Antal (Tony) Pusztai (born 7 May 1978) is a classical
guitarist
A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselv ...
who is known as both a
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...
musician and a
classical guitar
The classical guitar (also known as the nylon-string guitar or Spanish guitar) is a member of the guitar family used in classical music and other styles. An acoustic wooden string instrument with strings made of gut or nylon, it is a precursor o ...
ist.
He was born in Györ, Hungary on 7 May 1978. When he was seven, his father started to teach him how to play the guitar. Later on, he studied under the tutelage of Professor Ede Roth at the Györ conservatorium. From 2005 to 2009, he was taught by Professor Alvaro Pierri at the University of Music and the Performing Arts in Vienna.
Between 1998 and 2014 he was awarded fifteen first prizes in guitar competitions both in Europe and in the USA. Some of his awards include the Herbert von Karajan Music Competition in Vienna, the Montreux Jazz Guitar Competition in 2004, the European Guitar Award in Dresden in 2006, and the Lee Ritenour Six String Theory in Los Angeles in 2014. He was performing with many well-known soloists and orchestras, including Erwin Schrott, Dalibor Karvay, Ralph Towner, Rosenberg Trio, Al di Meola, Pat Metheny, Lee Ritenour, and the Jánoska Ensemble.
His first solo album was recorded in Hungary in 2000 and the second in 2007 by the Wildner Records. In 2015 he was a featuring artist on the album ‘Twist of Rit ’with Lee Ritenour, which was nominated for a Grammy. Since 2017 he is the guitarist of Fortissimo Music Band
web
In September 2021, Pusztai established a quintet bearing his name with his fellow bandmates from the Fortissimo Music Band
web
Discography
* ''Beyond My Dreams'' (2000)
(Wildner, 2007) - Production Studio
mp3-track
Intentational Guitar Competitions, Awards
* 1998: International Guitar Competition in Kutna Hora, Czech Republic: 1st place
* 1999: Yamaha International Guitar Competition, Vienna – Austria: 1st place
* 2000: ‘Attila Zoller’ International Guitar Competition, Budapest – Hungary: 1st place
* 2001: Radio Music Awards – Hungary
* 2002: Baross Gábor Award – Hungary
* 2003: Herbert von Karajan Scholarship – Austria
* 2004: Montreux Jazz Guitar Competition – Switzerland: 1st place
* 2005: International Guitar Competition, Weikersheim – Germany: 1st place
* 2006: European Guitar Competition, Dresden – Germany: 1st place
* 2014: Lee Ritenour's Six String Theory - Grand Price Winner
Interviews
by Kádi Péter
Interview
(14 July 2004) by magazine "Hangszer és Zene"
External links
InfoBiography
(Harmonia Cordis International Classical Guitar Festival, Tirgu Mures / Marosvásárhely)
(Internationale Gitarrentage Wetzlar)
(International Guitar Festival in Balatonfüred)
Biography
(Fidelio)
Biography
(BMC: Budapest Music Center)
Herbert von Karajan scholarshipPhotos at an open-air concert in 2004
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pusztai, Antal
1978 births
Living people
People from Győr
Hungarian classical guitarists
Hungarian jazz guitarists
Male jazz musicians
Male guitarists
21st-century guitarists
Hungarian male musicians