2025 Gerardo Centonze "Concerto Deluxe" CD/AR

This 2025 Gerardo Centonze “Concerto Deluxe” is a new classical guitar with a Western red cedar top and African rosewood back and sides, made in Milan, Italy, by the third-prize winner for classical guitar at the 2023 Antonio Marín Montero competition.

Gerardo Centonze’s “Concerto Deluxe” Model

Built by Italian luthier Gerardo Centonze, this guitar is his “Concerto Deluxe” model, made with his most precious materials and featuring his exacting, refined marquetry work. It is made with a beautifully quartersawn Western red cedar soundboard (with plenty of cross-grain “aguas” – see photos in gallery), a beautifully cut set of marbled African rosewood for the back and sides, and fitted with a high-precision set of Barnett “Landstorfer” tuning machines.

Contemporary Marquetry

Gerardo chose to use his own contemporary designs throughout – the rosette is uniquely his, featuring an angled rectangle motif in the center flanked by two thin bands filled with small mosaics in a random pattern. At the extremities are thick maple bands that also appear around the top purfling, back purfling and tie-block. The head veneer also has a system of thin maple inlays. This all beautifully closes and frames the guitar in an aesthetically and architecturally pleasing way. Overall an elegant and contemporary design, beautifully executed with precise craftsmanship.

Spanish-Inspired Construction

For sound, Gerardo’s building philosophy is inspired primarily by the traditional Spanish models for most of the structural considerations. Under the soundboard there are 7 fan braces and a bridge patch with locating pins. In the upper bout there are an additional 4 braces (also fanning away from the heel). The mahogany heel system extends all the way to the soundhole, adding additional support under the fingerboard. Like some makers in the contemporary French school, the sides are reinforced by a series of cypress braces.

Sound

This very solidly built body allows the vibration to be directed largely to the soundboard, which produces a thick, full quality of sound. This focused/directional quality of sound production gives it excellent projection, making it fit for any sized venue. And it must be said that the qualities one looks for in cedar have been harnessed – a rich cluster of midrange harmonic content fills every note, whether in the basses or trebles, providing a wide, layered quality of tone across the entire register. Overall, a beautifully made and very impressive guitar from an award-winning maker!

Photos of this guitar taken during construction

Gerardo Centonze: Trained in Milan

Gerardo Centonze was born in 1986 in Taranto, Italy. Initially self-taught, in 2013 he enrolled at the Civic School of Lutherie of Milan, where he learned the main building techniques of the family of plucked instruments. In 2017 he obtained his Diploma of Master Luthier under the guidance of the masters Lorenzo Lippi, Federico Gabrielli and Gabriele Negri. After completing his studies, he began an internship with Maestro Mirko Borghino, deepening his skills also in the field of archtop and acoustic guitars.

A Classical Guitar Workshop in Milan

In 2018, back in Milan, he focused his passion specifically on the construction of classical guitars and began a long and intense internship in the workshop of Maestro Lorenzo Lippi, learning various approaches to guitar construction while refining his own personal style. That same year he also opened his own workshop in Milan, where in addition to building his own instruments he takes on restoration work for vintage instruments. Since 2021 he has exhibited multiple times at the REG (Rome Expo Guitar).

Prize Winner in Granada

After several years of working at his craft, Gerardo was awarded third prize for his classical guitar at the prestigious VI Antonio Marín Montero Guitar Building Competition, held in Granada, Spain, in August 2023.