A Catedral

The other day I was practising the Allegro Solenne from my transcription of Barrios' La Catedral at a well.known music school when a gentleman entered the room. After excusing himself for interrupting he told me that he knew the piece but that it was originally for the guitar (he knew because he played the guitar himself) and he was interested in knowing who had transcribed it for the piano. He commented that guitarists are always accused of pinching piano pieces (Albéniz and Granados), so it was nice to see the opposite happening. I said I had made the transcription. Then we talked a little and I mentioned I had also transcribed Barrios' Prelude in c and that the Turkish guitarist Celil Refik Kaya believes Barrios' writing for the guitar very pianistic. The gentleman seemed most knowledgeable about Barrios' piece. After he left I found out he was not just some amateur who happened to be taking lessons there, but one of the teachers.