Interview with the lutenist Hopkinson Smith

August 1, 2011.  Boyce Lancaster interviews the famous American lutenist and baroque guitarist Hopkinson Smith.  Since the early 1970s Mr. Smith has been living in Switzerland.  He was one of the founders of Hespèrion XX, an international early music ensemble.  Mr. Smith plays different plucked string instruments, including the vihuela (called viola da mano in Italy), Renaissance lute, theorbo, Renaissance and Baroque guitars and the baroque lute. During the interview he plays music of the Spanish Baroque composers Gaspar Sanz and Francisco Guerau.  Here’s Boyce:

A tall, slender gentleman with a regal bearing glides toward me, extends his hand, and says “Hello, I’m Hopkinson Smith.”  His voice is soft, not unlike the instrument he plays, but at the same time, he commands attention as he speaks.  He chooses his words carefully, describing his instruments and the music he plays as a painter describes what he sees with a brush.  His accent is unique and rests pleasantly on the ears…an amalgamation of his life in the Northeastern United States and his current home in Switzerland, where he teaches at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis.

In my conversation with Hopkinson Smith, I learned that he played electric guitar, horn, saxophone, and trumpet, among many other instruments.  If there was an instrument missing in the band, he would simply pick it up and figure it out on his own.  He was about 17 when he discovered the classical guitar.  After a couple of years, the lute caught his attention.  He would soon move to Europe to study with Emilio Pujol, who had once been a student of Francisco Tarrega.

In the years since, he has expanded his expertise to include many instruments, renaissance lute, vihuela, theorbo, Renaissance and baroque guitars and the baroque lute among them.  He has release 20+ solo recordings on these various instruments, as well as collaborating with many of the world’s greatest musicians.  He was involved in the founding of the ensemble Hesperion XX and collaborated for some ten years with Jordi Savall, who also teaches at Schola Cantorum Basiliensis.

I could go on, but it is far more interesting to hear in Hopkinson Smith’s own words.  Here’s the interview.