Guitar Museum
Antonio Torres' life and work & heritage
"My name is Antonio Torres Jurado I was born in La Cañada de San Urbano, Almería, on June 13, 1817.
My mission in this life is to make guitars, to conceive
and to build the best guitars that my intelligence and my hands allow me to make."
Various painting about guitar & guitarist
Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque
Guitars from Spain
"Cuadrilla de Ánimas de Santa Gertrudis" , Lorca, year 1923.
Guitars tiple and requinto, guitar, bandurria, tambourine and cymbals.
Photo courtesy of Pedro Yepes Castro, grandson of one of the musicians in the photo and relative of the great Narciso Yepes.
Five-Course Guitar, by Thomás Duran,
Sevilla 1684
Particular Collection Label engraving in ivory:
Thomas Durán Me Fezit Sevilla 1684
Soundboard of two book-matched spruce pieces wit a non original bridge. The back is of eigth pieces of Brazilian rosewood with ivory and rosewood fillets.
The neck and the head are made of clear wood covered with ivory and Brazilian rosewood fillets. Brazilian rosewood fingerboard with engraving ivory plates.
Restaured by Françoise & Daniel Sinnier de Ridder in 2018.
String length: 700 mm.
MIGUEL DE MOYA,
Almería, ca. 1900 Guitar
Temporary assignment/cession: Javier Morón Gallardo. Two piece spruce soundboard with rosewood bridge. Two-foot rosewood back with maple fillet. Cedar neck and head.
Cedar head veneered with ebony fingerboard. Rosewood fingerboard with metal frets. Marquetry rosette and brass soundboard.
Vibrating string length: 652 mm.
Hijus de Miguel Moya (Almería, XIX-XX centuries)
.... maintained the signs of identity inherent to the prestigious Casa Moya, and their flamenco and concert accompaniment guitars were highly valued.
Miguel Moya Redondo (Almería, XIX-XX centuries)
A contemporary, personal friend of Antonio de Torres Jurado, cousin of Juan Moya Castillo - a cabinetmaker with a workshop in the Barrio Alto and initiator of a prolific and reputable family of guitar makers.The examples that are preserved show the harmony of his designs and the sonority that gave him such a just fame.
José López Beltrán
He was born in the parish of San Sebastian (Almeria), in 1846, and died sometime after 1906.According to his labels, there could be a link with Antonio de Torres (1817-1892) during the last years of his life.
Specifically, one of them reads "José López Beltrán / único discípulo López Beltrán / the only disciple of Don Antonio Torres / Teatro Apolo /Almería / Year 1894".
{this beautiful smaller Beltrán guitar only has a blurry image here}
Luis Marín Díaz
He was born on December 1, 1924, at the age of 10 he began to work as an apprentice cabinetmaker in the workshop of a brother-in-law. Later he worked until his retirement in the furniture factory La Valenciana in Almería.He was in close contact with Miguel Gonzalez Abad, developing a love for guitar making. But it was not until his retirement that he dedicated himself to the process of building these beautiful instruments.
Miguel González Abad "EI Cojo"
(Almeria, 1906-1989)
Affectionate nickname {The crippled} due to a traffic accident. Chronological successor of Torres, via Melchor Moya and sons. Carpenter and cabinetmaker, he opened a workshop in San Lorenzo Street and a music and restoration store in Murcia Street, from where magnificent examples of guitars, lutes and bandurrias were made.
National Master Craftsman, graduated in 1973.
Juan Miguel González Morales
(Almería, 1947)
The construction of classical and flamenco guitars in Almeria has experienced an unusual boom in recent years. The son of Miguel el Cojo is, presumably, the maximum provincial exponent. His fine wood pieces sound all over the world in the hands of professionals and collectors. In 1974 he obtained the certificate of "Maestro Guitarrero".
Francisco Cruz Ramos
(Almería, 1948)
His precocious vocation in the field of cabinetmaking led him -after the appropriate experience acquired at the side of González Abad- to open his own carpentry workshop in Colonia de los Ángeles. However, the passion of this multifaceted craftsman soon made him interested in the construction of works of proven quality, from fine woods and remarkable technique. Paco Cruz is in possession of the "Maestro Guitarrero" certificate.
Manuel Garcia Mayoral,
Barcelona, 1971
Flamenco guitar. Donation: Familia González-Ruiz Mayoral was born in Almeria, where he trained with Miguel González Abad.
Flamenco guitar with a soundboard of two book-matched pieces of spruce and rosewood bridge. Back and sides of cypress. The neck and head are of cedar, the head is veneered with rosewood. Ebony fingerboard with metal frets.
String lenght: 650 mm.
Photography Exhibition - The Workshop of the Guitarrero
Torres Guitar Museum
Museo de la Guitarra Almeria
Rda. del Beato Diego Ventaja, S/N, 04002 Almería, Spain
