1888 Antonio de Torres "SE 115" SP/MH (ex Matilde Cuervas, Emilio Pujol)

This 1888 Antonio de Torres, SE 115, is a spruce and mahogany classical guitar from Almería, played in concert by Matilde Cuervas and then by her husband, Emilio Pujol – all original down to its wooden case, from the Russell Cleveland collection.

In the videos above, Andrew York plays his "Home" and Tavi Jinariu plays Llobet's arrangement of "Cançó del Lladre" on this guitar. The third video is a recording made c. 1932 by Emilio Pujol and Matilde Cuervas of the Danza from Manuel de Falla's "La vida breve" – possibly on this Torres.

SE 115: Built the Same Year as Tárrega's SE 114

Built the same year as Tárrega's favorite Torres guitar (SE 114) and almost identical in dimensions and materials, this guitar – No. 115 of the "Segunda Época", as its label reads – is one of the great masterpieces of Torres' output for its provenance, quality of sound, condition and historical importance. It is in phenomenal condition with all original elements preserved, including original polish, tuning machines (Baker), internal pencil marks and even the original wooden hardshell case! Yuris Zeltins did some repair work to re-repair some old cracks, but left all original materials (including the finish) intact.

Matilde Cuervas and Emilio Pujol

The guitar was once owned by the concert artist Matilde Cuervas (1888–1956), who used it professionally throughout her career. After her death, it was inherited by her husband and duo partner, the great pedagogue, composer and concert artist Emilio Pujol (1886–1980), who continued to use it professionally as well. Before his passing, he gave the guitar to Matilde's niece, María Teresa Guerra Cuervas, and in 1997 it was sold to Russell Cleveland. Her handwritten letter of December 1997, confirming the guitar's history, is shown in the photo gallery.

Sound

The trebles have an intoxicating, "velvety" texture, and it is remarkable just how sensitive each note is to the slightest change in right-hand position – allowing for a wide variety of color and expressivity. The basses are wide and deep, also with great lyrical charm and character, and the notes blend in perfect balance, with that sensation of the guitar vibrating against the player's body that defies description. When evaluating the sound of a guitar like this, it's difficult to tell where the genius of Torres ends and the accumulated years of being played by great artists begins. This instrument is truly a marvel of guitar making history.

More on Antonio de Torres

There is much more to read about Torres: our biography of the maker, an excerpt on the Torres sound from José Luis Romanillos's book "Antonio de Torres", and a conversation between Pepe Romero and Kenny Hill about the master luthier. Also see Orfeo Magazine #9 – The 200th Anniversary of Antonio de Torres.

From the Russell Cleveland Collection

This guitar comes from the Russell Cleveland collection.

Antonio de Torres: The Stradivari of the Guitar

The name of Antonio de Torres (1817–1892) is to guitarists what the name of Antonio Stradivari is to violinists. Taken as a whole, the corpus of instruments made by this legendary maker's hand is today regarded as the foundational basis of the modern guitar. The impact that these guitars made on successive generations of luthiers is impossible to exaggerate – still to this day, most or nearly all of Torres' structural and tonal improvements are in use by all top contemporary builders.

The First and Second Epochs: Seville and Almería

Torres built his first great guitars in Seville, from the 1850s to about 1870 – his "first epoch", when his labels read "Calle de la Cerrajería, número 32". After some years away from the bench he took up guitar making again in his native Almería in 1875, and from then until his death in 1892 his labels say "Segunda Época", usually with the guitar's number written in by hand. In his biography of the maker, José Luis Romanillos catalogued the surviving instruments by these two periods, which is why Torres guitars are known today by numbers such as "FE 17" (first epoch) or "SE 114" (second epoch).

Played by Tárrega – and by Today's Artists

In Torres' own day, the leading players such as Julián Arcas and Francisco Tárrega were already performing on his masterpieces, and successive generations of players over the 20th century continued to play them. Although increasing values over the past several decades have placed them largely within the sphere of collectors, they are still highly desirable to leading professional players and occasionally make their way into the recording studio or even the concert stage. Pepe Romero, Stefano Grondona, Wulfin Lieske and Marc Teicholz, among others, have brought them to life in recorded and live sound, and we all hope this trend continues in the future, especially as more Torres instruments come to the public's attention.