1961 Ignacio Fleta SP/CSAR (ex Lars Hannibal)

This 1961 Ignacio Fleta is a classical guitar with a spruce top and CSA rosewood back and sides, owned, recorded and played in concert for many years by Danish guitarist Lars Hannibal.

Lars Hannibal's 1961 Fleta

This example from 1961 has a spruce soundboard, but its back and sides are made of CSA rosewood – a much rarer option for Fleta. The guitar was the concert and recording instrument of the great Danish guitarist Lars Hannibal for many years: you can hear this very guitar on his CD Siesta, as well as on several other recordings he made with Chen Yi and Michala Petri.

No. 224 and the "Williams" Fleta

John Williams' celebrated 1961 Fleta – his concert and recording guitar until 1972 – was No. 235. This one is No. 224, just 11 guitars earlier, so it keeps very good company.

Sound, Playability and Condition

As expected, the sound is incredible – deep and complex with great dynamic range and balance. Thanks to a slightly narrower neck, playability is also excellent and very easy on the hands, although it still has the firmness Fleta guitars are known for, due to their heavily braced tops. The guitar has only three expertly stabilized cracks on the top (repaired externally only – no cleating or internal repairs needed).

A rare and desirable Fleta with a wonderful recording history.

Ignacio Fleta: Master Guitar Maker of Barcelona

For performers and collectors alike, the name Ignacio Fleta (1897–1977) ranks among the elite handful of 20th-century luthiers. Trained in Barcelona as a maker of violins and cellos, he built mainly bowed instruments from the late 1920s until 1955, when he decided to devote himself to the guitar. Countless scores of the finest players in the world have played his instruments – among them Andrés Segovia, John Williams, Angel Romero, Turibio Santos, Alirio Díaz and Marcelo Kayath.

Ignacio Fleta e Hijos: Three Generations

By the mid-1960s Fleta's sons, Francisco (1925–2003) and Gabriel (1929–2013), had become his partners in the workshop – which is why the labels from then on read "Ignacio Fleta e hijos" (Ignacio Fleta and sons). After Ignacio's death in 1977 the brothers carried on, and today Gabriel's son, Gabriel Fleta Jr., continues the family workshop in its third generation. Many dozens of Fletas have passed through our doors over the years.