“Segovia has a relevance that goes beyond his importance as a guitarist. I have never stopped to think only of him as performer, because he transcended far above this level. The great master was the “manufacturer” of the first bridge that was able to transfer the guitar to cultural environments that – in those times – were alone occupied by instruments like the violin, the piano or the cello.

Although previously Tárrega or Sor fulfilled this, they did it only in certain restricted environments; in “friends meetings” or in small theaters. Segovia was the one who firmly planted the guitar in big concert places across the entire world. It was of such importance – the “iconic” figure that marked an authentic revolution in the world of the guitar…”

Roberto Ruggiero

Andres Segovia was one of Spain’s most accomplished guitarists who lived in this beautiful house in Southern Spain. Stephen Hill learned the art of guitar-making over 20 years ago from some of Spain’s finest master craftsmen and now has his workshop in the province of Granada making his beautiful guitars for players all over the world. Roberto Ruggiero is an outstanding player of international standing… here he plays his own original composition on one of Stephen’s guitars at Andres Segovia’s house.

This interview was filmed during the annual Andres Segovia international guitar competition to promote the event. It was used to raise awareness about the competition and show the wealth of local talent in this area of Spain by the Junta de Andalucia and the promoters of the competition. We filmed 8 pieces in total, in a one day shoot at Villa Segovia, which were then edited simply in order to be available the next day for use during that week’s event.

My partner, David, built his own beautiful flamenco guitar under Stephen’s expert guidance while we lived in this wonderful area of Andulucia – see more of his guitar films over at his OKSO blip.tv channel.