Biblioteca Musical Victor Espinós

Some things can only be found in the nation’s capital and this one was worth the visit. I was asked to do a technical investigation of a guitar housed in this library and travelled to Madrid with my measuring tools and cameras. The collection of instruments is very interesting but most of the pieces are not on display due to space constraints. With some luck, when the building works are finished there will be an exhibition space. The library was founded in 1919 and Victor Espinós, the man behind it and its first director expressed its principal objective thus: “… evitar que una vocación artística, o el afán de alcanzar un noble medio de vivir, puedan verse estrangulados por la miseria”. Loosely translated it means “to allow the underprivileged to aspire to an artistic career and a noble way of life”. In addition to the enchanting staff the library has another big draw, not only do they loan sheet music and books but also musical instruments! Andrés Segovia even donated a guitar to be offered on loan. Needless to say it was never loaned to library users. It was however used for at least one concert and sent out to exhibitions.

I won’t say anything about the guitar I went to examine but the information will be published this spring and I will have something to say about it here for sure.