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I.M. Alex, Alejandro, van der Horst

This is Alex van der Horst, better known as the luthier Alejandro. Alex was born in Amsterdam but lived in Spain from the age of 17. He had a small workshop in Torremolinos, near Malaga.

Alex was a great guitar maker and very musical player. He knew every classical guitarist and every classical luthier and could imitate each one of them perfectly. He introduced me to Esther who became my wife. He became a member of our family. He was cheerful, lively and above all, very funny. There is so much to tell about Alex.

Alex and I spent a lot of time together. Sometimes on a trip, abroad, but mainly in the workshop or at home, in Amsterdam. The city where he was born, where he visited his mother, where he made a stopover traveling back and forth between Spain and Sweden, where his Birgitta lived. Amsterdam increasingly became the place where he had to be for his medical treatment and eventually it became the place where he died. Exactly twelve years ago today.

Kristina Miljenovic had a busy Summer

This is Kristina Miljenovic (2006), a young guitarist from the beautiful Kotor in Montenegro. Kristina started playing the guitar at the age of seven and turned out to be very talented. She gave her first solo concert at the age of thirteen and despite her young age, the list of masterclasses she followed and festivals she attended to, seems countless. She has appeared several times on television and her biography contains more than twenty prizes, medals and certificates including prizes at international guitar festivals in Austria, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania, Romania, Italy, Macedonia and Montenegro.

In the video above Kristina plays Misionera by Jorge Morel.

This Summer she went to the Summer School with the unpronouncable name PrSt in Eco zone Zlaća, in Bosnia and Herzegovina. There she followed classes with of Predrag Stanković, Boris Tešić and Sanel Redzic (photo). After that she went to the Guitar Art Summer Fest in Herceg Novi, in Montenegro where she had a masterclass with Hubert Kappel among others.

She recorded some video’s and also gave a number of concerts, including one in the former studio of the famous Bosnian artist ismet Mujezinovic, which now serves as a cultural center. In the video above, Kristina plays the soundtrack of Wild Mountain Thyme, a 2020 film directed by John Patrick Shanley.

Kristina Miljenovic and Sanel Redzic both play a Concert Model.

KRISTINA INSTAGRAM | SUMMER SCHOOL PRST | GUITAR ART SUMMER FEST

Cim Frode plays Purple Ash and Prelude nr 3 by Villa Lobos for Siccas Guitars

cim frode playing otto vowinkel at siccas guitar

This is Cim Frode, a guitarist from Sweden who lives and works in Germany. Cim plays both classical and jazz and has recorded multiple solo albums, with music ranging from fingerstyle, classical, Celtic music and jazz.

The still above comes from a video from Siccas Guitars, a guitar shop in Karlsruhe, located in the south of Germany and founded by the brothers Manuel and Mirco.

Siccas Guitars is very active on social media. It has several YouTube channels, including ToneBank, with video’s in which Cim Frode playing guitars available at Siccas.

In almost every video Cim Frode plays the same, two pieces : his own Purple Ash and the third Prelude by Heitor Villa Lobos. Like this prospective buyers can easily compare the instruments, for instance my 2A, 3A and Concert Model.

SICCAS GUITARS | CIM FRODE

Madrid Guitar Duo at Partita, a guitar shop in Seoul, South Korea

These are Roberto Garcia and Pablo Gonzalez, two guitarists from Madrid, Spain. They both studied at the Madrid Conservatory and continued their studies in Maastricht, The Netherlands, with Carlo Marchione, where they obtained their Masters. During their studies they occasionally started playing together and over time they grew into a serious guitar duo. In 2017 they toured through Asia where they gave a concert in Seoul, organized by Partita, my South Korean dealer. He recorded the video below in which they perform on two of my guitars. Model 2A.

In the video they play ‘Vals’ by Radamas Gnattali, from the suite Retratos. They recorded the entire suite on SUITES, the first CD of the Madrid Guitar Duo, with music by Piazzolla, Brouwer, Kleynjans and indeed, Radamas Gnattali.

MADRID GUITAR DUO
PARTITA | REAL CONSERVATORIO SUPERIOR DE MUSICA DE MADRID | CONSERVATORIUM MAASTRICHT | CARLO MARCHIONE

IN HET NEDERLANDS

Pieter Nanne now feels what he is playing

Loosing both parents, getting divorced and becoming a grandfather in a period of four years has had a great impact on Dutch gitarist, teacher and organizer Pieter Nanne. “But now, when I play a note, I feel it.”

After fifty years of playing the guitar, “my physique is declining, but the intensity of my playing has increased,” so he tells in an interview in Dutch news paper NHD.

Most of his professional life he spent with what he now describes as “making things possible for others”, teaching and organizing concerts. During the silence of the lock down, he concentrated on his own music. This resulted in a new cd: Gentle Guitar.

Pieter Nanne plays an eight-string concert guitar with spruce top.

Website Pieter Nanne | Interview website NH Dagblad

Frits Nierstrasz actually was a guitarist

Frits Nierstrasz in the workshop of Otto Vowinkel

Frits Nierstrasz in my workshop

Back in 2016 I got a phone call from Mister Nierstrasz who wanted to buy a concert guitar. I told him about my waiting list. Would I, in his case, be so kind to make an exception, he asked. Mister Nierstrasz happened to be 90 years old.

Frits Nierstrasz (1926-2021) was an international authority in the housing field. But according to his son, he was actually a guitarist. Frits Nierstrasz bought his first guitar at the age of 14. Many lessons and endless studying followed and eventually he even started performing. This he would do for the rest of his life.

As a student at the Netherlands School of Economics, now the Erasmus University Rotterdam, he travelled to Spain to learn the language. There he spent most of his time in flamenco bars in Burgos, Barcelona, Madrid…

Mr. and Mrs. Nierstrasz in Burgos, Spain.

Last month I got a sad message from his son, who is now selling his fathers guitar. Normally I don’t promote occasions, not even if they were made by me. But again I make exception:

For sale: a beautiful instrument with a spruce top and Amazonas rosewood back and sides. It’s in good shape, since Mr Nierstrasz has always taken great care of it.

If you’re interested it’s best to contact me.