Tassos Kolydas, "The transformation of the guitar’s repertoire in the early twentieth century", Polyphonia journal, Athens, 2006

The article looks into the process of the guitar's recognition as a "serious" instrument, during which process the choice of repertoire constituted a fundamental issue. Programms by guitarists abroad are examined closely during the period covering the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Some of the most popular compositions, included in the repertoires of guitarists in Western Europe, Latin America and Greece are recorded. The tendency to adopt the pieces of music written for other instruments and rearrange them for the guitar –which was in effect up until 1930– is commented upon as well as the new approach Andrés Segovia initiated to order compositions to be written by non-guitarist composers. In other words, the conditions under which the horizons of the instrument were broadened are clarified; conditions that lead to a rapid increase of music written solely for the guitar.

 Download file