Andrés Segovia: The Song of the Guitar

Largely self-taught, the great Andrés Segovia (1893-1987) was drawn to the guitar from a young age: “with its poetic, melancholic sounds, its variety of tone colors, and its wealth of harmonic possibilities, [it] captivated me. And I had the intuition of what beautiful music a sensitive artist could draw from it.” He followed that intuition to international renown on an instrument that had rarely featured on the concert stage before his lifetime, building a legacy that endures to this day.

In this stunning film by Christopher Nupen, Segovia returns to the Granada of his youth, site of his personal and musical formation. The world-famous Alhambra—empty of tourists, between midnight and 4 AM—plays host to a deeply moving selection of Segovia’s signature pieces, many in his own arrangements, all imbued with the meditative, profoundly soulful qualities that lifted him to the pinnacle of artistry and helped him redefine what was considered possible for guitarists.