Julian Alexander Bream was an English classical guitarist and lutenist. Regarded as one of the most distinguished classical guitarists of the 20th century, he played a significant role in improving the public perception of the classical guitar as a respectable instrument. Over the course of a career that spanned more than half a century, Bream also helped revive interest in the lute.
Bream in 1989
Bream in 1964
Bream (right) in Liechtenstein, 1985
The classical guitar, also called modern classical guitar, is a member of the guitar family used in classical music and other styles. An acoustic wooden string instrument with strings made of gut or nylon, it is a precursor of the modern steel-string acoustic and electric guitars, both of which use metal strings. Classical guitars derive from instruments such as the lute, the vihuela, the gittern, which evolved into the Renaissance guitar and into the 17th and 18th-century baroque guitar. By the mid-19th century, early forms of the modern classical guitar appear. Today's modern classical guitar was established by the late designs of the 19th-century Spanish luthier, Antonio Torres Jurado.
Guitars from the Museum Cité de la Musique in Paris (which houses almost 200 classical guitars)
19th century guitar made by Manuel de Soto y Solares, held by Spanish guitarist Rafael Serrallet
Guitarra Latina (left) and Guitarra Morisca (right)
History of guitars (exhibited at Deutsches Museum)