1918 Enrique García No. 210 SP/CSAR

This 1918 Enrique García is a spruce and CSA rosewood classical guitar made in Barcelona, No. 210 from his workshop at Paseo de San Juan 110 – a slightly compact García with green and yellow rope purfling.

In the videos above, Max Müller plays the Arietta from Malcolm Arnold's "Fantasy for Guitar", Andrew Steadman and Bill Kanengiser play Albéniz's "Rumores de la Caleta" on a 2024 José Marín Plazuelo and this guitar, and the Mela Guitar Quartet plays Debussy's "Arabesque No. 1" on four rare guitars including this one.

No. 210: García at His Most Mature

This instrument is a great example of Enrique García at his most mature and personal phase – its label reads "año 1918" and "Gtra. Nº 210". Like most of his instruments up to this point in his career, it is fairly simple in decoration (especially compared to the much more intricate and highly ornate guitars built between 1919 and 1922, after Francisco Simplicio began working for him), but it does have a few beautiful features, including green and yellow rope patterning in the top and rosette purflings.

Sound and Playability

The tone is wholesome and robust, with great old-world charm and personality. Playability is a breeze, with the slightly more compact dimensions giving it a very lively and "friendly" responsiveness to both hands. There are some old repaired cracks that are conservatively well done and stable, leaving the guitar in concert-ready condition. García instruments of this quality are hard to come by – a very rare and collectible instrument by one of the great masters of the twentieth century.

Enrique García: From the Ramírez Workshop to Barcelona

Enrique García was born in Madrid in 1868. Although he was the son of a guitar maker, Juan García, in 1883 he began an apprenticeship with either Manuel Ramírez or José Ramírez I (or likely both), and continued to work in Madrid for many years. In 1893 his guitars won first prize at the Chicago World's Fair – García was evidently very proud of this achievement, as he represented it in pictorial form on his labels after receiving the award. In 1895 he left Ramírez and Madrid for Barcelona, where he set up his own workshop as an independent builder.

Founder of the Barcelona School of Guitar Making

García is considered to be the founder of the "Barcelona school", or "Catalan" style of guitar making. His style influenced subsequent generations of Barcelona makers including Francisco Simplicio and Miguel Simplicio, Enrique Sanfeliu, Enrique Coll and Ignacio Fleta. Perhaps the most important hallmark of his style is the increased stiffness in his soundboards – his guitars commonly featured 8 asymmetrical fans instead of the traditional 7 (years later, Ignacio Fleta would increase the number of fans to 9).

An International Reputation

García was arguably the most sought-after and famous maker at the turn of the century (1900). His reputation very early on was truly international, largely thanks to Domingo Prat and Francisco Tárrega, who both played his guitars. By 1912 he was exporting many of his instruments, primarily to South America, where a thriving and very important guitar scene, based mainly in Buenos Aires, Argentina and Montevideo, Uruguay, was forming. His guitars have always been prized by performers and collectors for their intimate charm and unique style.

Books on Enrique García

The bilingual (French and English) monograph "Enrique García 1868-1922: Constructor de Barcelona" by Jacques Vincenti and Alberto Martínez – 216 pages, with the plan of García No. 123 – is the most complete record of his life, his labels and workshops, the Chicago prize and the guitars of Prat and Tárrega:

Enrique García 1868-1922: Constructor de Barcelona