I had the pleasure of watching Duo Melis perform in Vienna back in 2005 and I was absolutely stunned. As you will see in the video below, they have an intensity that makes them very engaging to watch. Virtuosic skills, impeccable ensemble and warm personalities make this duo worth going out of your way to see!

Biography:

The Spanish Susana Prieto and the Greek Alexis Muzurakis made their debut as the Guitar Duo Melis in 1999 at the International Guitar Festival of Volos (Greece). Since then they have performed in such prestigious halls as the Philharmonie in Berlin, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Tchaikovsky Hall in Moscow, the Megaron in Athens and the Merkin Concert Hall in New York. They have been invited to play concerts and give master classes in international guitar festivals in Europe and America.

Susana, from Spain, and Alexis, from Greece, have won numerous prizes, both individually and together. In 1999, as a duo, they won first prize at the International Guitar Duo Competition of Frechen (Germany). The next year they won the prestigious Guitar Duo Competition of Montelimar (France) as well as the 21st International Guitar Duo Competition “Mauro Giuliani” (Italy). In 2001 they captured the Duo/Ensemble prize at the Chamber Music Competition of Leipzig (Germany) and the same year were the winners at the International Guitar Duo Competition of Paris (France). In 2003 they recorded their first CD after winning the recording prize “Citta di Verona” at the International Chamber Music Competition “Gaetano Zinetti” (Italy). In 2005 they successfully auditioned for the Yehudi Menuhin Society Live Music Now.

The Guitar Duo Melis has collaborated with international orchestras like the Berliner Symphoniker, the Neubrandenburger Philharmonie, the Bayerische Kammerphilharmonie, the Radio Orchestra of Bucharest and the National Orchestra of Thessaloniki conducted by Leo Brouwer. Their wide repertoire spans from the baroque music to the music of A. Piazzolla or A. Ginastera, and also includes concertos for two guitars and orchestra by Rodrigo, Castelnuovo-Tedesco and Vivaldi and the newly composed concerto of Marek Pasieczny dedicated to Duo Melis.

Their venues in the USA include the Guitar Foundation of America’s Annual Convention, and recitals in Chicago, St. Louis, Austin, Scranton, College Station, Houston, Brownsville, and Detroit. They have appeared twice for both OMNI Concerts in San Francisco and the Cleveland Classical Guitar Weekend. They were featured artists at the Bethlehem Guitar Festival in Pennsylvania. In Europe they have presented recitals in Italy, Greece, Germany, Poland, Russia, Spain, Rumania, Holland, Check Republic, Austria, Norway, Sweden and France. Following their performance at the GFA Convention in 2008, Mark Switzer wrote in Soundboard:

“The performance of Duo Melis was one of my favorites of the conference; their playing was technically superb, musically convincing, and demonstrated fantastic ensemble”.

Susana and Alexis have studied in Spain and Greece respectively. After that, they have made postgraduate studies as duo and as solo at the Koninklijk Conservatorium in The Hague (Holland), at the High Conservatory “Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy” in Leipzig (Germany) and at the High Conservatory “Hanns Eisler” in Berlin (Germany).

Since 2006 Alexis and Susana have taught at the Conservatoire National de Strasbourg in France.

Biography:

His international career started in 1989 during the International Guitar Festival in Volos (Greece). This was the starting point for his career as an international artist, one who now performs all over the world in countries such as Switzerland, France, Germany, The Netherlands, Spain, Greece, Italy, Denmark, Ireland, Norway, Sweden, Poland, Hungary, Turkey, Cuba, Columbia, Venezuela, Japan, and the United States, both as soloist and with Orchestras like the Virtuosi di Mosco with Vladimir Spivakov, in Italy, Columbia, Spain, etc. He played for many important associations and festivals and in some of the most prestigious theatre around world, such as “Radio France”, in Italy, “A. Scarlatti”, “Megaride”, “I Pomeriggi Musicali” in Germany, “Bayerische Rundfunk TV“, Musikfest Bremen, Ludwigsburger Schloßfest-spiele, Omni Concert Series, S. Francisco, Alte Opera, Koln, Tonhalle Dusseldorf, Filarmonie and Prinzregententheater, Munich ,etc. In Nov. 1996 he made his New York Debut at the Manhattan School of Music (concert/ masterclass)

Website: http://www.aniellodesiderio.net/

Pavel Steidl

Pavel Steidl was born in Rakovnik (Czech Republic). Since he won first prize at the Radio France International Competition in Paris, he has become one of the most widely celebrated soloists of his generation. His highly expressive performances of rare 19th-century guitar literature on authentic instruments add a wonderful dimension to his already exceptional performances.

Pavel Steidl also composes himself and his own compositions are often played on his concerts.

P. Steidl played in more then 30 countries of the world from among Canada, Cuba, Spain, Poland, Austria, Costa Rica, Mexico, Guatemala, Australia, Japan, England, Scotland and many others.

On demand of Italian Guitar Magazine Guitart his name appeard between eight most important guitarist of the year 2003.

Discography:
Hudebni Mladi – Supraphone 1983
Tyden Nove Tvorby – Panton 1984
Pavel Steidl Debut – Panton 1985
Guitar / Music of the 18 th and 19 th centuries – Panton 1993
Masters of the Czech Classical Guitar – Pehy 1994
Kdyz mam nohy o mesic opreny – Panton 1994
Cantabile – Erasmus 1995 (Jan Opsitos violin)
L. Legnani – 36 caprices op. 20, Fantasia op. 19 – Naxos 1998 / Cat.8.554198
N.COSTE – Guitar Music Vol.3 – Naxos 2000 / Cat.8.554353
N. Paganini – Sonate&Ghiribizzi for guitar – Frame 2001 Italy
J. K. Mertz – Bardeklange, Frame 2003

With a large array of prestigious awards and highly acclaimed performances on renowned festivals, Irina Kulikova is considered one of the most gifted musicians on classical guitar. She is well known for the depth of her interpretations and the rare spectrum of colours she evokes. Irina Kulikova has the capacity of fully opening up to music, dragging audiences around the world with her into a most profound and enchanting experience.

Irina Kulikova was born in Chelyabinsk, the capital of South-Ural, Russia. Under the guidance of her mother – cellist Vinera Kulikova – she started developing her musicianship from the earliest age. At twelve, she was already travelling around Russia and abroad for gala-concerts and festivals. At fourteen, she was included in the book “The Classical Guitar, its evolution, players and personalities since 1800” by Maurice Summerfield.

Ever since this early recognition, Irina has caught the attention of leading guitarists, critics and audiences around the world. She has given concerts in twenty five countries, performing as a soloist, in a variety of ensembles and with a number of orchestra’s.

The experts’ appreciation has been underlined with numerous awards on prestigious international guitar competitions, culminating with five 1st prizes in 2008:
# ‘Michele Pittaluga’, Alessandria, Italy
# ‘Guitarra Alhambra’, Valencia, Spain
# ‘Forum Gitarre Wien’, Austria
# “International Guitar competition Iserlohn’, Germany
# “Scharpach Guitar competition”, The Netherlands.
In the same year, she was awarded the ‘Young talent, Culture and Podia’ award in The Netherlands.

Between 2008 and 2010, Irina Kulikova was invited for concerts, master classes and adjudication on festivals in 15 different countries, including ‘Musical Olympus’ in St.-Petersburg, ‘Luigi Legnani’ in Italy, Naxos in Greece, ‘J.K. Mertz’ in Bratislava, Slovakia, Niksiç in Montenegro, Esztergom in Hungary (the oldest guitarfestival in the world), Split in Croatia, Rencontre de Guitare Classique in Nice, France, ‘Guitarra Alhambra’, Spain, and Saltillo in Mexico.

Highlights for 2010 – 2011 will be two new CD-recordings with the Naxos label (including a CD with Russian composers),concert tours in Canada and the USA, a concert with the State Symphony Orchestra “New Russia” at the VI Moscow International Festival “The Guitar Virtuosos” in the Tchaikovsky Hall and a concert at the XXth anniversary of the Iserlohn Guitar Symposium in Germany.

# Irina Kulikova graduated with distinction at the Mozarteum University in Salzburg (Austria), the Gnessins Academy in Moscow (Russia) and the Conservatoire of Maastricht (The Netherlands).

Recent awards

First prizes:
# Michele Pittaluga, Alessandria, Italy, 2008
# Guitarra Alhambra, Valencia, Spain, 2008
# Forum Gitarre Wien, Austria, 2008
# International Guitarcompetition Iserlohn, Germany, 2008
# Twents Gitaarfestival, The Netherlands, 2008
# International Guitarfestival of Coria, Spain, 2006

Second prizes:
# International Guitarfestival Naxos, Greece, 2007
# Norba Caesarina”, Caceres, Spain, 2007
# Ivor Mairants Guitar Award”, London, England, 2006

Third prize:
# ‘Printemps de la Guitare’, Charleroi, Belgium, 2006

Stipendium:
# Young talent, Culture and Podium prize, The Netherlands, 2008

He has appeared on stage throughout Australia, Canada, the US, Spain, France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom as a soloist and in his chamber ensembles, Zoco Duo (with oboist Laura Karney) and the Australian Guitar Duo (with Rupert Boyd). His solo CD Stélé, recorded in 2004, is regularly featured on Australian radio and was hailed by Classical Guitar Magazine (UK) as “wonderfully sympathetic and highly accomplished… Cordover managing to get to the very soul of this striking and brilliant music.”

Alongside Jacob Cordover’s established groups, he is in demand as a chamber musician and soloist, having worked with ensembles and orchestras including the Ottocento Orchestra, Z.O.O. guitar ensemble, the Leicester International Music Festival and artists ranging from Nicholas Daniel to Dave Young. In 2004-5 he spent nine months as a Resident Artist at the Banff Centre for the Arts in Canada, where aside from his regular performances and masterclasses he met international musicians and composers with whom he continues to work.

Whilst Mr Cordover plays the full range of classical guitar repertoire, he is also active in the development and research of contemporary and 19th century music. His interest in contemporary music was inspired by studies with Timothy Kain, which has led to his commissioning and premiering works for solo guitar and guitar with oboe, a previously overlooked combination. He is proving to be an important figure in the development of new guitar repertoire, having had works written for him by British, Norwegian, Mexican, Spanish, Australian, American and Canadian composers. He also works with specialist Carlo Barone in the application of appropriate performance practice of 19th-Century music, including performing this repertoire on a variety of period guitars.

Complementing his performance schedule, Jacob Cordover has won prizes and awards in international competitions the world over. These include 1st prize at the III Concurso Internacional de Guitarra Festival de Córdoba, Spain, 1st prize at the Sydney Performing Arts Challenge, 2nd prize at the Australian Guitar Competition, Chamber Music Section and 3rd prize at the Performing Australian Music Competition, London.

In October 2008 Jacob Cordover made his debut with the Orquestra Simfònica de Balears “Ciutat de Palma”. His performance of Leo Brouwer’s Retrats Catalans was conducted by Geoffrey Simon and sponsored by the Swiss Global Artistic Foundation. The music critic of Ultima Hora praised him as “an exceptional guitarist”.

Jacob Cordover has been the recipient of grants from the Australia Council for the Arts, the Ian Potter Cultural Trust, the Australian National University Friends of the School of Music, artsACT, Swiss Global Artistic Foundation and the Australian Music Foundation.

www. jacobcordover.com

Carle Costa

Carlé Costa is internationally considered to be a unique and exquisite guitar performer.  He is a poetic and innovative composer, and with his own particular style is renovating the guitar´s language.

Costa has given recitals in Germany, France, Switzerland, Sweden, Estonia, Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, Bolivia and Peru in prestigious international festivals, often presenting  his own compositions, his performances are received enthusiastically by the public and critics alike.

Carlé Costa was born in Uruguay in 1959, and grew up in Argentina. At the age of 13 years he began his classical guitar studies in Mar del Plata with the italian teacher José Smiroldo. At the age of eighteen he went to Buenos Aires to continue his studies in the National Conservatory of Music.  There he studied classical guitar by Horacio Ceballos.  Later he studied contemporary guitar with Miguel Angel Girollet, and also took classes in  composition, electro-acoustic music, analysis, philosophy of music  and chamber music,  with Guillermo Graetzer, José Maranzano, Vadim von Struckhoff, Mario García Acevedo, Pedro Chiambaretta, Helmut Lachenmann and Ivo Malec.

As a young concert artist, Costa was a pioneer in interpreting and teaching contemporary and avant garde music.  In 1986 he recorded his first album for the label Circe of Buenos Aires, with a selection of contemporary compositions (Brouwer, Tsilicas, Obrovská, Labrouve, Gervasoni and Costa). The recording was highly praised by both critics and contemporary music specialists.  In his own compositions  he developed and created extended techniques for the guitar and incorporated these techniques in his compositions.

Parallel to his artistic activities, Costa developed a treatise to communicate new concepts and spirituality in music, awaking the creativity of young musicians.  He gave courses, seminars and masterclasses in conservatories and universities of Argentine, Peru, Chile, Sweden and Germany.  He organized with others important guitarrists the “Campus of Contemporary Guitar” (2002 to 2005) who inspired the documentation film of Javier de Silvio  “Guitarra Adentro”.   He created and gave the artistic direction of the “International Guitarplayers-Composers Festival in the Cordoba Northwest” (2001 to 2005).

Carlé Costa,  with his compositional work, his quality to perform the guitar, and his unusual and deep vision about art, is considered at the moment one of the most important referents of the new generation of artists.

Since 2006 Costa has been residing in Berlin, Germany.

http://www.carlecosta.com.ar/

Yiannis Giagourta

Yiannis continued his Music studies with Oscar Ghiglia and he was accepted with scholarship to Academia Chigiana (Siena, Italy) which he completed successfully. He took a part in masterclasses of Roland Dyens, Oscar Ghiglia, David Russell, Vladimir Mikulka, Gary Ryan, Carlo Marchione, Nikita Koshkin and diligently followed the seminars of Baroque music held by Dimitri Ioannou and Panagioti Adam.
Yiannis Giagourtas performed concerts and gave masterclasses all over the Greece, Italy and Serbia. In 2002 he was awarded with the 1st Prize in the National competition in Veroia, dedicated to D. Fampas.
In 2008 he was invited to record for the National TV of Greece in a documentary movie about the work and life of P.Gypas. Yiannis worked closely with the most significant and well-known Greek composers, such as N. Mamangakis.
In 2009 he has been accepted in DIT College of Music in Dublin to finalize his Master Degree in the class of Pr. John Feeley. In the same year he became the first young Greek guitarist sponsored by SAVAREZ.

“…possessing not only the extraordinary way of interpretation and technique which can be achieved through exceptional work and dedication, he has ethos. Ethos, which only Great Artists have. I am certain that he will have a great future in music…”
-E. Assimakopoulos

Gabriel Bianco

Gabriel Bianco is certainly no stranger to the spotlight. He has already performed in over 30 music festivals across the word in France, Germany, Czech Republic, Poland, Austria, Spain, Italy, Hungary, Romania, Portugal, Slovakia, and Thaïland. At the age of 12, he performed for French television (Mezzo), and later appeared on Romanian television (TVR Cultura).

Born into a family of musicians, Gabriel received an early start on the guitar, receiving lessons with his father at age 5. A few years later, he began his studies in Paris with Ramon de Herrera at the Conservatoire National de Région, Conservatoire Supérieur de Paris and later at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris where he received the highest performance distinction under the teaching of Olivier Chassain. Since 2005 Gabriel has studied with French virtuoso Judicael Perroy.

website: www.gabrielbianco.com

Sabrina Vlaskalic

master classes with the most eminent guitarists of today, such as:Pepe Romero, Manuel Baruecco, Pavel Steidl, Marcin Dylla, Susana Prieto, Alexis Muzurakis, Roland Dyens, Sergio and Odair Assad, Oscar Ghiglia, Dusan Bogdanovic, Gerhard Reichenbach, Costas Cotsiolis, Aniello Desiderio, Denis Azabagic, Goran Krivokapic and many others.

She is the winner of numerous National and International competitions. Sabrina has won over 10 special and 22 first prizes in solo guitar competitions all over the world:

Many times described as “new Ida Presti”, Sabrina is considered to be one of the most talented young players and she has already given many recitals all over Europe (Italy, Netherlands, Germany, Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey, Greece, Hungary, Spain, Slovenia, Montenegro, Serbia…)

More about Sabrina

“…One of today’s most promising guitar talents…” -Jury of Zuidlaren Guitar festival

www.myspace.com/sabrinavlaskalic www.youtube.com/sabrinavlaskalic