This annual event, West Dean International Classical Guitarfestival, offers superb learning and performance opportunities for both advanced players and those of an elementary standard. Repertoire, technique classes and a variety of topics in “the learning zone” form the core teaching programme. Playing opportunities abound in the guitar orchestra, ensembles and student concerts. Guitarists receive two individual lessons and attend public recitals and masterclasses given by distinguished visiting artists and tutors including Xuefei Yang, Fabio Zanon, Johannes Moller, VIDA Guitar Quartet, Mark Ashford, Alison Bendy, Arne Brattland, Gerald Garcia and the National Youth Guitar Ensemble. Lees verder klik hier

Johannes Möller

The Swedish guitarist and composer Johannes Möller has captivated audiences throughout the world with charismatic and soulful performances. In 2010 he was awarded first prize in the GFA Concert Artist Competition, considered by many to be the most prestigious guitar competition in the world.

As a performer, Johannes’s artistry has reached well beyond the usual guitar circles. This was confirmed in March 2008 when he won the Dutch Vriendenkrans Concours while competing against performers in all instrumental categories. As a part of this award his name has been engraved on a metal plate that can be seen in the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. He also became the first guitarist ever to win the Ljunggrenska Competition (Sweden) in 2007, and the conclusion issued by the jury was: “With the help of a breathtaking technique and all the colors of the rainbow he opens a door to a world of subtle expressions which strikes us with great power and intensity.” In 2005, he became the first guitarist to win The Bromsgrove Festival International Young Musicians Platform (England). Critics have also noted his special qualities, writing of his playing “Guitarist Johannes Moller achieved miracles with his lucid, spacious playing.” (Stephen Pettitt, London Evening Standard).

At the age of 12 as a self-taught composer Johannes experienced an outburst of creativity that resulted in a large quantity of mainly chamber music works for various instrumentations. A selection of these works was recorded on a CD with some of the top instrumentalists in Sweden when he was 14 years old. A critic from the Swedish newspaper Göteborgsposten wrote about these compositions, ”What is to become of Johannes Möller? A Swedish Mozart – in our time?” 

In his later teenage years, Johannes continued composing experimenting with various compositional styles and techniques. It was however not until he composed his piece “When the Winds Dissolve” for alto flute and guitar in 2006 that he found his personal voice. The world premiere of this composition took place during the “Iserlohn International Guitar Symposium”. It was received with such enthusiasm from colleges and students alike that he decided to dedicate himself to mainly compose music for the guitar. In 2009, he won a “European Guitar Award” for his guitar solo composition and in October 2010, a CD was released of Johannes performing his own music.

Johannes has earned a Bachelor of Music with Honors from the Royal College of Music in London where he studied guitar with Gary Ryan and Carlos Bonell and composition with William Mival. He has received a Masters degree from the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague where he studied with Zoran Dukic. He also received a scholarship for excellent students from the Royal Conservatoire that allowed him to study privately with Pavel Steidl in Czech Republic as well as composition lessons with Dusan Bogdanovic in the USA. He completed a second Masters degree at the Conservatoire in Amsterdam where he studied guitar with Lex Eisenhardt and composition with Richard Ayers.

Naar de website van Johannes Möller – Klik hier

 

Julian Bream (Londen, 15 juli 1933) is een Britse gitarist en luitspeler.

Hij werd geboren in Londen. Bream werd opgevoed in een muzikale omgeving. Zijn vader speelde jazzgitaar en de jonge Bream was onder de indruk van Django Reinhardt. Hij werd aangemoedigd om piano en gitaar te spelen. Op zijn 11de verjaardag kreeg Bream een klassieke gitaar van zijn vader. Als een wonderkind won hij op zijn 12e een prijs voor zijn pianospel, die het hem mogelijk maakte piano en cello te studeren aan het Royal College of Music. Hij maakte zijn debuut op gitaar in Cheltenham in 1947, op 13-jarige leeftijd.

In 1951 debuteerde hij in de Wigmore Hall in Londen. Na zijn militaire dienst kreeg hij een drukke carrière, speelde over de hele wereld, en hield jaarlijkse tournees in de VS en Europa. In 1952 speelde hij een deel van een recital in the Wigmore Hall op luit. Sindsdien heeft hij veel gedaan voor het bronnenonderzoek en de verspreiding van luitmuziek. In 1960 richtte hij de Julian Bream Consort op, een ensemble met Bream als luitspeler. Het consort leidde tot een grote revival van interesse in de muziek van het Elizabethaanse tijdperk.

In 1984 raakte Bream gewond bij een auto-ongeluk. Het kostte hem veel moeite om te revalideren en weer in de buurt van zijn oude niveau te komen.

Breams repertoire is breed, van transcripties van de 17de eeuw – waaronder veel arrangementen van de muziek van Bach – en populaire Spaanse stukken tot hedendaagse muziek voor gitaar, waarvoor hij veelal de inspiratie was. Veel componisten werkten met Bream, en onder hen die werk aan hem opdroegen zijn Malcolm Arnold, Benjamin Britten, Leo Brouwer, Peter Racine Fricker, Hans Werner Henze, Humphrey Searle, Toru Takemitsu, Michael Tippett en William Walton. Brittens Nocturnal is een van de beroemdste in het repertoire voor klassieke gitaar; het werd geschreven met Bream in gedachten. Het is een ongewone serie variaties op John Dowlands Come Heavy Sleep (dat aan het eind van het stuk in originele vorm wordt gespeeld).

Bream werkte met succes met vele musici samen, zoals Peter Pears, Elizabethaanse muziek voor luit en zang, en twee platen met gitaarduetten met John Williams.

Breams spel kan worden gekenmerkt als virtuoos, bijzonder expressief, met oog voor detail en gebruik van sterk wisselende klankkleuren.

Dit alles heeft Julian Bream een belangrijke ambassadeur voor de klassieke gitaar gemaakt. Desondanks zijn veel van zijn RCA Victor opnamen (vooral de belangrijke serie over 20e-eeuwse gitaarmuziek) uitverkocht – een grote ergernis voor nieuwe fans.

De DVD Julian Bream: My Life In Music, uitgebracht in 2003, bevat drie uur interview en optreden. Graham Wade noemde deze “the finest film contribution ever to the classic guitar.”

Denis Azabagić (born 1972 in Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina, then Yugoslavia) is a Bosnian classical guitarist.

He performs as a soloist, in chamber settings, with orchestras, and with his wife, the Spanish Flutist Eugenia Moliner, as the Cavatina Duo, which is the foremost flute and guitar duo on the scene.

Musical background

In 1993, at the age of 20, he became the youngest winner of one of the most prestigious international guitar competitions “Jacinto e Inocencio Guerrero”, in Madrid, Spain. After listening to Azabagic, the distinguished Spanish composer, Anton Garcia Abril said, “I am sure that with time, he is going to be one of the greatest guitarists of the world.”

Between 1992 and 1999, Azabagić won twenty-four prizes in international competitions, of which eleven were first prizes. [2] He has written a book published by Mel Bay, On Competitions, based on his experience during these years.

Azabagić has recorded seven CDs for international labels such as Naxos, Cedille, Opera Tres and Orobroy as well as two DVDs for Mel Bay.

As a guest instrumentalist and soloist Azabagić has appeared with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra, Illinois Symphony Orchestra, Sacramento Chamber Orchestra, Madrid Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre Royal de Chambre de Wallonie, among others.

He is a regular guest at such venues as Chicago’s Symphony Center, Masters of the Guitar at the Royal Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Radio France in Paris, Aix-en-Provence Festival, France, El Palau de la Musica, Valencia, Spain, Savannah on Stage, USA, Omni Foundation, USA, Ravinia Festival, USA, National Chang Kai Shek Cultural Center, Taiwan, and the National Center for the Performing Arts, Beijing, China.[3]

Azabagic’s performances have been broadcast live on radio (NPR, WFMT) and television in Asia, Europe and the United States.

His repertoire includes solo and orchestral music from the Baroque era to the present.

Denis Azabagić (born 1972 in Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina, then Yugoslavia) is a Bosnian classical guitarist.

He performs as a soloist, in chamber settings, with orchestras, and with his wife, the Spanish Flutist Eugenia Moliner, as the Cavatina Duo, which is the foremost flute and guitar duo on the scene.[1]

Musical background[edit]

In 1993, at the age of 20, he became the youngest winner of one of the most prestigious international guitar competitions “Jacinto e Inocencio Guerrero”, in Madrid, Spain. After listening to Azabagic, the distinguished Spanish composer, Anton Garcia Abril said, “I am sure that with time, he is going to be one of the greatest guitarists of the world.”

Between 1992 and 1999, Azabagić won twenty-four prizes in international competitions, of which eleven were first prizes. [2] He has written a book published by Mel Bay, On Competitions, based on his experience during these years.

Azabagić has recorded seven CDs for international labels such as Naxos, Cedille, Opera Tres and Orobroy as well as two DVDs for Mel Bay.

As a guest instrumentalist and soloist Azabagić has appeared with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra, Illinois Symphony Orchestra, Sacramento Chamber Orchestra, Madrid Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre Royal de Chambre de Wallonie, among others.

He is a regular guest at such venues as Chicago’s Symphony Center, Masters of the Guitar at the Royal Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Radio France in Paris, Aix-en-Provence Festival, France, El Palau de la Musica, Valencia, Spain, Savannah on Stage, USA, Omni Foundation, USA, Ravinia Festival, USA, National Chang Kai Shek Cultural Center, Taiwan, and the National Center for the Performing Arts, Beijing, China.[3]

Azabagic’s performances have been broadcast live on radio (NPR, WFMT) and television in Asia, Europe and the United States.

His repertoire includes solo and orchestral music from the Baroque era to the present
Denis Azabagić (born 1972 in Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina, then Yugoslavia) is a Bosnian classical guitarist.

He performs as a soloist, in chamber settings, with orchestras, and with his wife, the Spanish Flutist Eugenia Moliner, as the Cavatina Duo, which is the foremost flute and guitar duo on the scene.[1]

Musical background[edit]

In 1993, at the age of 20, he became the youngest winner of one of the most prestigious international guitar competitions “Jacinto e Inocencio Guerrero”, in Madrid, Spain. After listening to Azabagic, the distinguished Spanish composer, Anton Garcia Abril said, “I am sure that with time, he is going to be one of the greatest guitarists of the world.”

Between 1992 and 1999, Azabagić won twenty-four prizes in international competitions, of which eleven were first prizes. [2] He has written a book published by Mel Bay, On Competitions, based on his experience during these years.

Azabagić has recorded seven CDs for international labels such as Naxos, Cedille, Opera Tres and Orobroy as well as two DVDs for Mel Bay.

As a guest instrumentalist and soloist Azabagić has appeared with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra, Illinois Symphony Orchestra, Sacramento Chamber Orchestra, Madrid Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre Royal de Chambre de Wallonie, among others.

He is a regular guest at such venues as Chicago’s Symphony Center, Masters of the Guitar at the Royal Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Radio France in Paris, Aix-en-Provence Festival, France, El Palau de la Musica, Valencia, Spain, Savannah on Stage, USA, Omni Foundation, USA, Ravinia Festival, USA, National Chang Kai Shek Cultural Center, Taiwan, and the National Center for the Performing Arts, Beijing, China.[3]

Azabagic’s performances have been broadcast live on radio (NPR, WFMT) and television in Asia, Europe and the United States.

His repertoire includes solo and orchestral music from the Baroque era to the present

Rafael Aguirre is an internationally acclaimed musician whose deep understanding of music, dazzling virtuosity and immensely diverse repertoire has taken him to 22 countries.  13 first prizes  at international competitions (a spanish record), including Pro Musicis (New York) and Tárrega (Benicàssim), made possible the beginning of an extraordinary career being today one of the most celebrated guitarists, following the spanish tradition set by Andres Segovia and Narciso Yepes.

Highlights of past seasons include recitals in leading concert halls such as Carnegie Hall, Vienna Konzerthaus, Tchaikovsky Hall Moscow, St. Petersburg Philharmonic, London´s St John Smith Square, Gasteig Munich, Hamburg Laeiszhalle, Palau de la Musica Valencia and Tonhalle Dusseldorf. His playing has been described by the international press as “a blessing” (Mainz Echo) and  with “maturity and intensity” (Ritmo Magazine), whereby his hometown honored  him with the “Málaga Joven Award 2011″.

Rafael has premiered works by the Grammy-Award winner Sergio Assad, Joaquin Clerch, Agustin Castilla Avila, David del Puerto and Daniel Real. He has worked with orchestras such as Moscow´s New Russia Symphony Orchestra,Baden-Baden Philharmonic, Thüringer Philharmonic, Chamber Orchestra Pforzheim, Neue Philharmonie Westfalen,Málaga Philharmonic Orchestra, Extremadura Symphony Orchestra and Syrian National Orchestra. His four recordings with Naxos, KSGExaudio and RTVE received the highest international recognition like a prenomination to the Latin Grammys and were broadcasted by the BBC,CBS, NPR, Radio Stephansdom Vienna, the Bavarian Radio, MDR, Radio Nacional de España and the new Classic FM in Toronto.

At the age of 16 he made his orchestral debut with the “Concierto de Aranjuez” and the Youth Symphony Orchestra of Málaga touring Spain and Morocco.  He was awarded scholarships from the Andalusian Government and the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation  that enabled his studies in Germany with Prof. Joaquin Clerch, from which he graduated with highest honors. Later he studied with Professor Michael Lewin at the Royal Academy of Music in London.

Since 2009, Rafael Aguirre teaches at the “Robert Schumann Hochschule” in Düsseldorf.

Naar de website van John Williams – Klik hier

John Christopher Williams (24 april 1941) is een van ’s werelds bekendste klassieke gitaarspelers. Hij werd geboren in Melbourne in Australië en kreeg eerst les van zijn vader Len Williams. Toen hij 12 jaar oud was ging hij naar Italië om bij Andrés Segovia te studeren. Later nam hij les op het Royal College of Music in Londen, en studeerde piano omdat de school toen nog geen gitaarafdeling had. Nadat hij afgestudeerd was kreeg hij de gelegenheid zo’n afdeling op te zetten, en hij leidde deze de eerste twee jaar. Hij bleef sindsdien verbonden aan het College (en aan het Northern College in Manchester).

Williams is het bekendst als klassiek gitarist, maar heeft veel verschillende tradities bezocht. Hij werkte samen met Julian Bream en Paco Peña en was lid van de fusiongroep Sky. Hij is ook componist en arrangeur.

Williams heeft opdrachten gegeven voor concerten bij componisten als Stephen Dodgson, André Previn, Patrick Gowers, Richard Harvey en Steve Gray. Hij werkte ook met componisten uit Australië, waaronder Phillip Houghton, Peter Sculthorpe en Nigel Westlake, om gitaarwerken te maken die de geest van zijn vaderland weergeven.

Hij had een wereldwijde hit met zijn opname van Cavatina door Stanley Myers, dat werd gebruikt als thema bij de Oscarwinnende film The Deer Hunter (1979). Het stuk was oorspronkelijk voor piano geschreven, voor een andere film 10 jaar eerder, The Walking Stick (1970) maar werd op Williams’ uitnodiging voor gitaar herschreven en uitgebreid door Myers. In 1973 schreef Cleo Laine er een tekst bij en nam “He Was Beautiful” begeleid door John Williams op. Een jaar later werd het een top 5 single in Engeland voor Iris Williams (geen familie).

Hij is visiting professor bij de Royal Academy of Music, Londen.

In 2007 won hij in Nederland een speciale Edison voor zijn gehele oeuvre.

 

Copyright Wikipedia

 

 

Ana Vidović (born 8 November 1980, Karlovac, Croatia) is a Croatian virtuosa classical guitarist.

A child prodigy, she started playing guitar at the age of five, inspired by her brother Viktor. Her father was also a guitarist, but was an electric guitar player. She began performing at the age of 8 and by the age of 11 she was performing internationally, and at 13 became the youngest student to attend the prestigious Academy of Music in Zagreb where she studied with Professor Istvan Romer. Vidović’s reputation in Europe led to an invitation to study at the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore, U.S., with Manuel Barrueco, from where she graduated in May 2003. She has lived in the United States since, where she also works as a private tutor.

Vidović plays a Jim Redgate guitar exclusively and has said, “When I got it and began to play, I immediately knew that this was the instrument that I want to be playing for a long time.”

She has released 6 CDs published by Croatia Records, BGS, and Naxos and has released two DVDs published by Mel Bay publications.

Vidović has won an impressive number of prizes and international competitions all over the world. These include first prizes in the Albert Augustine International Competition in Bath, England, the Fernando Sor competition in Rome, Italy, and the Francisco Tárrega competition in Benicasim, Spain. Other top prizes include the Eurovision Young Musicians competition, the Mauro Giuliani competition in Italy, the Printemps de la Guitare in Belgium, and the Young Concert Artists International Auditions in New York. The Gramophone remarked her “extraordinary dexterity”.

David Russell (born in 1953 in Glasgow) is a classical guitarist. He plays Matthias Dammann guitars.

When Russell was five years of age, his family moved from Glasgow to Minorca, where he became interested in the guitar, imitating the likes of Andrés Segovia and Julian Bream.

Today, Russell resides in Galicia, but spends most of his time touring, appearing in such cities as New York, London, Tokyo, Los Angeles, Madrid, Toronto, Amsterdam, and Denver. He is regularly invited to play in music festivals.

David has won amateur golf tournaments, mainly in Scotland and Spain. He is an avid supporter of his local football team, Celta de Vigo.

During his studies at the Royal Academy of Music, Russell won the Julian Bream Guitar Prize twice and received a scholarship from the Ralph Vaughan Williams Trust. Later he won numerous international competitions, including the Andrés Segovia Competition, the José Ramírez Competition, and Spain’s Francisco Tárrega Competition.

Russell was named a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Music in London in 1997.

In May 2003 he was awarded the honour of being made “adopted son” of Es Migjorn, the town on Minorca where he grew up.

In November 2003 he was given the Medal of Honour of the Conservatory of the Balearics.

In 2005, he won a Grammy Award for best instrumental soloist in classical music for his CD Aire Latino.

József Eötvös was born in Pécs in 1962. He graduated at the Franz Liszt College of Music in Weimar as the student of Roland Zimmer and studied the art of composing from Franz Just.

He regularly gives concerts in several countries of the world: he has played, among others, in Austria , the Czech Republic, Greece, the Netherlands, Poland, Lithuania, Germany, Romania, Switzerland, Sweden, Slovakia, Lichtenstein, Japan and Singapore. He is invited to perform both solo concerts and orchestral concertos. He has made radio and television recordings both in his home land and abroad.

In his master courses, which sometimes concentrate on Baroque and chamber music, he carries out excellent music pedagogical activities. He is a regular jury member of international guitar competitions and the artistic leader of the International Guitar Festival in Esztergom and the Balatonfured International Guitar Festival. In his concerts, besides his own masterpieces and arrangements, the popularization of 20th century and contemporary Hungarian music plays an important role. (Among others: the works of Barna Kováts, Ferenc Farkas, Máté Hollós and Iván Madarász.) .

His arrangements are musical curiosities which are played on this instrument only by him in the whole wide world. His arrangement of Bach’s Goldberg Variations is regarded by critics as the arrangement of the century. Following this success, he produced other arrangements as well, such as Bach’s lute works (Chanterelle), Chopin’s piano pieces 1 – 2 (Professional Music Press – Poland and Gendai Guitar – Japan ), Brahms’s 21 Hungarian Dances (MelBay) and J. S. Bach The Art of Fugue.
His compositions, which are written on the guitar and other instruments as well, are also published, such as the Willow Variations (Editions Orphée, Columbus Ohio 1991), the Five Aphorisms (Trekel Verlag, Hamburg 1997) and the Featherlets (Trekel Verlag, Hamburg 2000).

He has been a teacher at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest since 2002 and he was the first in Hungary to establish a guitar faculty at a university (music academy) level.

In 2002 he was given the Artisjus Prize for the introduction and popularization of contemporary Hungarian musical pieces and he was awarded with the Franz Liszt Prize in 2004 in recognition of his work.

His college course book titled “Thoughts On J. S. Bach’s Music And The Performance Of His Lute Works” was published by the University of Pécs in 2006

Manuel Barrueco is een van de belangrijkste klassieke gitaristen van deze tijd. Hij trad op met orkesten als het Philadelphia Orchestra en het Boston Symphony Orchestra onder leiding van Seiji Ozawa. Met laatstgenoemde orkest en dirigent verzorgde hij de Amerikaanse première van Toru Takemitsu’s To the Edge of Dream. In 2007 werd hij voor de Grammy’s genomineerd in de categorie beste instrumentale solist. Zijn opname van Joaquín Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez met Plácido Domingo en het Philharmonia Orchestra werd verkozen tot beste uitvoering door Classic CD Magazine.Manuel Barrueco is regelmatig te horen op de belangrijkste podia ter wereld. Zoals de MusikVerein in Wenen, de Royal Albert Hall in London en het Teatro Real in Madrid. Ook in Azië en Latijns-Amerika is hij een gevierd musicus. De documentaire A Gift and a Life die Michael Lawrence over Manuel Barrueco maakte werd uitgezonden in de VS, Japan, Duitsland en Spanje. In zijn inmiddels meer dan dertigjarige carrière is deze ware meester op de gitaar al een groot inspirator geweest voor talloze componisten, waaronder Roberto Sierra, Arvo Pärt and Toru Takemitsu.