2023 Paula Lazzarini CD/ZR

This 2023 Paula Lazzarini classical guitar pairs a cedar top with dramatically figured ziricote back and sides – our first guitar from her new workshop in Turin, Italy, built to the exact specs of the guitar that won her First Prize in Granada in 2021.

Our First Paula Lazzarini Guitar from Turin

Paula had been working out of her workshop in Cremona for several years before moving to Turin, where she took up a teaching post at a nearby instrument-making college, the Accademia Liuteria Piemontese San Filippo, giving a course on stringed instrument construction.

Granada-Winner Specs with Ziricote Back and Sides

This guitar is based exactly on the specs of the winning guitar, although she has selected some upgraded materials for the back and sides – a gorgeous set of dramatically figured ziricote. Her work won the jury over for its understated yet precise craftsmanship, bold yet refined quality of tone, and easy playability, being very responsive to both right and left hands.

Sound

Internal bracing is primarily inspired by Daniel Friederich, and the resulting sound is clearly similar, particularly in the deep richness of overtone content in every note, while retaining great clarity and separation/balance between notes. This instrument is everything the winning instrument was, and we are thrilled to have it here at GSI.

Read more on Paula Lazzarini

Photos of this guitar taken during construction

Paula Lazzarini: From Buenos Aires to Cremona, Turin and Paris

Paula Lazzarini was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She has a degree in History, and a strong interest in objects and artifacts from the past led her to a Master's program in Restoration and Conservation at the University of San Martín. Her curiosity for woods and musical instruments gradually drew her to lutherie: she started with repairs and, from 2007, began making classical guitars under the guidance of Ricardo Louzao.

In 2016 Paula moved to Cremona, Italy, where she set up her first Italian workshop. She later moved to Turin, where she completed a two-year project as a visiting professor at the Accademia di Liuteria in Piemonte and then dedicated herself full-time to guitar making. In 2026 she moved her workshop to Paris, France.

Learning from Daniel Friederich and Antonio Marín Montero

In 2011 and 2012 Paula met a number of maestros and guitar makers from Italy, Spain, the Netherlands and France, with whom she shared her experience of guitar making and restoration. For a brief time she also had the privilege of learning from Daniel Friederich and Antonio Marín Montero, who generously shared their insights into working the wood and their concepts of construction. She builds both traditional Spanish classical guitars and more contemporary lattice-braced guitars, and the needs of the many players she has worked with have encouraged her to combine the sound of the Río de la Plata with that of the traditional Spanish guitar. GSI is proud to be Paula's exclusive dealer in the USA.

First Prize in Granada

In 2021 Paula won First Prize at the 4th Antonio Marín Montero Guitar Building Competition in Granada, Spain – the first woman to win this prestigious prize. The jury included Yuris Zeltins, Manuel Cáceres, Edmund Blöchinger, Juan Carlos Martos, Alberto Cuéllar and GSI's David Collett.