Miguel Llobet (1878-1938) is one of the most important guitar virtuosi
at the beginning of the 20th century. At the age of eleven, being impressed
by a concert of the blind
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Francisco Tàrrega |
Spanish guitarist Antonio Jimenez Manjòn
(1866-1919), this artistically highly talented boy decided to dedicate
his life to the guitar. This is all the more astonishing, because he
came from Catalonia, and the guitar didn´t play any special role in the
musical tradition there.
His teacher Magin Alegre, who took him along to that concert, patronized
him for the first three years. At the age of fourteen, he continued his
studies at the Municipal Music Conservatory in Barcelona, Escuela Municipal
de Mùsica, with
Francisco Tàrrega. This meeting of teacher and student may well
be called a magic moment within the emerging guitarist history. Miguel
Llobet was the best and most important student of Francisco Tàrrega
(1852-1909), who manifested his name and importance for the guitar worldwide.
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Miguel Llobet |
Miguel Llobet started playing concerts at the age
of twenty.
He met with great succeess, first in Spain, among others for the Royal
Family, then in Europe, South America, the United States, Russia and Africa
and was one of the very first to establish the concert guitar as a solo
instrument worldwide. His success originated in his virtuosity, his special
feeling for the instrument and the music that he made sound like being
written for the guitar.
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Hermann Hauser I |
Headlines like these: Magician..., artistic
perfection..., amazing technique..., Virtuoso
of great format..., remarkable musicality... were
his travelling companions.
But in the 19th century, the classic guitar had another important
protagonist,
Antonio de Torres Jurado (1817-1892), luthier for violins and guitars.
On his tours Miguel Llobet played a FE 09 and a FE 013. His meeting
with the luthier Herrmann Hauser I, which took place within the scope
of concerts he played as a result of invitations by the Guitaristic
Movement Munich, also influenced the development of guitar manufacturing
in Germany, especially in Munich.
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Miguel Llobet, Transcription |
It was Miguel Llobet who was one of the first who made electric recordings
of a classic guitar.
There are some 100 publications, compositions and transcriptions.
He was a teacher and educator, following
Tàrregas´ example.
Miguel Llobet, the greatest living guitar virtuoso
at that time, was a frequent visitor at the house of her parents. With
his pure feeling for style and his great technique, he gave her the best
he could give to help develop her unique musicality..
Edition Hladky, Biography Luise Walker, 1962.
Wolf Moser calls Miguel Llobet:... the forgotten
guitar teacher of Germany.
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