This incident is just one of many Pune based classical guitarist Veda Aggarwal has stumbled upon in her study of the journey of the classical guitar in India. “Indian classical guitarists have a special dedication to the instrument that we don’t see in the rest of the world. Classical guitar isn’t a mainstream orchestral instrument in the western world. There is classical music written for it, but the methods and repertoire are limited. It is very small compared to the violin and the piano,” she says. Artists even in the West have a limited choice of compositions when it comes to classical music for the guitar. Spanish classical guitarist virtuoso Andres Segovia managed to bring the instrument into its own in the 1930s and launched the guitar firmly into the classical circuit. His most famous compositions included Estudio Sin Luz, Oración: Study in E and Estudio.
While learning music at the Royal College of Music, Bream was disappointed to discover there was no guitar teacher
even at the famous institution. One can imagine how much more difficult it was in India.
“Regardless of where you’re from, people who fall in love with classical guitar music have just that one moment
when they hear music being played on a nylon string guitar and they know that was what they wanted to do. And those are the stories I want to bring to light,” says Aggarwal. Shamal De first heard Segovia on the radio. That was the moment the Kolkata musician decided he wanted to play classical guitar. He pored over encyclopaedias
to research the artist and instrument he wanted to play. His fascinationalso led him to have a guitar like Segovia’s custom made in India. Such stories are what interest Aggarwal who is deep into the project to trace the classical guitar movement in India. “I plan to travel the country looking for such stories in the hope of tracing the history of the classical guitar in India,”
she says. Guitars have been around in India since the 1700’s. The famous Italian guitar
maker Louis Panormo who designed guitars in London is said to have weathered
his instruments for the tropics so
he could despatch some to India during
the 18th century.
Even in the age of cyber distractions,
the guitar still finds admirers with a passion
for the instrument, and more people
than ever before want to learn the
instrument, said Aggarwal, on a recent
visit to perform in Goa.
Involved with the Calcutta International
Classical Guitar Festival and Competition
2014, Aggarwal was also keen
to promote Asia’s biggest classical guitar
event in Goa. In its fifth year, the event,
organised by the Calcutta Guitar Society
will this year feature performances by
the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet, David
Russell, Marcin Dylla, Roland Dyens, Cavatina
Duo, Johannes Moller, Eugenia
Moliner and Denis Azabagic.
Spread over five days starting December
15, the festival will see participants
from all over the world compete for the
$13,000 prize money. The event will
also have masterclasses and concerts.
The Acoustic Guitar Orchestra of Goa
(AGOG) has also been invited to perform
at the Kolkata event.
