1952 Hermann Hauser I SP/CSAR (ex Sophocles Papas)

Sophocles Papas was the first owner of this 1952 Hermann Hauser I, a Munich classical guitar in spruce and CSA rosewood that has had only two other owners since and survives in almost perfectly preserved, original condition.

A Hauser I from 1952, His Last Year

Made in the final year of Hauser I's life, this guitar carries the most refined qualities of the great style he pioneered over his long career. Its sound is absolutely beautiful – complex and extremely expressive. It has piano-like clarity, precise balance and a strong fundamental with very controlled overtones, and at the same time a rich, deep, loose and relaxed quality across all registers. Simply a marvel to hear and play.

Sophocles Papas Provenance and Original Condition

With Sophocles Papas as its first owner and only two owners after him, the instrument has been meticulously cared for and is in original, almost perfectly preserved condition, including the original finish and Landstorfer tuning machines, which are still in excellent working order. It was played regularly and at one point had the frets replaced, but otherwise it has no repairs, only very modest wear in the finish. A standout instrument for every reason – iconic in its austere appearance, with majesty of sound, excellent provenance and condition.

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.