ANASTASIO

Pierre Anastasio (1937-2007) was born in Sicily. He emigrated to France with his family at the age of 10 and began learning lutherie in the early 1950s with Antoine Di Mauro, who was himself a native of Catania in Sicily. At that time, the workshop located rue de la Réunion, in the 20th arrondissement, was running at full speed and Anastasio learned the basics of instrument making at a steady pace. He will also make a stint at Cité Griset where he will work for the most famous Italian entrepreneur of Parisian instrumental craftsmanship: Bortolo Busato.

A few years later, Pierre joined his father François in the family workshop located in Montreuil, and assisted him in the manufacture of classical concert and jazz guitars. The guitars will be signed Pierre Anastasio from 1970, and when in 1972 he took full control of the workshop, he developed a beautiful range of concert guitars as well as making his very first real attempt at faithful reproduction of a Selmer guitar!

An accomplished guitarist and passionate about the music of Django Reinhardt, he specializes in the building of gypsy jazz guitars. At the end of the 1970s, he built his first “copy” of a Selmer guitar, in collaboration with his friend Pierre Larouy, who provided him with the blueprints.

Pierre Anastasio’s guitars will be played by famous musicians such as Didi Duprat, Boulou Ferré or Raphaël Faÿs. Angelo Debarre will record his album Gypsy Guitars on one of his guitars, accompanied on double bass by Frank Anastasio, Pierre’s son.

It should be noted that the Conservatoire de Musique of the city of Montreuil in Seine-Saint-Denis gave its reception hall the name of the luthier, who has now passed away.