No Andrés Segovia First Prize

The judges deliberated a long while before announcing this decision, which some consider a controversial decision. The three finalists were the German guitarist, Leonard Becker from Deggendorf, and the Japanese guitarists, Yuki Saito from Tokyo and Io Yamada from Osaka.

The Secretary for the competition, Victoriano Pérez, explained that the competitors in the three stages of the competition were excellent but none of them was equal to the level of a First-Prize winner in the Andrés Segovia, Classical-Guitar Competition, which is why the judges reach the unanimous decision to declare the First Class position as null & void.

Consequently, Leonard Becker won the Second Prize worth 4,000 euros, a specially built guitar made by Guitarras Alhambra, plus an appearance at the 2022 Festival Noches del Castillo de La Herradura.

He also won a cash prize of 300 euros from the Asociación de Amigos de La Herradura, for being the youngest competitor to make it past the first eliminatory phase of the competition

Io Yamada won the Third Prize worth 2,000 euros, an appearance in the Real Sociedad Económica de Amigos del País in Jaén. He also won the Special Prize, Leo Brouwer, worth 700 euros, for the best rendition of the obligatory piece selected for the competition.

The next Certamen Andrés Segovia will be held between the 23rd and 26th of November, 2022.

Editorial comment: whilst it is comprehensible that the organisers wish to maintain a very high level amongst the competitors, declaring that nobody was good enough for the First Prize might earn prestige for the competition but it also leaves a bad taste in the mouth for those competing.

After all, the competition saved itself 10,000 euros (First Prize cash award) as well as the handmade guitar crafted by the La Herradura luthier, Stephen Hill, which some would consider ‘convenient,’ to say the least. Whatever the case or reason, the competition is a tremendous asset for the village drawing young hopefuls from all over the world.

(News: Herradura, Costa Tropical, Granada, Andalucia)

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