The Classical Guitar Book - A Complete History (Softcover) [Paperback]

John Morrish (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2002

Offering essays by the worldÕs top experts in a full-color, coffee-table quality book, this is the first work to tell the complete story of the classical guitar and its repertoire, players and makers - from its 19th century European roots to modern international interpretations. This handsome softcover volume features lavish photography of classical guitars made by the best luthiers in the world. Additional essays cover use of the classical guitar in pop muisc, different playing and teaching techniques, the collectorsÕ market, and the science of the guitar. It also features profiles of legendary artists such as AndrŽs Segovia, Julian Bream and John Williams, plus a full discography, a glossary, an index, a bibliography, and a guitar measurement chart.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Tony Bacon, author of The Ultimate Guitar Book, profiles a number of guitar makers including Contreras, Smallman and Bernabe. Colin Cooper, editor of Classical Guitar magazine, writes on the future of the instrument, and provides a listener's guide to classical guitar on record. Paul Fowles, contributor to Classical Guitar magazine, profiles a number of guitar makers and looks at the classical guitar in pop music. Brian Jeffrey, founder and owner of a leading guitar music publisher and the biographer of Sor, investigates guitar methods and teaching as well as the repertoire of the classical guitarist. Richard Johnston, guitar repairer and contributor to Acoustic Guitar magazine, profiles guitar makers such as Velazquez, Humphrey and Ruck. Tim Miklaucic, proprietor of leading classical guitar dealer GSI, analyses the market for collectable instruments. Bernard Richardson, Lecturer in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Wales, Cardiff, clarifies the science of the guitar. Paul Sparks, a leading early music expert, writes about the early guitar before Torres. Graham Wade, leading author and recitalist and biographer of Segovia and Rodrigo, profiles Segovia, Julian Bream and John Williams, as well as guitar makers such as Hauser, Bouchet and Ramirez. Brook Zern, flamenco editor of Guitar Review, puts the flamenco guitar and its culture into the context of classical guitar. John Morrish is an experienced journalist and editor. He is a former editor of the London listings magazine Time Out, and edited Piano, Balafon's standard illustrated history of the instrument.

Product Details

• Paperback: 126 pages
• Publisher: Backbeat Books; 2nd edition (September 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0879307250
• ISBN-13: 978-0879307257
• Product Dimensions: 12 x 7.8 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,149,143 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful photos and layout, a wonderful collection, July 29, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Classical Guitar: A Complete History (Hardcover)

Any lover of the classical guitar cannot help but appreciate this gorgeous collection of instruments, as well as the way in which they are displayed on the pages. Filled with information about the guitars and their construction, the luthiers, and which players'CDs you can hear them on, I highly recommend this fine edition. I take issue only with the subtitle "A Complete History", as the guitars are based on a single collection of instruments, owned by Russell Cleveland, and not necessarily what any other person would consider "Complete". That fact does not diminish my enjoyment of this exquisite book one bit.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great book with superb pictures., September 24, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Classical Guitar: A Complete History (Hardcover)

This is an amazing book. It has a lot of information of todays luthiers and past luthiers. The photographs are beautiful and I would recomend this book to anyone who loves the classical guitar. It is however on the expensive side.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A nice insight into luthiers, but not all that comprehensive, March 12, 2007

By 

G. TEPPER (the OC, CA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Classical Guitar Book - A Complete History (Softcover) (Paperback)

Though I like the book, the highlights are more about the luthiers and not so much on the quality of the guitars they make. The book is layed out in a chronological order, and focuses on just one luthier and guitar per year.. This is confusing, as many luthiers produce guitars across 40,50 even 60 years. So, this approach doesn't really work for me.

The book could have benefited from a comparison of major achievements introduced by each luthier, and focused on broad comparisons of different guitars. It instead focuses on the personalities of the luthiers.

If the reason you want to purchase the book is to help you find a concert guitar, this book will provide a good reference to the major luthiers operating today. However, if you are looking to find distinguishing features about the guitars, you will be hard pressed to do so, as the book provides just a few tidbits of information in that regard.