8/9/2019 In Memoriam Abel Carlevaro
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and my hopes for the artistic career. He also spoke of his
current and future projects, as someone
who is talking to a colleague. This humble aspect of Carlevaro's
personality deeply impressed me,
and immediately made me feel at ease, notwithstanding our
differences in age and stage of
musical development. Finally, he told me he would gladly accept
me as his student. I agreed with
him that I would move to Montevidéo in a few months, as soon as
I finished my high school
studies. I remember that, on my way out, while coming down the
elevator, I celebrated with a few
joyful jumps, but soon controlled myself, fearful of
causing damage to an elevator which alreadyshowed clear signs of
age.
The following year, I moved to Montevidéo and entered the
undergraduate guitar program at the
Escuela Universitária de Música, at the class of Eduardo
Fernández. While attending the
University, for the next three years, I had weekly lessons with
Carlevaro. I learned a lot from him,
both about the guitar and about music in general. However,
my strongest recollections are of the
man Abel Carlevaro, always a true gentleman. We discussed
extensively about technique and
interpretation matters, and his posture was always that of
someone who is talking to a colleague,
never demonstrating to be on a superior level or trying to
impose his ideas forcefully. He accepted,
therefore, disagreements with his precepts, as long as they were
the result of a thorough reflection,
allied to subsequent practical confirmation. The respect, care
and dedication that he showed to hisstudents are to this today
strong references for me, and influence positively my relationship
to my
students and colleagues.
After the end of my stay in Uruguay, I met Carlevaro on several
occasions. All my subsequent
visits to Montevidéo, to perform or teach masterclasses,
included invariably a visit to my former
master. He continued showing his respect and attention,
sometimes with small gestures, as for
example through a phone call he made a few minutes before I went
on stage for a recital, just to
wish me good luck.
We also spent pleasant moments together in social occasions, as
at the wedding of a friend of
mine, who had also been a student of the maestro. Carlevaro and
his wife were sitting at the sametable as me, along with a few
other students of his. It was a most enjoyable evening, filled
with
animated conversations and toasts. At the end of the evening,
the maestro joined me and my
colleagues in a round dance, with a humor and disposition quite
impressive for his advanced age.
The last time I saw him was in 1999, when I was in Montevidéo to
perform concerts and deliver
courses at the University. When I arrived at his home for a
cordial visit, I found the maestro
distressed by a trouble. He had recently purchased a personal
computer and, not having yet learned
how to handle it properly, was "fighting" a word processor while
trying to type the syllabus for an
upcoming course he was going to deliver in Germany. I promptly
offered to help him, and ended
up teaching the maestro several "secrets" about the handling of
a computer, which nowadays seem
so simple for most of us, but which were true mysteries for
Carlevaro. The maestro now took the posture of a child,
displaying joy and pleasure at each new learned trick. It was
another great
lesson for me, among the many I learned from the maestro. His
desire to learn was constant, be it
aimed at complex musical knowledge, be it to the use of a simple
word processor.
At the end of my visit, as a sign of gratitude, Carlevaro
insisted on accompanying me all the way
to the sidewalk in front of his building. This time, it seemed
that he was the one wishing to jump
joyfully as the elevator took us downstairs, in
celebration of his newly acquired computer skills.
The death of Carlevaro represents a great loss for the guitar
world. I take comfort in the fact that
the maestro was very active until the end of his life. He passed
away in Berlin, where he was
beginning an European concert tour. However, his legacy
still lives, and I have not doubt that the
fruits of his labor will continue to be a source of constant
inspiration for generations to come.
IN MEMORIAM ABEL CARLEVARO
http://www.danielwolff.com/arquivos/File/Carlevaro_Eng.htm
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