1924 Hermann Hauser I "Vienna Hybrid" SP/MP

This 1924 Hermann Hauser I "Vienna Hybrid" is a spruce and maple guitar from Munich, built in the very year Segovia and Llobet visited Hauser – from the Russell Cleveland collection.

The "Vienna" Style in Hauser's Munich

Hermann Hauser Sr. (1882–1952) is regarded by players, aficionados and collectors to be among the elite handful of builders in the history of the instrument. Although famous for his Spanish-style instruments, Hauser also built a variety of models in the popular styles of his day, everything from zithers to lutes to guitars. Instruments in the "Vienna" style were arguably among the favorite guitars of turn-of-the-century Munich, and this guitar is a great example.

Charming Sound for Giuliani, Mertz and Sor

Sound-wise it is extremely charming, with a vintage style of sound perfect for 19th-century music, particularly works by Giuliani, Mertz and even Sor. Its character is crisp and clear in all registers, with precise balance and a vast color palette (bright and brassy ponticello, milky and luminous sul tasto). Every note has a clearly defined, "anchored" fundamental at its core, with very controlled and transparent overtones.

Condition

It was expertly repaired by Pat Quinn, who repaired a few cracks in the body and touched up the finish. Otherwise it has very little wear for its age – remarkable for condition, sound and playability in an instrument of this vintage.

From the Russell Cleveland Collection

This guitar comes from the Russell Cleveland collection.

Hermann Hauser I: Master Guitar Maker of Munich

Hermann Hauser Sr. (1882–1952) is best remembered for the remarkable instruments he built in the Spanish style after 1924. In that year, both Andrés Segovia and Miguel Llobet visited Hauser. Segovia was impressed by the quality of Hauser's work and wrote his impressions, noting that he "immediately saw the potential of this great artisan if only his mastery might be turned to the construction of the guitar in the Spanish pattern, as immutably fixed by Torres and Ramirez as the violin had been fixed by Stradivarius and Guarnerius" (Segovia in Guitar Review, 1954).

Segovia, Llobet and the Spanish Model

Segovia encouraged Hauser to build instruments based on his 1912 Manuel Ramírez guitar (built by Santos Hernández) after he examined and made measurements of this instrument. At this time Hauser also had the opportunity to examine Miguel Llobet's famous 1859 Torres, which would also become a decisive influence on the maturing "Hauser" style.