Antonio de Torres Jurado (13 June 1817 – 19 November 1892) was a Spanish guitarist and luthier, and "the most important Spanish guitar maker of the 19th century." It is with his designs that the first recognisably modern classical guitars are to be seen. Most acoustic guitars in use today are derivatives of his designs.

Biography

Antonio de Torres was the son of Juan Torres, a local tax collector, and Maria Jurado. As was common, when he was 12 he started an apprenticeship as a carpenter. In 1833, a dynastic war broke out, and soon after Torres was conscripted into the army. Through his father's machinations, young Antonio was dismissed as medically unfit for service. As only single men and widowers without children were subject to conscription, in 1835 his family pushed Torres into a hastily arranged marriage to Juana María López, the 13-year-old daughter of a shopkeeper. Children soon followed: a daughter in 1836, another in 1839, and a third in 1842, who died a few months later. His second daughter also died. In 1845 his wife died at the age of 23, of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, i ...

. These were difficult years for Torres, who was often in debt and forced to look for more lucrative forms of employment. Although there is some debate as to who taught Torres, one theory is that some time around 1842, Torres may have gone to work for José Pernas in Granada, rapidly learning to build guitars. He soon returned to

Seville Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...

, and opened a shop on the Calle de Cerrajería No. 7 that he shared with Manuel Soto y Solares. Although he made some guitars during the 1840s, it was not until the 1850s on the advice of the renowned guitarist and composer

Julián Arcas Julián Arcas (25 October 1832 – 16 February 1882) was a Spanish classical guitarist and composer, who influenced Francisco Tárrega and Antonio de Torres. He was "one of the most important figures in Spanish music in the 19th century". Biogra ...

, that Torres made it his profession, and he began building in earnest. Julián Arcas offered Torres advice on building, and their collaboration turned Torres into an inveterate investigator of the guitar construction. Torres reasoned that the soundboard was key. To increase its volume, he not only made his guitars larger, but fitted them with thinner, hence lighter soundboards that were arched in both directions, made possible by a system of fan bracing for strength. These bracing struts were laid out geometrically, based on two isosceles triangles joined at their base creating a kite shape, within which the struts were set out symmetrically. While Torres was not the first 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-mâché upright=1.3, Mardi Gras papier-mâché masks, Haiti upright=1.3, Papier-mâché Catrinas, traditional figures for day of the dead celebrations in Mexico Papier-mâché (, ; , literally "chewed paper") is a composite material consisting of p ...

. (This guitar resides in the Museu de la Musica in Barcelona, and before the year 2000 it was restored to playable condition by the brothers Yagüe, Barcelona). 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 fit in a shoe box. There is no evidence that he ever made such a guitar though. During his later years, Torres' close friend, a priest named Juan Martínez Sirvent, lent him a hand in his workshop. Many years later, in 1931 Sirvent wrote a letter to Francisco Rodríguez Torres, mentioning the following explanation Torres made when he, at the age of 68 was asked by the famous father Garzón at a dinner about his "secret" of how to make his outstandingly sounding guitars:

" ..smilingly orresresponded: 'Father, I am very sorry that a man like you also 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 forefinger communicating to my intellect whether the soundboard is properly worked out to correspond with the guitar maker's 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 Martín Rosada. Shortly after, Torres met

Francisco Tárrega Francisco de Asís Tárrega Eixea (21 November 185215 December 1909) was a Spanish composer and classical guitarist of the late Romantic period. He is known for such pieces as Capricho Árabe and ''Recuerdos de la Alhambra''. He is often calle ...

for the first time. Tárrega, who was then aged seventeen, had come to Seville from

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

to buy a Torres guitar from the maker of Julián Arcas' instrument. Torres offered him a modest guitar he had in stock, but on hearing him play, offered him a much better guitar that he had made for himself a few years before. About 1870, Torres, who was then in his 50s, closed his shop in Seville and moved back to

Almería Almería (, , ) is a city and municipality of Spain, located in Andalusia. It is the capital of the province of the same name. It lies on southeastern Iberia on the Mediterranean Sea. Caliph Abd al-Rahman III founded the city in 955. The city g ...

where he and his wife opened up a china and crystal shop on the Calle Real. About five years later, Torres began his "second epoch" (as he referred to it on the labels of his guitars), building part-time when not busy in the china shop. After the death of his wife Josefa, in 1883, Torres began to devote increasing amounts of time to building guitars, making somewhere around 12 guitars a year until his death in La Cañada de San Urbano, Almería at the age of 75.

Guitars

Torres guitars are divided into two periods: the first belonging to Sevilla from 1852 to 1870, the second being the years 1871–1893 in Almería. The guitars Torres made were so superior to those of his contemporaries that their example changed the way guitars were built, first in

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, and then in the rest of the world. Although they are not particularly loud by modern standards, they have a clear, balanced, firm 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. While the overall pattern of the modern classical guitar derives from Torres, there are some difference between Torres' classical guitars and the modern instrument. Torres' guitars all had soundboards of

European spruce ''Picea abies'', the Norway spruce or European spruce, is a species of spruce native to Northern, Central and Eastern Europe. It has branchlets that typically hang downwards, and the largest cones of any spruce, 9–17 cm long. It is very cl ...

; now

western red cedar ''Thuja plicata'' is an evergreen coniferous tree in the cypress family Cupressaceae, native to western North America. Its common name is western redcedar (western red cedar in the UK), and it is also called Pacific redcedar, giant arborvitae ...

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 fitted with mechanical tuners, which are universal on classical guitars today.

Inventory of guitars

This is an incomplete list of guitars made by Antonio de Torres. * Serial number unknown (1856) -

The Romeros Los Romeros, The Romero Guitar Quartet, is a guitar quartet, sometimes known as "The Royal Family of the Guitar" — their personnel consists entirely of members of the Romero family. The quartet was founded in 1960 by Celedonio Romero, who ...

have five Torres guitars, currently likely the largest private collection in the world.

Pepe Romero Pepe Romero (born March 8, 1944, in Málaga, Spain) is a classical and flamenco guitarist. Biography Early life Pepe Romero was born in Spain, the second son of celebrated guitarist and composer Celedonio Romero, who was his only guitar t ...

owns three Torres guitars (including an 1856 Torres);

Celin Romero Celin Romero (born November 23, 1936 in Málaga) is a classical guitarist and member of the guitar quartet the Romeros. He is the eldest son of Celedonio Romero, who in 1957 left Spain for the United States with his family. On February 11, 2000 ...

and Angel Romero each own one. * FE 04 ''La Leona'' (1856) - owned by Erhard Hannen, now is being played by Wulfin Lieske
video
* FE 09 (1859) - owned by

Miguel Llobet Miguel Llobet Solés (18 October 187822 February 1938) was a classical guitarist, born in Barcelona, Spain. Llobet was a renowned virtuoso who toured Europe and America extensively. He made well known arrangements of Catalan folk songs for the ...

, now in the collection of the Museu de la Música de Barcelona, Spain * Sevilla, 1862
Collection of José Luis Postigo
* FE 17 (1864) - initially made by Torres for his personal use, acquired by

in Seville, in 186

The back and ribs was made from flamed maple. Sold by Vicente Tárrega (brother of Francisco Tárrega) to Domingo Prat in 1917. * Almería, 1864
FE 18 (1864)
, presently owned by James Westbrook, www.theguitarmuseum.com * FE 28 (1868)
Collection of Marcos Villanueva
* SE 49 (1883) - owned by

* SE 52 (1883)- owned by Angel Romero. * SE 70 ''La Invencible'' (1884)
Collection of Flamencoguitarsforsale.net
* SE 107 (1887) - now is being played by Stefano Grondona. * SE 114 (1888) - owned by Francisco Tárrega, now in the collection of Sheldon Urlik * SE 116 ''La Itálica'' (1888) - once owned by Barcelona luthier Enrique Coll (disciple of Simplicio and mentor of Fleta.) * SE 124 (1888) - Once owned by

Regino Sainz de la Maza Regino Sainz de la Maza y Ruiz (7 September 1896 – 26 November 1981) was a Spanish classical guitarist and composer. Biography Sainz de la Maza was born in Burgos. At ten, he got his first guitar and started his musical studies with Santiago ...

, restored and owned by luthier R. E. Brun�

Nearly identical to SE 114 but with birds eye maple sides and back. *In the Museu
Museum ''Cité de la Musique''
in Paris
Instruments et oeuvres d'art
- search-phrase: Facteur, auteur ou sujet : ''Torres''
Almeria, 1885
(Torres 11-string model)
Sevilla, 1882

Almeria, 1852

Almeria, 1883

Almeria, 1875
(actually housed in: Musée du Palais Lascaris in Nice) *In th
''Museu de la Música''
in Barcelona
Online catalog
- Search for ''Torres''

References

External links

;Web Oficial Antonio de Torres *http://www.antoniodetorres.es Antonio de Torres Jurado
Measuring and documenting the FE 18 by Antonio de Torres
by Florian Vorreiter ;Regarding Torres 11-string models

(harpguitars.net)
image - José Martinez Toboso with guitar
(harpguitars.net)

(harpguitars.net) ;La Invencible (1884)
www.lainvencibledetorres.com
Website with videos and photos of this guitar
Guitar Antonio de Torres 1884 “La Invencible”
Website with videos and photos 360 of this guitar ;Articles
Fretwork From the Land of Flamenco - A Masterful Collection of Classical Guitars
LA Times, February 17, 2002 *Articles fro
''Articles Hemeroteca Digital - Biblioteca Nacional de España''

Estampa (Madrid. 1928). 01/01/1929
page 29
Caras y caretas (Buenos Aires). 04/07/1925, n. 1396
page 20
Caras y caretas (Buenos Aires). 05/09/1925, n. 1405
page 76 **etc. {{DEFAULTSORT:Jurado, Antonio Torres 1817 births 1892 deaths Spanish luthiers Classical guitar makers People from Almería

Biography

Guitars

Inventory of guitars

References

Further reading

External links