recognition, on one hand, and this creative
and interpretive dimension that the people desire. The guitar
must communicate things. It needs to communicate these things
emerging from where it comes from, but also from the gut, from corporal understanding
and from creativity and richness. ASSAD BROTHERS
GUITARISTS The guitar is
constantly developing. Every day there are
more good guitarists, younger and excellent. The guitar develops
away from the world of music. There is a guitar spot
in every country, but they are
constantly growing. There are many guitarists in China, Japan, North Kor...
South Korea. North Korea, too. Everywhere. The students who study for
the Master's have a very high level. For example, yes, they play well, but it isn't only a question
of playing well. In class, when I tell them: "change this", "try to do this",
"why are you doing that?", they think hard, and suddenly, they have the possibility to change
it, the ability to change it. That is a sign that they will be
great guitarists in the future. PROFESSOR EASTMAN SCHOOL OF MUSIC,
ROCHESTER, NY, USA Every nationality has different
strengths and weaknesses in music. You recognize them quickly after
teaching in different countries. I have to approach
the students in slightly different ways, to make them feel comfortable
with their strengths, but then to
emphasize the weaknesses. Some people are
very set in their way, they have studied very carefully, that's the way they play and it's
difficult to get them to change. You have to change the way
you approach each student. It is a particular experience to share the class
with other important colleagues. When I give classes, I think of the relationship
with the students, with the guitarists, and I focus every theme
in a very personal way. Sincerity is needed. Sincerity is being
true to oneself. When one says things
and looks for a deeper truth than how things appear. So one isn't content to only
contemplate one's own ego. GUITARIST This program offers
a unique opportunity do go more deeply into
the pressed-string instruments, with various maestros,
each one with his specialty. The baroque guitar, which is an extremely
Spanish instrument, was known
in all parts of Europe at the end of the 16th,
and in the 17th and 18th centuries. You get into the string
with this side of your nail and you get... It makes no sense
that the study of music isn't integrated
into the university, that the symphony doesn't have the same consideration
as a work of art, a painting or a sculpture. That is why we thought
we needed to recover the guitar from a university perspective, with academic recognition
as corresponds to all instruments, also for the Spanish guitar. For the first time,
the University of Alicante has incorporated
a university ranking to recognize this so genuinely
Spanish instrument. Maestro Rodrigo
has an honorary doctorate from the University of Alicante. The guitar maker
José Luis Romanillos has an honorary doctorate
from the University of Alicante. In other words, the University of
Alicante has recognized the guitar, has recognized the composers, recognizes the interpreters, and has recognized
the guitar maker. FIFTH STRING A ADDA
ALICANTE DIPUTACIÓN AUDITORIUM ORCHESTRA
OF THE VALENCIAN COMMUNITY DIRECTOR: JOSEP VICENT PREMIERE "LEUKANTE"
COMPOSITOR: DAVID DEL PUERTO The orchestra is transcendental,
it is the backbone. The guitars appear
like three people, COMPOSER AND GUITARIST hanging from strings
lowered onto the stage, but then there's a great mass,
the orchestra, that supports all the materials
that the guitars are performing. The orchestra is a type of carousel, that surges
in more complex interludes and disappears when the guitars
are giving their dialogue. "Leukante" is
a rather particular work, born out the desire to mix the different languages
of the guitar. The guitar
is a universal instrument, having many facets. In contrast
to other classical instruments, type-cast
in a particular repertoire, the guitar lives
in all cultures and is used
for all types of music. In Spain, we have the case
of the flamenco guitar, a popular instrument, exalted because its technique goes beyond
what one might think when talking about
a popular instrument. Hanging during the night,
the resolute guitar awaits: voice of profound wood,
in despair. It's impressive body,
over which the people sigh, full of sound,
stretches the firm flesh. Take it, guitar player, clean its mouth with alcohol, and on this guitar, play your full sound. The sound of loving wood, your full sound; of the open future, your full sound; of the foot on top of the wall, your full sound... It is the only instrument
in classical music that is named for a country. This led us to think about the union of flamenco
and classical repertoire as something natural that could
appear in a country like ours, with such rich repertoire
as that of flamenco. The classical guitar
is an instrument that, despite having gained important
quotas of equality with other solo instruments
in the symphonic world, still needs
much more collective participation among the classical instruments. The solo role is assured. It is as noble an instrument
as a cello or a piano. A new, modern aspect
is added to the instrument, which has taken on
its own personality and fullness and has managed
to construct in language, a sonorous universe:
the electric guitar. The electric guitar was born
as a strengthener of the sound of the acoustic guitar, so it could be heard
in large jazz ensembles, starting in the 30s, but since then,
it has gone its own way, it has flown by itself and a type of sound
has been invented. This is what would suggest to me
the union of these three worlds. Conserve the personalities
of the three instruments, don't reject where any one
of them comes from, but be able to unite them
in one musical idea. <i>In the history of the guitar,</i> SIXTH STRING E <i>you are at the center</i>
<i>of a series of chapters,</i> <i>but one of them is transcendental,</i>
<i>the "Concerto de Aranjuez",</i> <i>composed by Joaquín Rodrigo.</i> <i>I had been working</i>
<i>with Joaquín Rodrigo</i> GUITARIST <i>for some time,</i>
<i>years, in fact.</i> <i>He wasn't very enthused and didn't</i>
<i>believe in the possibility</i> <i>of incorporating the guitar</i>
<i>in the orchestra.</i> "CONCERTO DE ARANJUEZ" ORCHESTRA OF THE VALENCIAN COMMUNITY
DIRECTOR: JOSEP VICENT Where does this melody come from? From the imagination
of Joaquín Rodrigo, absolutely original
of Joaquín Rodrigo. Is this in the composer's head? It's in his knowledge,
in his intellectual baggage, it's in everything. Is "Antón Pirulero"
in the "Concerto de Aranjuez"? No, not at all. His most elemental essence is there. It is completely
essentialized, stylized. And then... Sudden transition.
To let the orchestra enter. The "Concerto de Aranjuez"
was written because the Spanish guitar existed. The maestro Rodrigo
was a deep connoisseur of the entire Spanish musical
culture of his time and chose the guitar. He hit the mark
with this instrument, because it not only represented
a musical instrument, but a culture, a tradition and a five-century sacrifice in the making
of Spanish guitars. <i>The idea of composing a concerto</i>
<i>for guitar and orchestra</i> COMPOSER <i>was not really mine,</i>
<i>I have to confess.</i> <i>I had never thought of composing</i>
<i>a combination of this type.</i> <i>Sainz de la Maza, the guitarist</i>
<i>and very good friend of mine,</i> <i>said: "Why</i>
<i>don't you compose a concerto</i> <i>for guitar and orchestra?"</i> <i>That idea seduced me</i>
<i>and I promised him.</i> The premiere was problematic. First of all,
it didn't premiere in Madrid probably because
it didn't arouse enough interest. And we know
that it didn't premiere in Bilbao with a good orchestra
and with a great director simply because
the Bilbao Philharmonic Society said no. What was this about premiering a symphonic concerto
for guitar? Joaquín Rodrigo and Sainz de la Maza
traveled by train that night to attend the premiere,
or the first rehearsals, in a wagon-lit
from Madrid to Barcelona. Halfway there,
Rodrigo woke up and thought: "What if the guitar can't be heard?" PALACE OF ARANJUEZ
ARANJUEZ, MADRID Slender, pure line with a loud heart, you're the clarity
hidden by the veil. Singing you survive: everything will go
except your shape. Oh, loneliness
with the coming night, loneliness like earthly bread, loneliness with a river of guitars. And the woman who plays
the earth and the guitar carries in her voice
sorrow and happiness of the profound hour. Time and distance
fall on the guitar. We are a dream, intermittent song. The rural heart rides away: dreams and the night and its silence dream, sings, the earth
and its guitar sing. He had few visual memories, because he lost his sight
at the age of three. PRESIDENT-VICTORIA
AND JOAQUÍN RODRIGO FOUNDATION And yet he was able to maintain
a few shapes, outlines, colors, the brightness of the sun, but this was
during his early youth. He soon fell
into absolute darkness. <i>The murmur of a spring,</i>
<i>of a fountain,</i> <i>the waves of the sea,</i> <i>his murmur, his restlessness,</i> <i>the crossing of a river.</i> GUITARIST <i>I stay where the river takes me.</i> <i>They asked me to play this concerto.</i>
<i>At first I played it</i> <i>as a commitment</i> <i>and now I play it</i>
<i>because I really want to.</i> <i>I'm an improvisor,</i>
<i>I like to improvise,</i> <i>I have fun by improvising,</i> <i>but one has to be respectful with</i>
<i>every style and manner of playing,</i> <i>to make music.</i> <i>There are details</i>
<i>that had not been mentioned,</i> <i>or that had not ben mentioned</i>
<i>in the way I feel it.</i> <i>I'm happy to be able to do it</i> <i>and to be able to provide</i>
<i>a flamenco spirit</i> <i>to this concerto.</i> THE CATHEDRAL
OF THE SIX STRINGS
