Master Magician

"The guitar," said the instrument maker, "is yours. Take it with you through the world, and may your labors be fruitful." That was in Madrid in 1912, when the guitarist was young. Since then he has wandered the globe, playing with unparalleled passion and beauty. Last week, a vigorous 65, Andres Segovia was celebrating his 50th season of concertizing. In Manhattan's Town Hall he demonstrated again the magic that he brings to the guitar, an instrument that, before Segovia's coming, was thought to be fit mostly for gypsies. "Segovia's guitar does not sound loud," Stravinsky once said, "but it sounds far."

A Segovia audience is usually distinguished by its youth and its air of spellbound intensity. Last week, as usual. Segovia played pieces by early, little-known composers, as well as such familiar masters as Bach and Scarlatti, then offered several contemporary works. His six-stringed instrument sounded at times with the shimmer of the harpsichord, at times with the dryly plaintive quality of the lute. Throughout, the instrument's miniature sounds were punctuated with moments of deep, suspenseful silence.

Part of Segovia's power over his audience derives from his single-minded devotion to the instrument he restored to concert-hall favor. "The guitar is as difficult as a hysterical woman," he says. "But I am faithful to her. I am not polygamous." Segovia still practices five hours each day, and for a month each summer he teaches classical guitar at the Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Siena, Italy. He also gives more concerts than ever (120 scheduled this year). Segovia generally avoids flashier-sounding pieces. "If people have even a little understanding," he says, "it is better to move them than to amaze them."

Between concerts not long ago, relaxing in his customary soft collar and black velvet neckpiece, he mused: "When I was a very young boy, I prayed to God, 'I am a very bad sinner, and I don't deserve any glory--I don't want to go to heaven. The only thing I ask: Please leave me here.' And now I want to stay here 50 years more."

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