PONCE & SEGOVIA
Unquestionably Manuel María Ponce stands as one of the composers for the classical guitar of all time. Rare would be the virtuoso who does not acknowledge his brilliance. However, to reach such heights, history had to gift us a providential encounter with the greatest ambassador of the guitar in the 20th century: Andrés Segovia. Their profound relationship of friendship, respect, and admiration, evidenced through a fraternal correspondence and declarations, began in 1923. At that time, Ponce was a professor of Harmony at the National Conservatory of Mexico and a music critic:
“Listening to the guitar notes played by Andrés Segovia means experiencing a feeling of intimacy and homely comfort. It evokes gentle, distant emotions wrapped in the mysterious charm of bygone days. It is to open one’s spirit to reverie, to dwell in delightful moments within an atmosphere of pure art, expertly crafted by the great Spanish artist… His profound musical understanding enables him to faithfully convey the composer’s intent through his instrument, enriching the somewhat limited guitar repertoire daily… Andrés Segovia’s technique is flawless; his remarkable harmonics, blended with natural sounds, create the illusion of hearing two instruments of distinct natures simultaneously. His portamentos, used judiciously, infuse melodic phrases with poignant accents of pain, supplication, and boundless tenderness; the clarity of his scales, arpeggios, and progressions bears witness to an iron will that masters the formidable challenges posed by the guitar’s mechanism. The varied and irresistible dynamic effects not only attest to his technical prowess but also to the profound musicality and exquisite artistic temperament of Andrés Segovia…” (El Universal newspaper, 1923).
After such a review, it’s not surprising that Segovia desired to meet Ponce. Not only did he wish to meet him, but he also extended an invitation for Ponce to immerse himself in the world of the guitar. And so it was: up until then, Ponce, an experienced pianist, had already conducted the Mexico Symphony Orchestra and had composed popular-style songs, orchestral scores, piano pieces, as well as a wealth of chamber music. However, from that encounter with the legendary Spanish performer, and especially over the following ten years, a catalogue of guitar works was born, destined to become immortal. According to Segovia, “This man had received admirable gifts for music from the clear skies of Mexico; from the land, a filial love for native popular art; and from his compatriots, bitterness, envy, and disdain…”. Paul Dukas, the illustrious French musician and pedagogue, confirmed this when Ponce travelled to Paris in 1925 to receive composition lessons: “You are not a student, you are a great distinguished musician who honours me by listening to me.” Not in vain, Ponce would come to be considered the father of Mexican musical nationalism, with clear influences from European romanticism, modernism, and impressionism. These currents would also influence his work for the guitar, which he would come to consider after years of intense work, “…an exquisite instrument, containing a unique, sensitive, delicate, and mysterious world.”
The correspondence between Segovia and Ponce offers us a true showcase of mutual praise, from which we only reflect a few:
“His ease in composing was extraordinary. Segovia once told me that, on one occasion, in Paris, he wrote on a café table, half-jokingly, half-seriously, an étude in imitation of Bach. Therefore, nowadays, listening to such an improvisation, one needs an expert to recognize the authorship of the piece, whether it’s by Ponce or the great German composer”. (Federico Moreno Torroba).
“I will never be able to repay Andrés for all his delicate attentions, the generosity, the patience with which he has treated me and continues to treat me… a friend like him is truly a treasure, rarer and more precious than radium in the depths of the earth.…” (Letter from Ponce to his wife Clema Maurel, about Segovia).
“I admire him and love him deeply. I’m not sure if I love him or admire him more… In my concerts, I always include one of his pieces, as he has written very beautiful things especially for me.” (Statement by Segovia during a tour in Mexico, 1933).
After Ponce’s death on April 24, 1948, Segovia wrote a deeply affected letter to his widow, expressing his heartfelt condolences for the irreparable loss of “the ideal Friend, Teacher, and Brother”. Even though Segovia was not primarily a composer, he dedicated a “Prayer-Étude for the soul of Manuel Ponce” to him. Years later, in 1956, Mexico’s Excelsior highlighted that Ponce, influenced by Segovia, “thoroughly studied the technique and expressive possibilities of the guitar and composed for this instrument works of extraordinary value, which constitute the greatest contribution made in our time to the repertoire of this noble and traditional instrument…”. Segovia never ceased to perform works by his dear friend Manuel María Ponce, even in the last concert of his life (Miami, 1987).
PONCE GUITAR SONATAS
Manuel Ponce composed the Sonatas between 1923 and 1929, all commissioned and dedicated to Andrés Segovia. They constitute the first collection of Sonatas written in the 20th century by a non-guitarist composer, forming a fundamental and unique corpus in the concert guitar repertoire. Each Sonata possesses stylistic and formal characteristics that Segovia himself detailed. Let’s take a look at the working method between Ponce and Segovia: the composer would send the manuscript by mail, and the guitarist would copy it, adding his corrections and suggestions, both in the development of certain technical passages (successions of arpeggios, harmonic inversions, octave changes, harmonic filling, etc.) and in his fingerings, slurs, articulations, dynamics, effects, and anything else he considered enriching for the work. Segovia would then send it back to Ponce by mail, the composer would repeat the process, and send the material back to Segovia until they completed the final manuscript for publication. This entire process slowed down the correction of the works, and more than once original material was lost in one of these shipments. In addition to this, there were Segovia’s constant travels and tours, with the consequent changes of address. He would inform Ponce of his schedule so that, according to the dates of his shipments, Ponce could write to him wherever he happened to be at the time. It was a different era.
The first of the sonatas was the Mexican Sonata (1923), inspired by the characteristics of Mexican musical nationalism and with certain nods to impressionism. Segovia added the following subtitles to each movement: I. Bailecito del rebozo, II. Lo que suena el ahuehuete, III. Intermedio Tapatío, IV. Ritmos y cantos aztecas, based on the rhythms and popular themes that served as inspiration for Ponce. The third movement of this Sonata (Allegretto, quasi serenata) was the first piece that Ponce composed for the guitar, and later it was added to the Mexican Sonata. Grateful for Ponce’s collaboration, Segovia sent a letter to him from Paris in 1923 regarding this matter “…I recently performed your beautiful Sonata in Madrid to applause from the audience, approval from the critics, and effusive admiration from the musicians… Falla was truly delighted… But don’t think that I want to limit myself to the Sonata. I am contacting you again to request more pieces because they are all necessary for my numerous concerts, and I want to see your name on all of them.…”
Sonata III (1927), clearly influenced by European and Spanish music, is the only one consisting of three movements instead of four, like the others. It employs a more advanced language, full of subtleties, permanent expressive contrasts, rhythms, harmonic richness, and dynamic breadth. Ponce was already well acquainted with the instrument and employed more elaborate technical resources, such as the tremolo in the third movement, which was uncommon in his compositions. After reviewing it, Segovia wrote the following to Ponce: “The Sonata III is ready. I have accepted the ending of the first movement as it is, since the other option is not necessary, and I have grown fond of it. I believe it does not need to be changed, especially because, as I will never play this movement alone, but linked after a short pause to the andante, it does not require a conclusive ending, but merely a transition. The entire Sonata is very beautiful and represents a significant work for the guitar, the artist, and the musician…”
The Classic Sonata (1928), a tribute to Fernando Sor. Segovia requested that Ponce compose a Sonata capable of rivalling the Viennese piano Sonatas. After Segovia sent Ponce one of Fernando Sor’s Sonatas as a sample, he suggested that it should include a Minuet, and he provided other very precise indications about the work: “…I forgot to mention that perhaps it wouldn’t hurt to include a Minuet before the final Rondo. Note that the sonata you have there has four movements. There’s another one he wrote in C Major, perhaps unfamiliar to you—maybe you’ve heard it once or twice—it also consists of four movements. Your Sor’s Sonata should follow a similar pattern. If you have a draft of the first movement, create a simple bridge to transition to the second theme. Also, write a graceful design for the return to the main theme after the development, and extend this section without altering what’s already written, which I am quite fond of. Perhaps one more thing. I don’t want there to be a disparity between the first movement and the last; I want both to be equally significant. Furthermore, since I am fortunate enough to have a contemporary Sor, more talented than his predecessor, writing a Sonata for guitar, I want this Sonata to be no less than a Haydn Sonata for piano. Therefore, I earnestly request that you do as I say”. Ponce captured the refined essence of Sor and created this Sonata, which would be presented by Segovia during his third trip to South America in 1928. Although Segovia announced it as Sonata by Sor (not by Ponce), he included the original Rondo from Sor’s Sonata, as he had not received Ponce’s Rondo. Later, he proposed to Ponce that the Sonata be officially premiered under his name in Europe.
Romantic Sonata (1929), a tribute to Schubert. The first performance of this Sonata took place in May 1929 at the Salle Pleyel in Paris. In this work, Ponce exceptionally explores the guitar’s sound, colours, and contrapuntal possibilities, composing one of his most complex and inspired sonatas. Initially, he probably thought and wrote the Sonata for the piano; it is not surprising that he found his inspiration in Schubert’s piano repertoire. In fact, the first performance was given by Ponce himself, as Segovia tells the composer’s wife in a letter: “…we went to Avenue Mack Malcon, and there he made me listen to the Sonata based on Schubert, which emotionally disarmed me. Now I have work for Geneva…” With this Sonata, Ponce succeeds in recreating Schubert’s formal, harmonic, and expressive language on the guitar, composing one of his masterpieces for the instrument. Segovia expressed to Ponce in a letter from September 1928: “…The entire piece is difficult… The Andante is delightful: some of the best Schubert that he never wrote. I spend the day playing it. The guitar sounds lovely…”
MARIA ESTHER GUZMÁN
Maria Esther Guzmán was born in Seville. She descends through the maternal line from the extensive dynasty of musicians with the last name “Guervós”, from the Netherlands. Continuer of that dynasty, She performs her first concert in public at the age of 4 at the Lope de Vega Theater in her hometown, at 11 she obtained the 1st Prize on RTVE with Maestro Joaquín Rodrigo being president of the jury, at 12 she is heard in private audition by Maestro Andrés Segovia, receiving his praise and advice. She has obtained 19 national and international awards of great importance, such as the “Regino Sáinz de la Maza International Competition” in Japan or the “Andrés Segovia Competition” in La Herradura. A tireless traveler, she performs concerts in the most important venues in Europe, Africa, Asia and America, such as the Teatro Real and La Zarzuela in Madrid, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the National Auditorium in Madrid, the Palau de la Música in Valencia, the Santander Festival Palace, Sala Cemal Resit Reg of Istanbul, Nacional of Buenos Aires and Costa Rica, Maestranza and Lope de Vega of Seville, etc., as soloist, with orchestra and in several chamber ensembles. Is notable for her annual tours and recordings in Japan since 1988.
She has recorded 1 LP, 33 CDs, 4 videos and 1 DVD. “Andalusia Young Music” Culture Award 1994; Award from RITMO magazine for her CD about Julián Arcas. Since 2002 she has been a Numerary Academic of Fine Arts of Sta. Isabel de Hungary in Seville; “Trujamán” guitar award for her artistic career (Palau de la Música de Valencia 2011); Andrés Segovia Medal, awarded by the A. Segovia Foundation (Linares 2012). She has premiered works by Joaquín Rodrigo, Carlos Cruz de Castro, Tomás Marco, among others. In 1993 she premiered “Paseo de los Tristes” by J. García Román with the Córdoba Orchestra conducted by Leo Brouwer. She has made the Asian premiere of J. Rodrigo’s Toccata (2008); the Concerto for guitar and orchestra by Carlos Cruz de Castro with the RTVE Orchestra (2009); and the “La Herradura Concert” by Eduardo Morales-Caso, with a live recording (2012).
At the end of 2014 she founded her own Publishing House, where she publishes her numerous transcriptions and arrangements for solo guitar and chamber music. Master’s Degree in Musical Research from UNIR (2017). She teaches masterclasses in Seville and Master Classes around the world.
