Hermanos Conde (Conde Brothers) are

luthiers A luthier ( ; AmE also ) is a craftsperson who builds or repairs string instruments that have a neck and a sound box. The word "luthier" is originally French and comes from the French word for lute. The term was originally used for makers of ...

, makers of classical and

flamenco guitar A flamenco guitar is a guitar similar to a classical guitar but with thinner tops and less internal bracing. It usually has nylon strings, like the classical guitar, but it generally possesses a livelier, more gritty sound compared to the clas ...

History

The Conde dynasty was founded in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...

Domingo Esteso Domingo Esteso (1882–1937) was a luthier who trained under Manuel Ramírez. His nephews, Faustino, Mariano and Julio Conde inherited his workshop and changed the name to Conde Hermanos. Nowadays, the family tradition established by Domingo ...

in 1915. Esteso trained his nephews Faustino and Mariano Conde Sr. Later, the young Julio Conde joined his brothers. Domingo Esteso died in 1937, and after that time the three Conde Brothers continued working for Esteso's widow under the name of "Viuda y Sobrinos de Esteso" (Esteso's Widow and Nephews) until 1960. In the early 1950s, Julio Conde set up a new handicraft guitar center. From 1960 until 1988-89 they took over the shop and called themselves ''"Sobrinos de Domingo Esteso Conde Hermanos"'' (Esteso's Nephews, Conde Brothers) or ''"Hermanos Conde Sobrinos de Domingo Esteso"'' (Conde Brothers, Esteso's Nephews). Mariano Sr. later established his own shop close to the Royal Theatre, calling it "Conde Hermanos Sucesores Sobrinos de Esteso". His two sons, Felipe, born in 1957 and Mariano Jr., born 1959, began their apprenticeship with their father and uncle Faustino when they were about 15 years old. Faustino died in 1988 and Mariano Sr. in 1989. Felipe and Mariano Conde (sons of Mariano Conde Sr.) manufactured flamenco guitars in their workshop at Felipe V St. nº 2 in

close to the

Teatro Real The Teatro Real (Royal Theatre) is an opera house in Madrid, Spain. Located at the Plaza de Oriente, opposite the Royal Palace, and known colloquially as ''El Real'', it is considered the top institution of the performing and musical arts in the ...

(Royal Theatre) and the

Palacio Real The Royal Palace of Madrid ( es, Palacio Real de Madrid) is the official residence of the Spanish royal family at the city of Madrid, although now used only for state ceremonies. The palace has of floor space and contains 3,418 rooms. It is the ...

(Royal Palace). They were known as ''"Conde Hermanos Sucesores Sobrinos de Esteso"'' (Conde Brothers - Esteso's Nephews Successors) Felipe and Mariano have now broken off their business association. They work in different workshops and sell different models of guitars. Felipe Conde works with his son and daughter Felipe Jr. and María at his shop at Arrieta 4, in front of the Royal Theatre, close to the old shop. Mariano Conde works at his shop at Amnistía 1, next to the Opera metro station. Meanwhile, Julio carried on making guitars until his death in 1995, and now his sons and granddaughter maintain the tradition of "Conde Hermanos" at Atocha 53.

Notable users

Famous Flamenco guitarists such as

Mario Escudero Mario Escudero (October 11, 1928 – November 19, 2004), was one of a handful of Spanish flamenco guitar virtuosos who, following on the footsteps of Ramón Montoya, Ramon Montoya, helped spread flamenco beyond their Spanish homeland when they mig ...

, Oscar Herrero,

Paco de Lucía Francisco Sánchez Gómez (21 December 194725 February 2014), known as Paco de Lucía (;), was a Spanish virtuoso flamenco guitarist, composer, and record producer. A leading proponent of the new flamenco style, he was one of the first flam ...

Melchor de Marchena Melchor de Marchena (19071980; born Melchor Jimenez Torres) was a Spanish flamenco guitarist. Born in Marchena, Spain, he is considered to be one of the most representative artists with a "gypsy touch", along with Diego del Gastor. His love of fla ...

, Andrea Nannetti, Niño Ricardo,

Rafael Riqueni Rafael Riqueni del Canto (Sevilla, August 16, 1962), is a Spanish guitar player and composer. He is considered as one of the biggest names or “Maestros” in flamenco guitar history. At age fourteen, he won the two main national awards for flam ...

, Sabicas, Esteban de Sanlucar,

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 ...

and guitarists with other styles such as David Byrne,

Leonard Cohen Leonard Norman Cohen (September 21, 1934November 7, 2016) was a Canadian singer-songwriter, poet and novelist. His work explored religion, politics, isolation, depression, sexuality, loss, death, and romantic relationships. He was inducted in ...

Jesse Cook Jesse Arnaud Cook is a Canadian guitarist. He is a Juno Award winner, '' Acoustic Guitar'' Player's Choice Award silver winner in the Flamenco Category, and a three-time winner of the Canadian Smooth Jazz award for Guitarist of the Year. He has ...

Al Di Meola Albert Laurence Di Meola (born July 22, 1954) is an American guitarist. Known for his works in jazz fusion and world music, he began his career as a guitarist of the group Return to Forever in 1974. Between the 1970s and 1980s, albums such as ' ...

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

Toninho Horta Antônio Maurício Horta de Melo (born December 2, 1948) is a Brazilian jazz guitarist and vocalist. In addition to composing and performing his own work, Horta has worked for many years as arranger or sideman for Brazilian artists such as El ...

Steve Howe Stephen James Howe (born 8 April 1947) is an English musician, best known as the guitarist in the progressive rock band Yes across three stints since 1970. Born in Holloway, North London, Howe developed an interest in the guitar and began to le ...

Lenny Kravitz Leonard Albert Kravitz (born May 26, 1964) is an American singer-songwriter. His style incorporates elements of rock, blues, soul, R&B, funk, jazz, reggae, hard rock, psychedelic, pop and folk. Kravitz won the Grammy Award for Best Male Roc ...

, Meiko,

Cat Stevens Yusuf Islam (born Steven Demetre Georgiou; ), commonly known by his stage names Cat Stevens, Yusuf, and Yusuf / Cat Stevens, is a British singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. His musical style consists of folk, pop, rock, and, later in ...

John Williams John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (15 November 2022)Classic Connection review ''WBOI'' ("For the second time this year, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic honored American composer, conductor, and arranger John Williams, who wa ...

have played with Hermanos Conde guitars.

References

External links

Felipe Conde

Mariano Conde

Conde-Atocha
{{Guitar brands Conde, Hermanos Manufacturing companies based in Madrid Conde, Hermanos Manufacturing companies established in 1915 Design companies established in 1915 1915 establishments in Spain

History

Notable users

See also

References

External links