Antonio Torres Jurado
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Antonio de Torres Jurado (June 13, 1817 - November 19, 1892), more commonly known to guitarists as Torres, was the father of the modern classical guitar. He was born in Cañada de San Urbano de Almería, Spain, where he also died.
He was apprenticed to a carpenter and luthier in the town of Vera, Almeria, Spain.The earliest Torres guitar dates from 1854 when he was nearing the age of forty. He moved to Sevilla where he met the famous guitarist Julián Arcas, who encouraged him. He returned to Almeria in 1870 where he became a merchant of china and glassware. This was probably because guitar making could not provide enough money to support a wife and several children. Some of the most famous guitarists of the time played on Torres guitars e.g. Francisco Tarrega and Miguel Llobet.
Stefano Grondona has recorded CDs using the several of the original instruments and it is amazing how beautiful they sound even after all these years in museums or private collections. Jose Romanillos has written a biography of this great luthier, entititled "Antonio De Torres".