Guitarist Andrés Segovia did much to develop the classical guitar as it exists today, and he was almost unique among the great virtuosos of classical music in being self-taught. He commissioned a great deal of music that expanded the guitar repertory, transcribed music for the guitar, and was an influential educator to whom many of today's classical guitarists can trace their musical lineages.
Segovia was born on February 21, 1893, in Linares, in southern Spain's Andalucía region. He was raised by an aunt and uncle who recognized his talent and signed him up for violin lesson...