1963 Ignacio Fleta SP/IN (ex Angel Romero)

This 1963 Ignacio Fleta is a classical guitar with a spruce top and Indian rosewood back and sides, owned for decades by Angel Romero, who recorded the Lalo Schifrin guitar concerto on it.

Angel Romero's 1963 Fleta

This instrument belonged to Angel Romero for decades. He recorded the Lalo Schifrin concerto with it and performed numerous recitals with it over the years – in the video below you can see and hear Angel playing this very guitar in a recital televised on Italian TV in 1985.

Construction

Spruce soundboard, Indian rosewood back and sides – Fleta's usual pairing in these years. Inside, it already has the 9 fans and double harmonic bars of his later guitars, yet the neck and body keep the slightly more compact proportions of his late-1950s instruments, which make it very comfortable to play.

Condition and Sound

The condition of the guitar is excellent, with two small hairline cracks on the top and a refinish to the top done by Yuris Zeltins. Apart from this, there are only very minor, superficial scratches on the top. It has also been re-fretted and is in concert-ready playing condition.

Among the most powerful Fletas we've had, with an absolutely magical tone – a fascinating instrument whose provenance, sound and condition make it a highly desirable Fleta.

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.