1989 Hermann Hauser III No. 218 SP/CSAR (ex Pepe Romero)

This 1989 Hermann Hauser III No. 218 is a spruce and CSA rosewood classical guitar built for Pepe Romero, who named it "Alfonsa" and played it in concert many times – often for Rodrigo's "Concierto de Aranjuez".

"Alfonsa": Pepe Romero's Hauser III

This particular guitar was originally built for and owned by Pepe Romero, who concertized on it many times. Included with the guitar is a letter from Pepe in which he mentions that it is named "Alfonsa" as a tribute to Hermann's grandmother. Its label reads "A.D. 1989, No. 218".

The "Concierto de Aranjuez" Guitar

While Pepe owned it, he had a thin transparent golpeador added to the soundboard to protect it from his rasgueados, particularly when performing the "Concierto de Aranjuez" by Joaquín Rodrigo. The guitar was used often for this piece, as is evidenced by the 2 small black dots on the inside of the soundhole, which Pepe used to locate the harmonics at the end of the second movement.

Condition

Workmanship and materials are outstanding as usual, and it is French polished. Otherwise the condition is excellent, and all original with no repairs or previous damage.

Hermann Hauser III: Fourth Generation of the Hauser Dynasty

Hermann Hauser III (b. 1958) – grandson of Hermann Hauser I and son of Hermann Hauser II – has worked in the Hauser family workshop in Reisbach, Bavaria, since 1974: first alongside his father, and today with his daughter Kathrin, the fifth generation. He works in the same workshop as his father and grandfather, uses many of the same tools, and even uses woods that were acquired by both his paternal predecessors. The family's wood store, started by Hermann Hauser I, still holds woods more than 100 years old – and for every set taken out, two are bought to replenish it – while tools of Josef Hauser, Hermann I and Hermann II are still in daily use, among them a band saw from 1905. His label still reads "Hermann Hauser – Gitarren – Reisbach, früher München" (formerly Munich), with the year after "A.D.", the number and his signature. He attaches it at the start of a build, so there is often a year or more between the date on the label and the guitar's completion.

His guitars were described by Andrés Segovia as instruments with an indescribably beautiful sound, and Pepe Romero says his Hauser is an instrument with the purest sound. Hermann III cultivates good relations with his guitarists, makes guitars fitting the needs of particular players, and has received the highest awards from professional organizations and the international guitar community.

The "Teutonic" Hauser Sound

Hermann Hauser III has tirelessly built guitars that capture the sound and aesthetic of the "teutonic" style, as initially established by his grandfather and transmitted through his father. Its features are the extreme clarity and balance between voices, even sustain in all registers, and of course incomparable beauty of tone – a sound most famously immortalized by Julian Bream in countless recordings, who once said these guitars have an "aristocratic" tone. We believe Hermann Hauser III guitars to be more like a Hauser I than any other maker's in the world: in blind tests with Hauser I and Hauser II instruments we found them remarkably similar.

His standard model is the "Segovia", essentially the same design as Segovia's 1937 Hauser I; he also builds the "Llobet" (after the 1859 Torres of Miguel Llobet, as did his father and grandfather), a "Bream" model and special editions after early Hauser I designs.

Books on the Hauser Family

Orfeo Magazine No. 4 is devoted to the Hauser dynasty, with a feature on Hermann Hauser III, Edmund Blöchinger and Fritz Ober – read the issue online or find it in the Orfeo 1-5 collection:

Orfeo Magazine 1-5