I've been so busy ever since the day Pepe Romero left that I'm just now finding the time to relax for the first time in a month.

After the departure of Pepe, we had 6 days off but I had to use that time to finish my transcription and to be able to play it in Fabio Zanon's masterclass. In this master's program, one of the most important things we have to do is transcribing an unpublished work for solo guitar. Your transcription choice becomes a huge part of this course because you have to record the piece, write a master thesis on it, perform it and make a presentation on it to receive your diploma.

The work I attempted to transcribe was Falla's piano piece called Nocturno. Well, let me tell you what happened. I spent a total of 40+ hours transcribing and practicing the piece but on the day of my class, it still wasn't ready. I played my transcription for Fabio and he said to me, "I hate to tell you this but this piece is impossible to transcribe for solo guitar. It will sound fantastic for guitar duo but on one guitar, it's basically death." When I heard those words, I was naturally devastated! Not only did I invest a lot of time on my work but I also "wasted" my one hour class with him.. He suggested I choose something by next class, something much easier like Handel or a harpsichord piece which fit the guitar better.

My next class with Fabio was in two days so I had to do tons of listening, digging through sheet music, and checking to make sure the work wasn't already transcibed/ published (which is actually the hardest part of the process). After about 4 hours of digging around, I decided on a harpsichord piece by Telemann. I worked my butt off and somehow managed to finish my transcription in one day, just in time for my next class! Since I had spent all my hours on transcribing and having had no time to practice, I wasn't able to play the piece for him in class. However, the Maestro who I've named the "King of Sight-reading", played it perfectly from start to finish and gave me a lot of tips about range and technique. He really liked my transcription choice and was impressed with the work I've done in such a short amount of time! The thing that strikes me about Fabio is that he can read anything you place in front of him, no matter how difficult. He'll even read from a piano score in the key of F minor and transpose it like it's nothing. I don't know how he does it, but one thing I've learned is that I really need to work on my sight-reading.

Despite the bad experience I had with my first transcription, I'm thankful that Fabio told me the truth in the beginning and made me pick a different piece that was a lot more manageable. He is a great teacher to immediately see when something doesn't work. In the end, it all worked out although I wish I had the chance to get a real masterclass with him because he's such a great musician. Maybe someday I will have the opportunity to study with him...

After the week of classes, Fabio and Ignacio Rodes gave a concert of all duets. My favorite was probably Ponce's Suite Mexicana, originally written for solo guitar. I had never heard a duet version of it so it was quite refreshing! The Sor was another favorite of mine! The day after the concert, we all went out for lunch to celebrate our week with Maestro, and then we said farewell to him. It's never easy to say goodbye...

My week with Fabio Zanon