Agustín Barrios Mangoré
When speaking of the guitar in the 20th century, one illustrious
name usually is placed above all others: Andrés Segovia. There is
however a name I would place above his: Agustín Barrios Mangoré
(1885-1944). Barrios was not only a master guitarist, but something
Segovia never was: a master composer. It is said that there was a
bit of jealousy on Segovias part towards his Native American
contemporary from Paraguay. Despite several friendly encounters
between Segovia and Barrios in the 1920s in Buenos Aires, Segovia
displayed jealousy for his superior that later turned into malice.
Agustín Barrios, considered by many as the greatest guitar-composer
of the 20th century, was not a good composer for the guitar
according to the grouchy Spanish diva. The naive Barrios was none
the wiser, playing his own compositions for Segovia at the latters
residence, which pleased him greatly, as he wrote to his brother
Martín. There wasnt the slightest hint of petulence between us.
Barrios had given Segovia a dedicated copy of the sheet music to
his masterpiece, La Catedral, which he took back to Spain with him,
supposedly to play in his concerts. Barrios friend, the Uruguayan
guitarist Miguel Herrera Klinger, wrote: If he [Segovia] had
played it [La Catedral], with the extraordinary abilities he
possessed, he would have elevated Barrios to inaccessible heights,
thus detracting from his own artistic prestige. Of course, Segovia
did not include La Catedral in his programs. (Six Silver Moonbeams,
Richard Stover)
Some of my favs:
www.classicalguitarmidi.com/civibus/Barrios_Mangore_Sueno_Floresta.mid
www.geocities.com/nikitos_bar/barrios_cueca.mid
www.geocities.com/nikitos_bar/barrios_v3.mid