2007 Géza Burghardt "Grand Concert" SP/CSAR

This 2007 Géza Burghardt “Grand Concert” is a French-polished classical guitar with a spruce top and CSA rosewood back and sides, built in his Vancouver, Canada, workshop and kept in excellent condition.

Burghardt’s “Grand Concert”

Géza’s “Grand Concert” is a beautifully made instrument, built from high-grade materials with elegant design work. The detail that catches the eye first is the rosette: its mosaic section pays tribute to the “Cumbre” guitar (FE 08) of Antonio de Torres, with a checkered pattern set between MOP inlays.

Sound and Condition

Smooth and lush in sound, it has a relaxed, played-in feel; the trebles are warm and the basses plump – simply a wonderful guitar in every regard. It is in excellent condition for its age, with no cracks, damage or repairs – only some minor wear in the finish.

Federica Canta Plays the 2007 Burghardt

In the video above, Federica Canta plays Luigi Legnani’s Capriccio No. 28, Op. 20 on this 2007 Géza Burghardt. Burghardt guitars seldom come up on the second-hand market, and it was a treat to have this one on offer.

Géza Burghardt: From Budapest to Vancouver

Géza Burghardt is the top builder of traditional classical guitars to emerge from Hungary. He learned to work wood entirely by hand, apprenticing as a pattern maker at the age of fourteen, and went on to build boats – racing shells, kayaks and canoes – before turning to the guitar. He earned his master’s certificate in Budapest in 1981 and opened his own shop there that same year.

The Influence of José Romanillos

In 1983 Géza met José Romanillos in Budapest, the beginning of a friendship and an influence that would last for decades. His guitars follow the Spanish tradition of Antonio de Torres and Romanillos: the neck joins the head with a V-joint cut entirely by hand, each rosette is made individually, and every guitar is French polished, never sprayed – his French polish is considered among the finest in British Columbia.

A Workshop on Granville Island

In 1984 Géza and his wife Tini left Hungary, and after about four years in an Austrian immigration camp they arrived in Vancouver, Canada, in April 1988. He first ran the string repair shop at Ward Music, and in the mid-1990s he opened his own workshop on Granville Island. Besides classical guitars he has built violins, cellos and double basses, restored instruments for the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, and mentored several Vancouver luthiers.