Andrés Segovia Torres (1893–1987) was a Spanish guitarist born in Linares, Jaén, active as a performer from 1909 until his death in 1987. He is best known as a performer rather than a composer, widely regarded as the father of the modern classical guitar and one of the greatest guitarists of all time; many of the 20th century’s leading guitarists studied either with him directly or with his students. Segovia’s most lasting contribution to the instrument’s literature came through his own transcriptions — over 150 arrangements of works originally written for lute, vihuela, and harpsichord by composers such as Bach, Couperin, and Rameau — and through the commissions he inspired from major composers of his era, including Manuel Ponce, Heitor Villa-Lobos, Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, and Joaquín Turina.

While Segovia’s fame rests overwhelmingly on his performing career, he also composed and arranged a handful of original pieces for guitar, of which “Estudio sin Luz” is a modest but notable example. This page focuses specifically on that compositional side of his work; his far larger legacy as the performer who single-handedly elevated the classical guitar to concert-hall respectability is treated more fully elsewhere.

Sources:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andr%C3%A9s_Segovia