Sonata (Omaggio a Boccherini), Op. 77

Castelnuovo-Tedesco's Guitar Sonata 'Omaggio a Boccherini,' Op. 77 (1934) was written for and dedicated to Andrés Segovia, who premiered it and kept it in his repertoire for decades, making it one of the most celebrated works in the guitar's 20th-century canon. The 'homage to Boccherini' refers not to specific quotation but to the spirit of 18th-century Classicism—the Neoclassical poise, clear formal articulation, and elegant craftsmanship that Castelnuovo-Tedesco admired in the Italian master who was himself a guitarist's composer. The four movements span a wide emotional range: an opening movement of Classical formal balance but Romantic harmonic richness, a graceful Minuet, a deeply felt Andantino sostenuto slow movement, and a vivacious finale. Throughout, the composer demonstrates an instinctive understanding of the guitar's idiomatic possibilities—its tendency to sing, its resonant open strings, its capacity for rapid passage-work—that marks him as one of the finest non-guitarist composers for the instrument.