OF all Christopher Parkening's public performances - and over the past 20 years he has given more than 1,000 concerts - perhaps the most nerve-wracking was in 1964, at the University of Berkeley in San Francisco.
He was 15, and had been playing guitar for four years, when it was announced that Andres Segovia, the world's most renowned guitarist, would give a series of master classes.
A friend of Segovia's had heard Parkening play in Los Angeles, and recommended him for a scholarship. So on the morning of the master-class the young Californian sat nervously waiting for the famous guitarist.
'I remember that day clearly,' said Parkening, now 47. 'Segovia had transcribed Bach's Chaconne for the guitar. It's 13 minutes long and a difficult piece for any instrument, so my first teacher had re-fingered it to make it easier to play.
'Segovia's wife was sitting next to him, I remember, and suddenly about a third of the way through the piece I heard a foot come down loudly on the stage floor. I stopped playing and looked up: his wife was holding him back, and he was furious.
'Why have you changed the fingering?' 'I said it was my teacher who had changed the fingering.' 'Who is your teacher? Change it back tomorrow,' he said, and I spent the whole night practising, learning the piece again.
'Segovia could be terrifying: he was very gracious if he liked your playing,' said Parkening, who is performing here later this month. 'If he didn't, he was ruthless.' He said he later became good friends with Segovia, who died in 1987 at 94, almost solely responsible for reviving interest in the guitar as a classical instrument.