The transformation of the guitar’s repertoire in the early twentieth century

The article traces the transformation of the guitar’s repertoire in the early twentieth century through recital programmes. At the end of the nineteenth century the repertoire was poor, and Francisco Tárrega, like Agustín Barrios in Latin America, enriched it with transcriptions, mainly from the piano repertoire. Miguel Llobet and Emilio Pujol made the preservation of a work’s character their criterion, and Andrés Segovia persuaded composers who were not guitarists to write for the instrument. Taking as its starting point one of Segovia’s recitals in Athens in 1931, the article shows how his taste favoured Spanish music and the late Romantic style, and left avant-garde works in obscurity. Finally, it examines the Suite in A minor that was presented as a work by Weiss, although it had been written by Manuel Ponce on Segovia’s commission.