Appreciation and Gratitude
by Haim Asulin

Dear Herman,

I am writing you a brief summary, upon your request, of the great master A. Segovia according to my personal impression of him.

I do not consider myself an authority and cannot add anything new that has not been said before. Segovia legend speaks for itself. However, I am happy to have this opportunity to thank him for providing me hours of musical pleasure and enjoyment. He contributed to shaping my musical aspirations and understanding of the guitar, and my pursuance of the guitar as a profession which is also my great love.

I would like to emphasize that although I was not a personal student of his, I did have the honor of attending his master class in 1965 in “Santiag De Compostela”, Spain. I was lucky to have been photographed at this session, of which I am sending you a copy.



This was an individual lesson with Segovia and as one can see, I sat in front of him and received explanations and demonstrations on how to play correctly. I was in awe of this great man who was instrumental in shaping my life, one whom I most admired and whose playing and personality I saw as a perfect model for inspiration and aspiration.

I was deeply impressed by his marvelous sound musical interpretations and his effortless playing. In general, I realized how a player should be seen and heard.
My first aquaintance with Segovia was thru his records which I discovered at the age of 15, after a year of self- taught playing the guitar.
His playing electrified me and impressed me deeply. I listened to his records for hours and learned from them various pieces of music. At the age of 16, I performed at my Kibbutz Mizra. The concert was recorded and partly survived. His influence can be felt from my very beginning as a performer and in my continuing playing carrear which can be heard and felt in these surviving recordings (4 CD´S) which I gave you during my visit to Reisbach. I can say I belong to Segovia´s school of thought as studied with his assistant, the great teacher Jose Toma´s at the “Instituts Musical Oscar Espla” in Alicante, Spain during 1964-1967.

Although through the years I underwent personal changes in my methods which were reflected and adapted to my own personality and needs from many aspects, for example, playing exclusively with the fingertips without the use of the nails. I can say, without a doubt, that Segovia´s influene as a man and a great artist is reflected in all aspects of my playing. I consider him my inspirational teacher of the highest degree.

There are no words to express my appreciation and gratitude to the man who gave me so much.

Haim Asulin, Israel
August 13, 2005

Haim Asulin, Hermann Hauser III
Reisbach, July 2005

October 18, 2005