Fritz Buss was born in Cologne in 1930. At 23, he settled in South Africa where he founded the Classical Guitar Society of SA in 1958. In 1960, Narciso Yepes invited him to study in Madrid. After a year's intensive work with Yepes, Buss returned to his career as concertist and educator. He undertook further periods of study with Yepes in '64, '66, '68, '73 and '75, earning such respect that he was invited to substitute as instructor for some of Yepes's master classes in Paris.
As concertist and educator, he was responsible for the acceptance of the guitar as a subject in schools and as a major instrument for the B.Mus. degree in South Africa. There he also introduced the ten-string guitar, adopted by several of his students during and after his thirty years as the guitar instructor at Wits University. As the leading teacher of both 6- and 10-string guitar in South Africa, his pupils included Simon Wynberg, Viktor van Niekerk, and the late guitarist-composers Timothy Walker, David Hewitt, and Dietrich Wagner. He gave sought-after annual master classes in Belgium, at the request of Godelieve Monden, and was invited to be a judge, alongside Joaquín Rodrigo, at the 1981 Francisco Tárrega Competition (Benicàssim).
Since ending his career as concertist, he has focused on teaching and writing a substantial amount of music for the guitar. He has lived in Australia since 2019.
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"Teaching is for me a great pleasure when I find a pupil of intelligence, who assimilates my conclusions with his own knowledge, developing his own personality. This is the case with Mr. FRITZ BUSS. ... I can state that it is astonishing to what an extent he has imbibed the basic and profound knowledge demanded of a conscious artist." (N. Yepes, 20/8/61)
"I feel very proud of him as my pupil and as my friend. ... Fritz has become not only an excellent guitarist with a wonderful technique but also a deep musician aware of his responsibility and always in search of more knowledge and perfection. ... I think that he is one of the best teachers I know in the world." (N. Yepes, Sep. '76)
In a 1991 interview with José Luis Rubio, Yepes answered the question ¿Quiénes son los mejores profesores de guitarra en todo el mundo? with: "En la Escuela de Lovaina (Bélgica), enseña Godelieve Monden. En África del Sur hay un profesor llamado Fritz Buss." (ABC Cultural 7: 43)
"Fritz Buss is a man of infinite patience who will take endless pains to ensure that a pupil has clearly understood a particular point. I was always amazed by his ability to communicate his enthusiasm and love for the guitar, which is both reassuring and inspiring. Mr. Buss can also inspire and fascinate by his own playing on the guitar, thus demonstrating that the instrument can produce music on equal terms with any other instrument. ... It is one of his qualities as a born teacher that Fritz Buss encourages his students to become individuals and to express themselves on the guitar in their own way. He is quick to spot a particular gift and to encourage a pupil to develop this ability to the full." (Dietrich Wagner)
"[Buss] stands out among the finest musicians and teachers I have known in my career in a number of countries, including Britain and the United States of America." (Joe Sack, cellist & critic)
"...a society which seems, generally, to encourage mediocrity and shows confusion, and even hostility, when confronted with greatness. These and related subjects used to leave Fritz Buss furious, resulting in some very tough lessons for me to learn. I now realize that it was largely due to the frustration of trying to project himself into my future so as to help me through all those pains and setbacks any ambitious musician is bound to go through. ... My lessons with Fritz were so inspirational and his enthusiasm so contagious that my transition from popular to classical music seemed the most natural thing for me to do, as he guided...me into a world I hadn't known existed." (David Hewitt)
"South Africa's leading guitar soloist...keeps busy with a large teaching connection and is in constant demand for concerts and recitals. An attractive personality and an entertaining conversationalist" (B.M.G., July 1966).
“Buss…gave a most interesting and varied recital. … The phrasing was perfect and the finesse truly professional. … Buss’s musical interpretation…was outstanding. The chromaticisms...and carrying melodic line were all played with feeling and expertise which were truly remarkable in their execution. … Buss put across the romantic feeling with delicacy. The two pieces by Savio…showed that Buss was master of all aspects of guitar pyrotechnics.” (M. Nabarro, The Star, 26/10/82)
"Fritz Buss, warmly acknowledged as the father of the [classical guitar] genre in this country..." (South African Jewish Report, 15 May 2009)
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#NarcisoYepes #FritzBuss #EmilioPujol
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