Music, harmonics, and sounds of beauty have been with humans since the beginning of time. It seems music is intertwined with consciousness and the mysteries of the universe.

This is a very brief history of the evolution of the guitar, make sure you go online to find out more or explore our website for more posts about the world of the Spanish guitar.

Agustín Pío Barrios (also known as Agustín Barrios Mangoré and Nitsuga—Agustin spelled backward—Mangoré; May 5, 1885 – August 7, 1944) was a Paraguayan virtuosoclassical guitarist and composer, largely regarded as one of the greatest performers and most prolific composers for the guitar.

The challenge of listing the top 25 classical guitarists is that there is such a deep history in classical guitar, how far back do you go? Do you limit it to the current players? But then that doesn’t work – I mean, how could you leave Segovia out (as you would have to do)?

Agustin spelled backwards—Mangoré; May 5, 1885 – August 7, 1944) was a Paraguayan virtuoso classical guitarist and composer, largely regarded as one of the greatest performers and most prolific composers for the guitar.

Joaquín Rodrigo (1901–1999) discovered a way of bringing Spanish music into the 20th century. His solution was to exploit singable melody and to use traditional orchestral timbres; or as the musicologist Tomas Marco puts it: “In form, harmony, melody and rhythm, Rodrigo’s work might be broadly classified as neo-classical”.