Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
While Torres was not the rst to use this method he was
the one who perfected the symmetrical design. To prove
that it was the top, and not the back and sides of the guitar that gave the instrument its sound, in 1862 he built a
guitar with back and sides of papier-mch. (This guitar
It is with his designs that the rst recognisably modern resides in the Museu de la Musica in Barcelona, and beclassical guitars are to be seen.[2] Most acoustic guitars in fore the year 2000 it was restored to playable condition
by the brothers Yage, Barcelona). [4]
use today are derivatives of his designs.
There is an anecdote about how he had made a guitar
made like a Chinese puzzle that could be assembled without glue, and disassembled would t in a shoe box. There
1 Biography
is no evidence that he ever made such a guitar though.
Antonio de Torres Jurado (Almera, Andaluca 13 June
1817 19 November 1892) was a Spanish guitarist and
luthier, and the most important Spanish guitar maker of
the 19th century.[1]
3 INVENTORY OF GUITARS
shop. After the death of his wife, Josefa, in 1883, Torres began to devote increasing amounts of time to building making some 12 guitars a year until his death in La
Caada de San Urbano, Almera at the age of 75.
2 Guitars
Torres guitars are divided into two periods. The rst, belonging to Sevilla from 18521870; the second being the
years 1871-1893 in Almera. The guitars Torres made
were so superior to those of his contemporaries that their
example changed the way guitars were built, rst in Spain,
and then in the rest of the world. Although they are not
particularly loud by modern standards, they have a clear,
balanced, rm and rounded tone that projects very well.
His guitars were widely imitated and copied. Because he
never signed his guitars, and only numbered those from
his second epoch, many fake Torres have been made,
some by well-known and expert makers.
falls victim of that idea that runs among ignorant people, Juanito (that is how he addressed
me) has been witness to the secret many times,
but it is impossible for me to leave the secret
behind for posterity; this will go to the tomb
with me for it is the result of the feel of the tips
of the thumb and forenger communicating to
my intellect whether the soundboard is properly worked out to correspond with the guitar
makers concept and the sound required of the
instrument'. Everyone was left convinced that
the artistic genius cannot be passed on [...]"
In 1868, Torres married again, wedding Josefa Martn
Rosada. Shortly after, Torres met Francisco Trrega for
the rst time. Trrega, who was then aged seventeen, had
come to Seville from Barcelona to buy a Torres guitar
from the maker of Julin Arcas instrument. Torres offered him a modest guitar he had in stock, but on hearing
him play, oered him a much better guitar that he had
made for himself a few years before.
About 1870, Don Antonio, who was then in his 50s,
closed his shop in Seville and moved back to Almera
where he and his wife opened up a china and crystal shop
on the calle Real. About ve years later, Don Antonio began his second epoch as he refers to it on the labels of
his guitars, building part-time when not busy in the china
While the overall pattern of the modern classical guitar derives from Torres, there are some dierence between Torres classical guitars and the modern instrument. Torres guitars all had soundboards of European
spruce (Picea Abies); now Western Red Cedar (Thuja Plicata) is also frequently used. Luthiers have continued to
develop the bracing of the soundboard, but most still use
some version of the fan-bracing that Torres pioneered.
Torres guitars were strung with gut trebles and basses of
silk threads, overwound with silver. Since the 1950s almost all classical guitars have been strung with nylon. The
tuning heads of Torres guitars were often set with traditional ebony friction pegs, similar to those of other string
instruments. His later instruments were tted with mechanical tuners, which are universal on classical guitars
today.
3 Inventory of guitars
This is an incomplete list of guitars made by Antonio de
Torres.
FE 09 (1859) - owned by Miguel Llobet, now in the
collection of the Museu de la Msica de Barcelona,
Spain
SE 49 (1883) - owned by Francisco Trrega
Serial number unknown (1856) - The Romeros have
5 Torres guitars, currently probably the largest private collection in the world. Pepe Romero owns 3
Torres (including an 1856 Torres); Celin Romero
and Angel Romero each own one.
SE 52 (1883)- owned by Angel Romero.
SE 107 (1887) - now is being played by Stefano
Grondona.
3
FE 04 La Leona (1856) - owned by Erhard Hannen,
now is being played by Wuln Lieske. video
FE 17 (1864) - initially made by Torres for his personal use, acquired by Francisco Trrega in Seville,
in 1869 . The back and ribs was made from amed
maple. Sold by Vicente Trrega (brother of Francisco Trrega) to Domingo Prat in 1917.
FE 18 (1864) (ref), presently owned by James Westbrook, www.theguitarmuseum.com
SE 114 (1888) - owned by Francisco Trrega, now
in the collection of Sheldon Urlik
SE 116 La Itlica (1888) - once owned by Barcelona
luthier Enrique Coll (disciple of Simplicio and mentor of Fleta.)
FE 28 (1868) - Collection of Marcos Villanueva
Almera, 1864 - Collection of Flix Manzanero
Sevilla, 1862 - Collection of Jos Luis Postigo
In the Museum Museum Cit de la Musique in Paris
Instruments et oeuvres d'art - search-phrase: Facteur, auteur ou sujet : Torres
La Leona (1856)
and Wuln Lieske
4 See also
Classical guitar making
5 References
[1] Brun, R.E. (September 2011). 1883 Antonio de Torres
No. 52. Vintage Guitar. pp. 8488.
[2] Morrish, John. Antonio De Torres. Guitar Salon International. Retrieved 2011-05-08.
[3] MDMB 625: Guitarra, by Antonio de Torres Jurado
(1862)". Catalogue online, Museo de la Msica. MDMB
625.
[4] Grondona, Stefano (2001). La Chitarra di Liuteria, Masterpieces of Guitar Making. pp. 5861.
Guitar by Torres (1859)
at Museu de la Msica de Barcelona (MDMB 626)[6]
Further reading
Hill Guitar, Short Bio
Antonio De Torres by Jose L. Romanillos, Julian
Bream Google Book Search
Making Master Guitars By Roy Courtnall, Adrian
Lucas
Investigative Methods for the Study of Historical Guitars: A Case Study of the Work of Antonio de Torres,
by Dr James Westbrook, 2009, MA thesis, London
Metropolitan University
External links
Measuring and documenting the FE 18 by Antonio
de Torres by Florian Vorreiter
EXTERNAL LINKS
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