Russian guitar Russian guitar The Russian guitar (sometimes referred to as a "Gypsy guitar") is an acoustic seven-string guitar that was developed in Russia toward the end of the 18th century: it shares most of its organological features with the Spanish guitar, although some historians insist on English guitar ascendancy. It is known in Russian as the "semistrunnaya gitara" (семиструнная гитара), or affectionately as the "semistrunka" (семиструнка), which translates to "seven-stringer". These guitars are most commonly tuned to an open G chord as follows: . In classical literature, the lowest string (D) occasionally is tuned down to the C. Although in a
Michele Pittaluga International Classical Guitar Competition Michele Pittaluga International Classical Guitar Competition The "Michele Pittaluga" International Classical Guitar Competition is an annual music competition for classical guitarists held in Alessandria, Italy. It was founded in 1968 and has earned an international reputation, entering membership of the World Federation of International Music Competitions - Geneve in 1981, ISPA (International Society for the Performing Arts) - New York in 2010 and UNESCO. It is the oldest active international classical guitar competition in Italy and one of the oldest in the world. The competition was started in 1968 by musicologist Dr. Michele Pittaluga (b. Jan 1915 - d. June