Classical Guitar News & Updates

Due to widespread public health concern about the COVID-19 virus, we have postponed the June, 2020 Cleveland International Classical Guitar Festival. We plan to invite this year's scheduled artists to participate in our June 2021 Festival.

Regarding the 2020 James Stroud Classical Guitar Competition, we have changed the format of the Semi-Final Round to an all video round. Semi-Finalists' videos must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, June 5th, 2020. The date of the Final Round will be determined this Summer or Fall when more information is available about ongoing travel and assembly guidelines. To access updated Stroud Competition Semi-Final Round rules please click here.

As always, we wish you, your family, and our many colleagues and friends around the world: health, safety, fulfillment, and happiness.

Armin Kelly, Founder and Artistic Director
Cleveland International Classical Guitar Festival

James Stroud, Founder
James Stroud Classical Guitar Competition
Expected this April: A pre-owned, one owner, custom Jeffrey R. Elliott spruce/CSA classical guitar. The classical guitars of Jeffrey R. Elliott are exceptional works of art - magnificent concert guitars possessing unsurpassed musical refinement, purity and beauty of sound: quick powerful warm singing trebles, firm deep resonant basses, a particularly broad palette of colors and evenness of sound. These much sought after instruments are also among the rarest of the rare contemporary concert guitars. Jeffrey Elliott closed his then fifteen year waiting list a number of years ago. We have been waiting for this particular guitar for more than eighteen years...
2020 James Stroud Classical Guitar Competition Semi-Finalists are Announced:

Out of a pool of forty-one youth competition applicants from around the USA fifteen  have been selected to perform in the semi-final round of the James Stroud Classical Guitar Competition. Congratulations to all of you! We look forward to you joining us in Cleveland, Ohio June 4-7, 2020 for the semi-final and final rounds of the Competition which will be held at and in cooperation with the 20th annual Cleveland International Classical Guitar Festival and the Cleveland Institute of Music. Learn more...
Many thanks to this year's James Stroud Classical Guitar Youth Competition Preliminary Round Applicants (forty-one in all from around the USA) for sharing their videos with us. Their performances demonstrate a remarkable commitment of time, energy, study, talent, and most notably love of music and the classical guitar. This year's fifteen Semi-Finalists will be announced on or about March 15, 2020. The semifinal and final rounds of the Competition will take place June 4-7, 2020 at and in cooperation with the 20th annual Cleveland International Classical Guitar Festival® and the Cleveland Institute of Music in Cleveland, Ohio. Learn more...
Just Arrived: A new satinwood/spruce Torres Homage by English master guitar maker Gary Southwell. Regarding this guitar's elegant concert voice: There is not much one can or probably should attempt to write about such a refined musical spectrum of color, dynamics, and articulation except that this instrument's deep smooth sound is exceptional in every way - play, listen carefully, enjoy...

Just Arrived: A new Daniele Chiesa (Spain) cedar top classical guitar. Chiesa's remarkably responsive cedar guitars are among the finest traditionally braced cedar top guitars it has been our pleasure to play or hear. Their lovely sound is warm, deep, somewhat darker than a spruce top guitar, but retains the broad color palette normally associated with a fine spruce instrument; these guitars are also quick to respond to a wide variety of right hand attacks. Add to these qualities wonderful depth and balance of sound, and a comfortable neck contour, and you have what we consider to be the finest value in an exceptional, world class, truly individually handcrafted concert guitar from Spain...
Just Arrived: A mint condition, as new, Gary Southwell (England) A Series classical guitar. This is Southwell's very impressive sounding innovative modern concert guitar. Its warm, round, very powerful, unusually pure, clear sound has its roots in 19th century antecedents such as Lacote and Panormo; however, its warmth, breadth of color, dynamic range and richness of sound are all twenty-first century.Acoustically this concert guitar benefits significantly from the maker's years of work with Julian Bream on the reproduction of the Rose Augustine Hauser I guitar...
Just Arrived: A pre-owned Cervantes (Mexico) P.E. Hauser high end student model classical guitar. This is a cleanly made, mint, as new, one owner instrument imported from Mexico by Alejandro Cervantes. The musical sound of this guitar is round, clear, responsive, and even in all registers. The neck contour and string action set up are very comfortable. In sum this guitar at this price represents a great value in a truly handmade (non-factory), high end, student model classical guitar...
James Stroud Classical Guitar Youth Competition

Video application deadline Saturday, February 15, 2020

$10,000.00 First Prize
 
James Stroud has established and generously funded this competition to help create opportunities for the next generation of classical guitarists age 14-18 residing in the United States. The semifinal and final rounds of this competition will take place at and in cooperation with the 20th annual Cleveland International Classical Guitar Festival® and the Cleveland Institute of Music in Cleveland, Ohio. (Learn more) 

20th annual Cleveland International Classical Guitar Festival. Please join us in welcoming this spring’s roster of world renowned artists and the James Stroud Classical Guitar Competition semi-finalists in a concentrated series of concerts, premieres, master classes, private lessons, lectures, and exhibits celebrating the classical guitar and art music: solo and ensemble, old and new. Featured artists include...

Petra Polácková performs J.S. Bach's Chaconne in her new Guitars International H.D. video. A musician's musician, Petra Polácková began her classical guitar studies at the age of six. Since 2002 she has won six first prizes in international competitions and performed both solo and ensemble concerts to enormous critical acclaim. As a result of her competition and concert successes she has been invited to perform and teach at many of the world's most prestigious music festivals...
Just Arrived: A deluxe Stauffer reproduction by renowned German master Bernhard Kresse. Over his long, distinguished career Kresse has acquired an extensive knowledge of 19th century guitar making traditions - both by examining and restoring original instruments in his Cologne workshop and by conducting extensive research in museums and private collections throughout Europe. Kresse reproductions are performed on by Duo Melis, Alvaro Pierri, Raphaella Smits, Pavel Steidl, and many more...
Check Out Our High Definition Performance Videos: Proceeds monetized by these classical guitar performance videos support the Cleveland International Classical Guitar Festival © - a non-profit organization that raises funds for concerts, master classes, lectures, and exhibitions pertaining to the classical guitar...
Just Arrived: A custom concert guitar by Eric Monrad one of the finest makers practicing the art of lutherie today. This guitar's elegant, very powerful sound possess both the clarity of an exceptional maple guitar and the warmth and body of an outstanding rosewood guitar. Expect quick round sparkling trebles, firm basses, wonderful depth and evenness of sound, excellent playability, exquisite materials, and workmanship which ranks with the finest in the world...
Just Arrived: Joshia de Jonge double top classical guitar; magnificent large, clear, musical sound; cedar/Nomex/cedar double top construction with Joshia de Jonge's proprietary all wood grid pattern bracing system; elevated fingerboard with twentieth fret under strings 1,2, and 3...
19th Cleveland International Classical Guitar Festival: June 6-9, 2019, at the Cleveland Institute of Music. Join us in welcoming this spring’s roster of internationally renowned artists in a concentrated series of recitals, premieres, master classes, private lessons, lectures, and exhibits celebrating the classical guitar and art music: solo and ensemble, old and new.  Festival events are open to guitarists of all ages and levels and to non-guitarists. Many events are free.

This spring's Festival features: 12 Participating Artists and Ensembles, 5 Concerts, 3 Premiere Performances, 9 Master Classes, 2 Youth Ensemble Performances, 3 Lectures, 1 Guitar Demonstration Concert, 1 Guitar Exhibit, 1 Master Class Performers' Reception and Breakfast, 4 After Concert Dinners, Private Lessons, and more....
Just Arrived: A new custom Gregory R. Miller concert guitar: This magnificent guitar has impressive reserves of power. It is also quick to project the quietest, most delicate pianissimos. Its  smooth, creamy trebles and deep basses are round, clear, and obligingly responsive to a wide range of color and attack. Its fundamental tones are rock solid in all registers while being beautifully complemented by rich, well controlled overtones. As a result, this guitar's perfectly balanced sound sparkles up and down and across the fingerboard. Voice separation is excellent as is harmonic blending...
Just Arrived: A rare, lovely sounding and looking 2008 Simon Ambridge Series 40 classical guitar. The warm, clear, seasoned sound and easy playability of this guitar are in every way superb.A connoisseur's guitar maker, Simon Ambridge crafts among the finest projecting, traditionally braced, musically refined classical guitars in the world today...
Just Arrived: A beautiful new 2018 spruce/Madagascar Daniele Chiesa concert guitar. While the sound of Chiesa's instruments is warm, sweet, round and clear (the Italian influence perhaps), Chiesa's powerful concert guitars also embody the alluring sonic richness so characteristic of the finest Granada makers. The result: the Italian and Granada influences, and a great deal of individual talent here make for an exceptionally rewarding musical experience for player and listener alike. Chiesa's illustrious clients include Vladimir Gorbach (2011 GFA International Competition Winner), Sanja Plohl, Oscar Ghiglia, Dmitry Murin, Ivan Murin, Kuzma Filimonov, Tom Van de Venne, Herman Schamp, Ljubica Bukvic, André Gross, and Floria Nica...
Just Arrived: A new 2018 cedar top Estudio Model classical guitar by German Vazquez Rubio. These musical gems are an exciting alternative to all laminated and solid body factory and production shop, so called handmade, classical guitars from the U.S.A. and abroad. Indeed, these beautiful truly handcrafted solid wood guitars by one of the world's finest, most experienced luthiers regularly outperform entry level concert instruments costing substantially more...
Expected in 2019: A new Jeffrey R. Elliott (USA) classical guitar. This rare offer allows the buyer to select the guitar's soundboard material, back and sides' materials, rosette design, purflings and bindings, string length, nut width, machine heads, and case. The price of this new guitar will depend upon its configuration. Telephone Guitars International for information: 216-752-7502...


Robert Ruck (1945-2018): The world has lost a great guitar maker. Our condolences to Robert's family, friends, and countless admirers around the world. He allowed and encouraged our hearts to sing. Read an in depth interview with this great guitar maker...

Just Arrived: Visesnut Premier Series Cases with four locking latches. An  ultra light hardshell flight case with an adjustable interior, the Visesnut flight case is small (fits in most standard overhead airline storage bins), light (weighs only seven pounds, far less than most other classical guitar cases), and is exceptionally strong. Available in either Royal Blue or Black exterior colors...
Just Arrived: Visesnut Soft Case Covers. Visesnut's elegant, custom fitted case cover provides additional thermal insulation and shock resistance to Visesnut's ultralight flight case. The Visesnut case cover is made of water repellent rip stop black nylon with YKK zippers with leather pulls with accommodation for TSA approved locks (not included). It has enclosed rain flaps to repel water away from the case and four access flaps over the  case “D” rings which allow the case's back pack straps to be used when the case cover is installed on the case...
Just Arrived: A wonderful vintage Manuel Velazquez classical guitar from 1960. This is a GREAT sounding and playing concert guitar with a wide, flexible palette of color and attack - no ifs, ands, or buts about it! The first string is powerful, very pure and even all the way up into the highest registers - as are the second and third strings. The bass strings match the trebles in power, clarity, and character, and can provide a disarmingly deep, alluring growl when called for. The action, set up, and neck are perfect. An extremely positive comparison here to a fine Hauser I guitar is not out of place...