Viktor van Niekerk, 10-string guitar's video: Fritz Buss on the 10-String Guitar of Narciso Yepes Interview 1 2

Fritz Buss was born in Cologne in 1930. At 23, he settled in South Africa where, in 1958, he founded the Classical Guitar Society of SA. Two years later, Narciso Yepes invited him to study in Madrid. After a year's intensive work with Yepes, Buss returned to his career as guitar concertist and educator in South Africa. He undertook further periods of study with Yepes in 1964, '66, '68, '73 and '75, earning such respect from Yepes that he was invited to substitute for some of the latter'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 more-than-thirty years as the guitar instructor at Wits University. As the leading teacher of both six- and ten-string guitar in South Africa, his pupils included Timothy Walker, Simon Wynberg, Viktor van Niekerk, the late guitarist-composers David Hewitt and Dietrich Wagner, and many others who have made strong contributions to their local communities. Internationally, he also 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 but has also written a lot of music for the guitar. His compositions include 30 Studies (1992-1998), a Suite (1992), "Erinnerung" (Five Bagatelles, 1993-1994), "Lamento y fandango" (1996), 5 Ballads & Dances (2000-2002), "Warum?" and "Fantasie" (2008), and several shorter pieces, including 30 Lessons (2017). As of November 2019, he resides in Australia. Narciso Yepes wrote the following about Buss: "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 August 1961) "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, September 1976) In a 1990 interview with José Luis Rubio, Yepes answered the question ¿Quiénes son los mejores profesores de guitarra en todo el mundo? with the following: "En la Escuela de Lovaina (Bélgica), enseña Godelieve Monden. En África del Sur hay un profesor llamado Fritz Buss." In the book "Narciso Yepes: Retrato de un hombre honesto" (1998) by Pedro Antonio Martínez Pinilla, Yepes is quoted as having said: "Hay un alemán en Johannesburgo, Fritz Buss, profesor de guitarra de diez cuerdas ... algo he enseñado de mi arte, de mi amor a la música." Other perspectives: "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).