Leon Koudelak is a Czech

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 has toured internationally in most parts of

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and the

Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. Along with th ...

. He inspired the composer Michael Buchrainer to write guitar music. In addition to his concert career, he co-founded the

Liechtenstein Liechtenstein (), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein (german: link=no, Fürstentum Liechtenstein), is a German-speaking microstate located in the Alps between Austria and Switzerland. Liechtenstein is a semi-constitutional monarchy ...

Guitar Festival (Ligita), the Asia International Guitar Festival (AIGF) in Bangkok and the

Pattaya Pattaya ( th, พัทยา, , ) is a city in Thailand. It is on the east coast of the Gulf of Thailand, about southeast of Bangkok, within, but not part of, Bang Lamung district in the province of Chonburi province, Chonburi. Pattaya City ( ...

Classical Guitar Festival. For the XIV Festival Hispanoamericano de Guitarra, Manuel Zavala y Alonso described him as "La mano santa de la guitarra" ('the holy hand of the guitar'). In 1996 he released a CD with the major guitar solo works by Joaquin Rodrigo. Rodrigo wrote him a letter expressing great enthusiasm after listening to his CD about his interpretation. On the following concert tour, Koudelak played a complete program with works by Joaquin Rodrigo.

Early life and career

In his teenage years, Koudalek studied with guitarists and teachers including Karl Scheit (Koudelak was one of his last students) at the University of Music and Performing Arts, Vienna, at the Zurich University of Music and Arts with

Konrad Ragossnig Konrad Ragossnig (6 May 1932 – 3 January 2018) was an Austrian classical guitarist and lutenist. Ragossnig was born in Klagenfurt, Austria. He taught at City of Basel Music Academy, University of Music and Performing Arts, Vienna and the Univers ...

and was one of the few students of

Julian Bream Julian Alexander Bream (15 July 193314 August 2020) was an English classical guitarist and lutenist. Regarded as one of the most distinguished classical guitarists of the 20th century, he played a significant role in improving the public per ...

in Liechtenstein l. He obtained a

Bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

, a Master of Art Education degree, the Masters of Arts degree and the

Magister (degree) A magister degree (also magistar, female form: magistra; from la, magister, "teacher") is an academic degree used in various systems of higher education. The magister degree arose in medieval universities in Europe and was originally equal to the ...

in Vienna and Zurich . During his time in Vienna he studied as well

Contemporary Music Contemporary classical music is classical music composed close to the present day. At the beginning of the 21st century, it commonly referred to the post-1945 modern forms of post-tonal music after the death of Anton Webern, and included serial ...

with

Roman Haubenstock-Ramati Roman Haubenstock-Ramati ( he, רוֹמן האובּנשׁטוֹק-רָמָתִי; 27 February 1919 – 3 March 1994) was a composer and music editor who worked in Kraków, Tel Aviv and Vienna. Life Haubenstock-Ramati was born in Kraków. He stud ...

. Koudelak lived from 1983 to 1986 in Spain, learning with flamenco guitarists the flamenco technique. In that time he became a friend of the flamenco guitarist Merenge de Cordoba. Later he changed from the ''

apoyando Apoyando ("supporting") is a method of plucking used in both classical guitar and flamenco guitar known in English as 'rest stroke'. Rest stroke gets its name because after plucking the string, the finger rests on the adjacent string after it follo ...

'' technique to a combination of ''apoyando'' and ''

sin apoyar In a religious context, sin is a transgression against divine law. Each culture has its own interpretation of what it means to commit a sin. While sins are generally considered actions, any thought, word, or act considered immoral, selfish, s ...

''. Shortly after he became a prize winner of the guitar competition ''Fundación Jacinto e Inocencio Guerrero'' in Madrid, he was contacted by a Swiss concert agency with which he signed a long-year contract as well an exclusive contract with Tyrolis Music. In 1989 he recorded his first album with Tyrolis Music, ''

Guitar Music from Spain, Mexico and Brazil Leon Koudelak is a Czech classical guitarist. He has toured internationally in most parts of Europe, Asia and the Americas. He inspired the composer Michael Buchrainer to write guitar music. In addition to his concert career, he co-founded the ...

'', and in 1993 the CD ''

Modern Works for Guitar Leon Koudelak is a Czech classical guitarist. He has toured internationally in most parts of Europe, Asia and the Americas. He inspired the composer Michael Buchrainer to write guitar music. In addition to his concert career, he co-founded the ...

''. He performed at music festivals and concerts in Europe, in Germany, Great Britain, Spain, Portugal, Czechia, Slovakia, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, Hungary, France, Greece or Liechtenstein. He performed

premiere A première, also spelled premiere, is the debut (first public presentation) of a play, film, dance, or musical composition. A work will often have many premières: a world première (the first time it is shown anywhere in the world), its first ...

s in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

of works by the composers Roman Haubenstock-Ramati,

Karlheinz Stockhausen Karlheinz Stockhausen (; 22 August 1928 – 5 December 2007) was a German composer, widely acknowledged by critics as one of the most important but also controversial composers of the 20th and early 21st centuries. He is known for his groun ...

, and Michael Buchrainer The 1996 album '' Joaquin Rodrigo - Guitar Music'' and the 1997 '' Pavana Triste'' were released by Tyrolis Music and led him to

music festival A music festival is a community event with performances of singing and instrument playing that is often presented with a theme such as musical genre (e.g., rock, blues, folk, jazz, classical music), nationality, locality of musicians, or h ...

s and

concert hall A concert hall is a cultural building with a stage that serves as a performance venue and an auditorium filled with seats. This list does not include other venues such as sports stadia, dramatic theatres or convention centres that may ...

21st century

In 2001, after a concert in

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estima ...

, he met Woratep Rattana-umpawan and suggested that he found a guitar festival, and offered his help to make the classical guitar popular in Asia. This led to the founding of the Asia International Guitar Festival in Bangkok. After being the

artistic director An artistic director is the executive of an arts organization, particularly in a theatre or dance company, who handles the organization's artistic direction. They are generally a producer and director, but not in the sense of a mogul, since the ...

of the LiGiTa (Liechtensteinische Gitarren Tage) over 10 years, Koudelak start to work at the same position in Bangkok for the Asia International Guitar Festival in 2001. In the same year, he recorded in a music studio in Bangkok the CD '' Exotic Fruits'', which was released 2002 by Tyrolis Music and became the CD of the year by the French technical periodical ''Les Cahiers de la Guitar''. In 2002, he led the premiere of the guitar concert "Evasion 2002 – "Eschner - guitar concert" by

Michael Buchrainer Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian and ...

with the "Symphony Orchestra Liechtenstein at the Music Festival of Liechtenstein (LiGiTa). In the years 2003, 2006 and 2007 he went back to Europe to perform concerts but stayed based in Asia. Leon koudelak and woratep rattana umpawan

Leon koudelak and woratep rattana umpawan

Since end of 2005, Koudelak resides in Thailand, on an extended respite from excessively touring. He founded in 2008, together with Woratep Rattana-umpawan, the Thailand Guitar Society and teaches in Bangkok at

Mahidol University Mahidol University (Mahidol), an autonomous research institution in Thailand, had its origin in the establishment of Siriraj Hospital in 1888. Mahidol had an acceptance rate for Medicine of 0.4% as of the 2016 academic year. Becoming the Univers ...

( College of Music, Mahidol University) and Silpakorn University and leads his own guitar class at the Thailand Guitar Society, which is attended by students from all parts of the world, mostly from Asia (India, Arabia, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Japan, Singapore, China and Vietnam). In addition to being invited to play at music festivals and other music events in Asia, often with Woratep Rattana-umpawan as guitar

duo Duo may refer to: Places *Duo, West Virginia, an unincorporated community and coal town in Greenbrier County, West Virginia *Duo, Tampere, a shopping centre in Hervanta, Tampere, Finland * DUO, a twin-tower development in Singapore Arts, enterta ...

, he also organizes music festivals in Thailand and acts as artistic director at the Thailand Guitar Society. He speaks Czech, Slovak,

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

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Swiss German Swiss German (Standard German: , gsw, Schwiizerdütsch, Schwyzerdütsch, Schwiizertüütsch, Schwizertitsch Mundart,Because of the many different dialects, and because there is no defined orthography for any of them, many different spelling ...

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, Spanish and

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. In an interview in June 2012 for the Japanese guitar magazin "Homa Dream", In August 2012, Koudelak agreed to cooperate with the Indonesia Guitar Society and was appointed as chairman of the steering committee of the Indonesia International Guitar Festival & Competition. Furthermore, he was included in February 2013, as a member of the Honour

Committee A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly. A committee is not itself considered to be a form of assembly. Usually, the assembly sends matters into a committee as a way to explore them more ...

for the

Tirana Tirana ( , ; aln, Tirona) is the capital and largest city of Albania. It is located in the centre of the country, enclosed by mountains and hills with Dajti rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwest overlooking the Adriatic Sea ...

International Guitar Festival & Competition (

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

). His 2013

concert tour started in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

at the Brussels International Guitar Festival on 26 April 2013 and ended at the Tirana International Guitar Festival on 25 May 2013. A concert tour in Asia followed from June until December 2013 with confirmed dates in Bangkok,

Jakarta Jakarta (; , bew, Jakarte), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta ( id, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta) is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Lying on the northwest coast of Java, the world's most populous island, Jakarta ...

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

Kathmandu , pushpin_map = Nepal Bagmati Province#Nepal#Asia , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Bagmati Prov ...

and

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

. Since 2013, Leon Koudelak performs regularly in Europe and Asia and was invited to prestigious guitar festivals like Iserlohn Guitar Symposium in Germany, Forum Gitarre Vienna in Austria, Liechtensteiner Gitarren Tage, Liechtenstein, Moisycos International Music Festival, Italy, Hibernal de Chitara, Bucharest, Romania, Asia International Guitar Festival, Bangkok, Thailand, Pattaya Classical Guitar Festival, Thailand, Indonesia International Guitar Festival, Jakarta, Indonesia, Kathmandu International Guitar Festival, Nepal, Calcutta International Guitar Festival, India, Delhi International Guitar Festival. India.

Honours and awards

Koudalek is a prize winner of the guitar competition "Fundación Jacinto e Inocencio Guerrero" in Madrid, and received for his artistic performances the Appreciation Award from the Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture. The CD '' Exotic Fruits'', released in 2002 by Tyrolis Music was awarded as "the best CD of the year" by French Technical Periodical "Les Cahiers de la Guitare". In August 2012, Koudelak was appointed as chairman of the steering committee of the Indonesia International Guitar Festival & Competition. and became 2013 member of the honours committee for the

International Guitar Festival Competition.

Discography

Koudelak has an exclusive contract with Tyrolis Music, with whom he has recorded and released eight CDs so far. *1989 ''Guitar Music from Spain, Mexico and Brazil'' *1993 ''Modern Works for Guitar'' *1996 ''Joaquin Rodrigo - Guitar Music'' *1997 ''Pavana Triste'' *2002 ''Exotic Fruits'' *2005 ''Leon Koudelak "best of"'' *2011 ''Live in Seoul'' *2011 ''Pavana Triste (Album new edition)'' He recorded works by

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard w ...

, Robert de Visée, Dionisio Aguado,

Anton Diabelli Anton (or Antonio) Diabelli (5 September 17818 April 1858) was an Austrian music publisher, editor and composer. Best known in his time as a publisher, he is most familiar today as the composer of the waltz on which Ludwig van Beethoven wrote ...

Lennox Berkeley Sir Lennox Randal Francis Berkeley (12 May 190326 December 1989) was an English composer. Biography Berkeley was born on 12 May 1903 in Oxford, England, the younger child and only son of Aline Carla (1863–1935), daughter of Sir James Char ...

, Michael Buchrainer, Antonio José,

Maurice Ravel Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composers rejected the term. In ...

, Isaac Albéniz, Enrique Granados, Joaquin Rodrigo, Joaquin Turina,

Carlo Domeniconi Carlo Domeniconi (born 20 February 1947)Summerfield 2003. is an Italian guitarist and composer. Although his compositions include a wide variety of genres and instrumentation choices, he is best known for his works for solo guitar, and particula ...

Manuel Maria Ponce Manuel María Ponce Cuéllar (8 December 1882 – 24 April 1948) was a Mexican composer active in the 20th century. His work as a composer, music educator and scholar of Mexican music connected the concert scene with a mostly forgotten traditio ...

Heitor Villa-Lobos Heitor Villa-Lobos (March 5, 1887November 17, 1959) was a Brazilian composer, conductor, cellist, and classical guitarist described as "the single most significant creative figure in 20th-century Brazilian art music". Villa-Lobos has become the ...

Roland Dyens Roland Dyens () (19 October 1955 – 29 October 2016) was a French classical guitarist, composer, and arranger. Life and career Dyens was born in Tunisia and lived most of his life in Paris. He studied with Spanish classical guitarist Alberto Po ...

Francisco Tarrega Francisco is the Spanish and Portuguese form of the masculine given name ''Franciscus''. Nicknames In Spanish, people with the name Francisco are sometimes nicknamed "Paco". San Francisco de Asís was known as ''Pater Comunitatis'' (father of ...

, Jon Lord,

David Coverdale David Coverdale (born 22 September 1951) is an English singer who is best known as the lead vocalist of Whitesnake, a hard rock band he founded in 1978. Before Whitesnake, Coverdale was the lead singer of Deep Purple from 1973 to 1976, after wh ...

Glenn Hughes Glenn Hughes or Glen Hughes may refer to: *Glenn Hughes (musician), born 1951 *Glenn Hughes (American singer) (1950–2001) *Glenn Hughes (cricketer), born 1959 *Glen Hughes Glen Hughes is an Australian former professional rugby league footbal ...

, Leo Brouwer, Eduardo Martin, Edin Solis and others.

DVD

The DVD Leon Koudelak: "Live in Seoul" was released 2008 by the Thailand Guitar Society. * currently only available in Asia. The DVD ''Leon Koudelak: Live in Seoul'', in a remastered "10th Year's Anniversary Edition", was released by Tyrolis Classic in February 2011. On his world tour 2001, a concert in

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...

was recorded and

broadcast Broadcasting is the distribution of audio or video content to a dispersed audience via any electronic mass communications medium, but typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum ( radio waves), in a one-to-many model. Broadcasting began ...

worldwide by Arirang TV. In 2017 the DVD "Live in Korea 2016" was published with works by Johann Sebastian Bach, Eduardo Martin, Enrique Granados, Heitor Villa-Lobos, Carlo Domeniconi, Thomas James Pegram and Cees Hartog
youtube channel

References

External links

Koudelak's website

Leon Koudelak on Thailand Guitar Society website

Youtube videos of Koudelak's performances

Koudelak's Facebook page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Koudelak, Leon Czech classical guitarists Male guitarists 1961 births Living people