Leon Koudelak is a

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places * Czech, ...

classical guitarist. He has toured internationally in most parts of

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

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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 monarch ...

Guitar Festival (Ligita), the Asia International Guitar Festival (AIGF) in Bangkok and the Pattaya 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 The University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna (german: link=no, Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Wien, abbreviated MDW) is an Austrian university located in Vienna, established in 1817. With a student body of over three thousa ...

, 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 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 Master or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles * Ascended master, a term used in the Theosophical religious tradition to refer to spiritually enlightened beings who in past incarnations were ordinary humans *Grandmaster (chess), National Master ...

Art Education Visual arts education is the area of learning that is based upon the kind of art that one can see, visual arts The visual arts are art forms such as painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, photography, video, filmmaking, de ...

degree, the

Masters of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

degree and the Magister (degree) in Vienna and Zurich . During his time in Vienna he studied as well Contemporary Music 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 guitar A flamenco guitar is a guitar similar to a classical guitar but with thinner tops and less internal bracing. It usually has nylon strings, like the classical guitar, but it generally possesses a livelier, more gritty sound compared to the clas ...

ists 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 A flamenco guitar is a guitar similar to a classical guitar but with thinner tops and less internal bracing. It usually has nylon strings, like ...

'' technique to a combination of ''apoyando'' and '' sin apoyar''. 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'', 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 premieres 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-century classical music, 20th and early 21st-century ...

, 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 festivals and concert halls.

21st century

In 2001, after a concert in

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in 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 estimated populati ...

, 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 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 A recording studio is a specialized facility for sound recording, mixing, and audio production of instrumental or vocal musical performances, spoken words, and other sounds. They range in size from a small in-home project studio large enou ...

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 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 (

College of Music, Mahidol University The College of Music, Mahidol University or Wittayalaiduliyangkasilp ( th, วิทยาลัยดุริยางคศิลป์; literally: College of Orchestra Art) is a music school in Phutthamonthon, Nakhon Pathom, (in the western s ...

) and

Silpakorn University Silpakorn University (SU.) ( th, มหาวิทยาลัยศิลปากร; ) is a national university in Thailand. The university was founded in Bangkok in 1943 by Tuscan–born art professor Corrado Feroci, who took the Thai name S ...

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

, Slovak,

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

, Swiss German, French,

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Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

and

Thai Thai or THAI may refer to: * Of or from Thailand, a country in Southeast Asia ** Thai people, the dominant ethnic group of Thailand ** Thai language, a Tai-Kadai language spoken mainly in and around Thailand *** Thai script *** Thai (Unicode block ...

. 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 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 ...

of the Indonesia International Guitar Festival & Competition. Furthermore, he was included in February 2013, as a member of the

Honour Honour (British English) or honor (American English; see spelling differences) is the idea of a bond between an individual and a society as a quality of a person that is both of social teaching and of personal ethos, that manifests itself as a ...

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,

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

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, bor ...

. 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 wo ...

Robert de Visée Robert de Visée (c. 1655 – 1732/1733) was a French lutenist, guitarist, theorbist and viol player at the court of the kings Louis XIV and Louis XV, as well as a singer and composer for lute, theorbo and guitar. Biography Robert de Visée's p ...

Dionisio Aguado Dionisio, a variant of Dionysius, may refer to: People Given name * Dionisio Lazzari (1617-1689), Italian sculptor and architect * Dionisio Aguado y García (1784-1849), Spanish classical guitarist and composer * Papa Isio (1846-1911), Dionisio M ...

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,

Isaac Albéniz Isaac Manuel Francisco Albéniz y Pascual (; 29 May 1860 – 18 May 1909) was a Spanish virtuoso pianist, composer, and conductor. He is one of the foremost composers of the Post-Romantic era who also had a significant influence on his conte ...

Enrique Granados Pantaleón Enrique Joaquín Granados y Campiña (27 July 1867 – 24 March 1916), commonly known as Enric Granados in Catalan or Enrique Granados in Spanish, was a composer of classical music, and concert pianist from Catalonia, Spain. ...

, 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, Heitor Villa-Lobos, Roland Dyens,

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 John Douglas Lord (9 June 194116 July 2012) was an English orchestral and rock composer, pianist, and Hammond organ player known for his pioneering work in fusing rock with classical or baroque forms, especially with the British rock band Deep ...

, David Coverdale, Glenn Hughes,

Leo Brouwer Juan Leovigildo Brouwer Mezquida (born March 1, 1939) is a Cuban composer, conductor, and classical guitarist. He is a Member of Honour of the International Music Council. Family He is the grandson of Cuban composer Ernestina Lecuona y Casado. ...

, 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 of ...

was recorded and broadcast worldwide by

Arirang TV Arirang International Broadcasting is a South Korean-based broadcasting company operated by the International Broadcasting Exchange Foundation. It began as a cable TV service in South Korea on February 3, 1997, and opened Korea's first overseas ...

. 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