THE MAESTRO AND THE BOY  by Eric Henderson

The name ‘Segovia’ is synonymous with classical guitar. In no other field does one person so dominate an instrument and its repertoire. In the years when Segovia was at his peak, when he was teaching individual and master classes and doing concert tours, I was invited to Madrid to become his private student. This unique opportunity to study privately with the great Maestro was one of my greatest privileges. It emerged from a constellation of talent, instruction, opportunity and sheer love of the instrument that began when I was a young child and culminated in two audiences in which I was asked to play for Segovia.

In each of these audiences I was able to perform unabashedly and honestly, to play what was asked without a presumption as to how he would want to hear it. Being a child I was not yet self-conscious enough to be awed by the Maestro. Humble, but confident of my ability to play my repertoire, I was not yet paralyzed by all that hung on my ability to play my very best. It is the ability to communicate directly, to play openly and without artifice that makes a great performance, regardless of the audience. Looking back, I began my journey towards that realization when I was just a boy who was asked to play for Segovia. Read more