I am writing this today, and not on December 31, in the hopes that 2020 will not take any more guitar-makers. This has been a rough year and I think our quota has been reached. These are the sad passings that I have heard about this year. Ricardo Louzao, thought by many to be the greatest guitar-maker in Argentina. Fritz Ober, one of the best from Germany. Daniel Friederich without a doubt the best that France has ever produced. In Granada too we are missing Juan López Aguilarte, one of the founders of the Granada School as defined by Eusebio Rioja. Pedro Maldonado was born in Loja in the province of Granada but spent his working life in Málaga. What a year!

I was lucky enough to meet Juan here in Granada a number of times as he had a good relationship with my mentor Rolf Eichinger and I met Pedro through my friend José Ángel Chacón one Christmas in Málaga. I know the others through their guitars and reputations only but I am grateful for their legacies.