The above quote is all that Andres Segovia had set out to do, and mostly accomplished in his lifetime.  Segovia was born into a musical family in  Spain,1893, and was drawn to the guitar at the young age of ten.  He had no real teacher, but himself and books of past masters. From only this, he developed respect for the  guitar never seen before.   
     Segovia started professional recitals at the age of 16 (1909), in Granada. His official debut in Madrid was in 1912.  Not much attention was given, but this did not discourage him.  After Segovia played in Barcelona, a concert promoter got word of his playing, and booked international tours in South America(1916), Paris and London (1924), Russia and the rest of Europe(1924-26) and finally America(1928). This was the start of his world famous international career.   
      As Segovia gained respect as a musician, he began to walk in the circles of great composers of the day.  Composers like Villa-Lobos, Castelnuovo-Tedesco, and Ponce, were the more popular ones Segovia was able to commission pieces from at this time.   Mario Castelnovo-Tedeco wrote volumes of music for Segovia.  Castelnovo-Tedesco's biggest accomplishment of works for guitar was the first guitar concerto in the 20th century. "  It is a work that covers a broad range of moods, with its bouncy Allegretto first movement, the bittersweet Romanza, and the energetic finale that begins in d minor, but ends triumphantly in D major."31  
     Ponce was responsible for many guitar pieces also.  " A tremendously versatile craftsman, Ponce was able to capture the spirit of Shubert Sonata Romantica, 1928, Sor Sonata Clasica, 1928 and even the Baroque lute composers 'Leopold Sylvius Weiss Suite32 '".   He was also responsible for a guitar concerto, Concierto del Sur, finished in 1941.  and is most respected for his titanic set of Folias,which include twenty  variations(1930).   These works contain an array of  tonal colors which the guitar is capable of performing, from sounds of Bach to flamenco. 
    Villa-Lobos' introduction to Segovia was crucial to the progress of the guitar.  The Brazilian composer was very in tune with guitar technique, and articulation of proper tone.   In 1924 Villa-Lobos was commissioned to compose for the guitar, and by 1929 he wrote the  12 Etudes.  Any educated  classical guitarist can describe the importance of these pieces. which  are short, direct and tuneful.  If these Etudes are learned properly and practiced with dedication, one's technique will have to be at the performance level.  Just as Segovia wrote a preface to the Sor etudes, he also wrote one emphasizing the importance  of Villa-Lobos' etudes. Years later(1940) Villa-Lobos created Cinq Preludes. These pieces are not as technical as the etudes, but give great fore-sight to how the etudes are constructed. One would save much time to master the preludes before even thinking of starting the etudes. 
     Due to the amount of information found on Sergovia, one might be fooled to thinking Segovia was the only virtuoso classical guitarist of his day.   The truth is that there were others of extraordinary talent, Alirio Diaz(b. 1923), and Agustin Barrios(b.1885).  
      Barrios   "the most intriguing and enigmatic of the early 20th century guitarists."33  was a prominent guitarist in South America, and received his education at a Jesuit school where he utilized the guitar in the study of harmony." His knowledge of harmonic science enabled him to compose in several styles; baroque, classic romantic and descriptive."34 Barrios wrote in many different forms, etudes, preludes, waltzes, mazurkas, never limiting himself. " One can appreciate in Barrios a logical expansion of techniques defined by masters such as Sor and Tarrega, carried to an even higher level of expressiveness and technical expertise"35.  Among many of the classical guitarists of today, it is rumored that Segovia was afraid of Barrios' playing style.  When Segovia toured South America in the 1920's it is  speculated that he had met with Barrios, and was amazed by the smoothens of his fretting hand. This in turn made Segovia's  playing more refined.   Competition of technique is not what scared Segovia, it was the type of music Barrios played. This was not music that was around for generations and proven of its worth, such as Sor and Bach.  Many of the pieces Barrios played were written by himself and contained a very strong folk theme.  If Barrios had successfully promoted himself and played around the world, all of the work that Segovia was doing to detach the guitar from the idea of a folk instrument probably would have been shattered.  Whether Segovia had anything to do with Barrios' inability to world tour has always been an unsolved mystery for many. It is also odd how the great volumes of Barrios' music did not get recorded, printed or published until the late 1970's when Segovia had done all he possibly could do for the guitar. 
      Alirio Diaz was in a comparable position to Barrios.  Diaz loved and promoted the music of Antonio Lauro.  Lauro's compositions were injected with a heavy dose of Latin American influences.  Diaz started studies with Segovia in 1945. Segovia's approach to a musical  was one of Romantic interpretation, Diaz however opted for a very strict, precise interpretation of what was written.  Diaz had success with many European tours with the public, but is thought of as a man obsessed by exacting technique by students of the classical guitar. 
    In the year 1947 the second most important invention to the classical guitar was introduced, the nylon string.  Before this time players were forced to use treble strings made of catgut, and metal wound silk for bass strings, which would be subject to the environment.  If a concert hall was too hot, cold or damp, the strings would not respond well at all.  The nylon string introduced by Albert Augustine and the Du Pont Chemical Company solved most problems of gut  strings, they would stay consistent in almost all situations.  The same strings that were perfected for Segovia are still available, Augustine Blue's.  
    The guitar today is in the limelight thanks to its many  predecessors.   Many people are quite aware of the virtuostic capabilities the guitar holds.  The concert classical guitarist of today is capable of musicality not dreamed of by yesterdays players. Eliot Fisk, John Williams, Julian Bream, Sharon Isbin, Benjamin Verdery, Manuel Barrueco, the list could go on for pages, are players of incredible talents.  Some are more inclined in the technical aspects of exactness, while others are more into the romantic style of interpretation.  The music that is being covered today by guitarists ranges from the toughest material ever written, Paganini's 24 Caprices played by Fisk,  to Greek ethnic music , Dimitri Fampas.  There are also a wealth of concertos available to the modern guitarist,  Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez  is the most performed guitar concerto and considered standard repertoire.  The  guitar has been established as a professional instrument to the degree were no matter what other type of music is played upon its strings, its reputation for a potential of virtuosity can not be denied.