Category Archives: Santos Hernandez

Javier Riba with his Santos Hernández copy

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Javier Riba is full professor at the Córdoba conservatory of music, scholar of the guitar, and tremendously musical concert player. He has performed music by great contemporary composers and made a number of recordings of music for guitar and transcriptions. His performances, his work as a composer and his publications contribute to making him one of the best teachers in Spain. The link on his name goes directly to his blog which gives you a lot more information. Here he is playing a Leo Brouwer transcription of sonata K. 208 by Scarlatti. The guitar is my Santos Hernández copy, a guitar which is becoming the one that is most asked about and purchased. The dimensions of the guitar, the slanted transverse bar, the aesthetic and of course the sound seem to be just what many players are looking for. Like the rest of my instruments this model is easy to play and has great tonal range.

 

Santos Bracing

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You can sure see where Barbero got his ideas.

Availability

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Every guitarist has specific needs (and even whims) and so needs a specific guitar. This is one of the reasons why Granada is such a fantastic place to come as a guitarist looking for a guitar. If you find you don’t fit with what Antonio Marín or Manuel Bellido are making there are a myriad of other makers within walking distance. I have found recently that making historical copies has been a great option for me but the fact that I never have all of my models on hand means that when visitors come they can only sometimes try the model that might best fit with their desires or playing style. Over the years I have welcomed many great players to my workshop but I have not always had the model of guitar I would have liked to show them and sometimes had no guitar available at all! I want to make sure that I have the full spectrum of my work available for audition when guitarits visit Granada. Here are a few I would like to meet again soon.

Marcin Dylla
Carles Trepat
Alex Garrobé
Alexei Khorev
Zoran Dukic
Gabriel Estarellas
Carsten Grondal
Edson Lopes
Aaron Larget-Caplan
and a long et cetera

So hopefully if my clients can be patient with their comissions over the course of this year and the next I will be putting aside one of each of my models: Santos copy, Torres SE 153, La invencible, my flamenco and my concert model. I think I will not bother with the 1900 Vicente Arias double back as that didn’t get much of a response and as for the romantic guitar no one is willing to pay 7000 Euros for that so it too is pretty much off the menu.

The first element in this “collection” is the 1924 Santos Hernandez, faithfully copied from the original which Andrés Segovia donated to the Musical Library in Madrid and is conserved there. Someone get the word out to Russell and Barrueco that now is the time to visit Granada. 😉

New CD – Andrea Corongiu

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This story starts in 2014 when I travelled to Madrid to study and document a guitar by Santos Hernández which is conserved at the “Biblioteca Musical de Madrid”. The first result was an article and blueprints published in Roseta magazine in Spanish. The guitar in question was owned by Andrés Segovia and as is so often the case with Santos it is a fantastic instrument. Soon after examining it I began to consider making a copy. In the intervening years I have made a goodly number and they have all been very successful. However, this is the first time I have heard one on a proper recording.

Andrea Corongiu is a young italian guitarist who is already doing great things. Numerous first prizes at competitions and many great concerts. He is a very expressive player and a has excellent technique which allows him to do anything he wants on the guitar. Last year Andrea came to Granada and bought a Santos copy made by myself and has played it since as well as recording this CD with it. I just received a copy of the CD and I find it wonderfully played and the pieces very well chosen. I highly reccommend it, objectively of course. Buy here!

You can also find it digitally on Amazon, Itunes and other similar sites.

Marcus Toscano in La Capilla Gomerez

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GomerezMarcus Toscano is a Brazillian guitarist who moved to Granada two or three years ago and has been filling the city with music since then. Recently he began performing at the Palacio de Gomerez near Plaza Nueva with a spanish repertoire and lately on a Marcelo Barbero guitar. In October he started an exciting series of concerts which he will play on guitars made by Granada makers. The first one was on a Juan Miguel Carmona in October and this month he will play on one of mine on December 10th. I have included a video which we recorded in my workshop earlier this year on a copy of Santos Hernández. Torre Bermeja by Albeniz.