Viktor Vidović (born 1973) is a

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

n classical guitarist.

Early years

Born in

Karlovac Karlovac () is a city in central Croatia. In the 2021 census, its population was 49,377. Karlovac is the administrative centre of Karlovac County. The city is located southwest of Zagreb and northeast of Rijeka, and is connected to them via the ...

, Viktor Vidović came from a well-known musical family, whose influence on his achievements was significant. His sister, Ana, was introduced to music by him and eventually became an internationally recognised guitar virtuoso. At 12, he had his first solo concert. At 13, he was awarded first place at competitions in Croatia and the former

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

, coming far in front of rivals, generations above him. At 14 he enrolled in the Geneva Conservatory, in the class of Brazilian guitarist Maria Livia Sao Marcos, under whose guidance he took the first place at CIEM, the

Geneva International Music Competition The Geneva International Music Competition () is one of the world's leading international music competitions, founded in 1939. In 1957, it was one of the founding members of the World Federation of International Music Competition (WFIMC), whose he ...

, becoming the youngest winner in the history of the competition, taking the Villa Lobos Prize and the Patek Philippe Prize for distinguished musical interpretation. He completed his studies at Geneva Conservatory at 16 with a diploma and "the first prize for virtuosity" by way of special recognition. He completed a course at Salzburg's

Mozarteum Mozarteum University Salzburg ( German: ''Universität Mozarteum Salzburg'') is one of three affiliated but separate (it is actually a state university) entities under the "Mozarteum" name in Salzburg municipality; the International Mozarteu ...

under professor Matthias Seidel at the age of 21, earning a degree of Master of Arts. During his studies he was awarded the Franz Kossak Prize and a prize of the Austrian Ministry of Culture and also won the special prize for the interpretation of contemporary music at the International Music Competition in

Templin Templin () is a small town in the Uckermark district of Brandenburg, Germany. Though it has a population of only 17,127 (2006), in terms of area it is, with 377.01 km2 (145.56 sq mi), the second largest town in Brandenburg (after Wittstock) and ...

Development

In the early 1990s he began attending the master classes of

Leo Brouwer Juan Leovigildo Brouwer Mezquida (born March 1, 1939) is a Cubans, Cuban composer, conducting, conductor, and classical guitarist. He is a Member of Honour of the International Music Council. Early years Brouwer was born in Havana, Cuba. When he ...

Eliot Fisk Eliot Hamilton Fisk (born August 10, 1954) is an American classical guitarist. Music career Education and teaching Fisk was born into a Quaker family in Philadelphia. He finished high school in DeWitt, New York, and then studied music at Yale Un ...

and David Tannenbaum. In 2000, he was a finalist at the Rene Bartoli competition in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

in 2000 and was awarded with a special audience prize. Vidović has spent a great deal of time studying composition, creating original compositions and transcriptions for the classical guitar. He has also explored other genres such as jazz, Latino and original ethno music of various cultures. He is noted in particular for his recitals of Croatian dances including works by

Boris Papandopulo Boris Papandopulo (February 25, 1906 – October 16, 1991) was a Croatian composer and conductor of Greek and Russian Jewish descent. Ha-Kol (Glasilo Židovske zajednice u Hrvatskoj); Djela hrvatskih skladatelja Židovskog podrijetla u Beču; ...

and Bruno Krajcar. He has performed ''Balun'', a popular Istrian dance by Bruno Krajcar with his sister.

Concerts

He has performed in the top concert halls all around Europe, including Italy, Germany, France, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Russia, Austria, Hungary, Macedonia, Slovenia, Holland and elsewhere. He has performed with the Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra, the

Orchestre de la Suisse Romande The Orchestre de la Suisse Romande (OSR) is a Swiss symphony orchestra, based in Geneva at the Victoria Hall. In addition to symphony concerts, the OSR performs as the opera orchestra in productions at the Grand Théâtre de Genève. History ...

and Stuttgart Philharmonic Orchestra. He is also a guitar teacher, and he leads numerous masterclasses, including the masterclass at Medulin, Istria every June. He performed at a concert in Hong Kong with the Moscow Philharmonic orchestra in October 2017.

Private life

He is the older brother of Ana Vidović.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vidovic, Viktor Croatian classical guitarists 1973 births Living people People from Karlovac Winners of the Geneva International Music Competition 21st-century Croatian guitarists