1965 Ignacio Fleta SP/IN (ex Rey de la Torre)

This 1965 Ignacio Fleta is a classical guitar with a spruce top and Indian rosewood back and sides – the concert guitar of the great Cuban guitarist José Rey de la Torre.

José Rey de la Torre's 1965 Fleta

This particular guitar was previously owned by José Rey de la Torre (1917–1994), who used it for concerts in the USA and Europe. A child prodigy, he was sent to Spain in his teens to study with Miguel Llobet in Barcelona. His career took off quickly afterwards: he gave several landmark performances, including the US premiere of Rodrigo's "Concierto de Aranjuez", and left behind a number of highly regarded recordings, many of which are still available today on CD.

Sound and Condition

Apart from this very impressive provenance, the guitar itself is stunning for every reason – condition, quality of sound – it simply has it all. An extremely rare and desirable Fleta by any standard, this is both a player's and a collector's dream.

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.