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International guitar competition

Final:

With: Francisco Luís, Tomasz Radziszewski, Vyacheslav Shugaev, Stanislav Steshenko
Sunday 12th May / 5pm
Auditorium (Conservatoire de la Ville de Luxembourg)

Semi-final:
With: Staš Čakš, Rostyslav Holubov, Yaroslava Ihnatenko, Francisco Luis, Juan Manuel Molano, Tomasz Radziszewski, Vyacheslav Shugaev, Stanislav SteshenkoFriday 10th May / 10am
Salle polyvalente (Conservatoire de la Ville de Luxembourg)

free entry / without reservation

The finalists

Nino D'Amico (Italy)

PROGRAM

 

Agustín Barrios Mangoré (1885-1944)

Prélude en do mineur

Napoléon Coste (1805-1883)

Fantaisie Dramatique “Le Départ”, Op.31 

Joaquín Turina (1882-1949)

Sonata Op.61 (III. Allegro Vivo) 

Leo Brouwer (*1939)

La Gran Sarabanda

Francisco Luis © Francisco Luis.jpg

Francisco Luis (Portugal)

PROGRAMME FINAL ROUND

 

Dušan Bogdanović (*1955)

Sonata No. 4

– I. Appassionato

– II. Lento, Rubato 

 

Johann Kaspar Mertz (1806-1856)

Liebeslied from Bardenklänge

 

Alexandre Tansman (1897-1986)

Pièce en forme de Passacaille

Nino D'Amico (Italy)

PROGRAM

 

Agustín Barrios Mangoré (1885-1944)

Prélude en do mineur

Napoléon Coste (1805-1883)

Fantaisie Dramatique “Le Départ”, Op.31 

Joaquín Turina (1882-1949)

Sonata Op.61 (III. Allegro Vivo) 

Leo Brouwer (*1939)

La Gran Sarabanda

Tomasz Radziszewski (Poland)

PROGRAMME FINAL ROUND

 

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

Prelude, BWV 1012 

 

Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849)

Mazurka, Op. 17, No. 4

 

Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849)

Valse, No. 19, Op. Posth

 

Joaquín Rodrigo (1901-1999)

Sonata Giocosa

– II. Andante moderato 

– III. Allegro

Tomasz Radziszewski © Tomasz Radziszewski 2.jpeg

Nino D'Amico (Italy)

PROGRAM

 

Agustín Barrios Mangoré (1885-1944)

Prélude en do mineur

Napoléon Coste (1805-1883)

Fantaisie Dramatique “Le Départ”, Op.31 

Joaquín Turina (1882-1949)

Sonata Op.61 (III. Allegro Vivo) 

Leo Brouwer (*1939)

La Gran Sarabanda

Vyacheslav Shugaev (Russia)

PROGRAMME FINAL ROUND

 

Napoléon Coste (1805-1883)

Rondeau de Concert, Op. 12

 

Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco (1895-1968)

Sonata “Omaggio a Boccherini”

– I. Allegro con spirito

– III. Tempo di Minuetto

– IV. Vivo ed energico

Nino D'Amico (Italy)

PROGRAM

 

Agustín Barrios Mangoré (1885-1944)

Prélude en do mineur

Napoléon Coste (1805-1883)

Fantaisie Dramatique “Le Départ”, Op.31 

Joaquín Turina (1882-1949)

Sonata Op.61 (III. Allegro Vivo) 

Leo Brouwer (*1939)

La Gran Sarabanda

Stanislav Steshenko (Ukraine)

PROGRAMME FINAL ROUND

 

Joaquín Turina (1882 -1949)

Sonata, Op. 61.

– I. Allegro

– II. Andante

 

Darius Milhaud (1892-1974)

Segoviana

 

Federico Bufaletti (1866-1936)

Mazurka 

 

Dušan Bogdanović (*1955)

Prelude et Toccata

Stanislav Steshenko © Stanislav Steshenko.jpeg

The semi-finalists

Nino D'Amico (Italy)

PROGRAM

 

Agustín Barrios Mangoré (1885-1944)

Prélude en do mineur

Napoléon Coste (1805-1883)

Fantaisie Dramatique “Le Départ”, Op.31 

Joaquín Turina (1882-1949)

Sonata Op.61 (III. Allegro Vivo) 

Leo Brouwer (*1939)

La Gran Sarabanda

Staš Čakš.jpg

Staš Čakš (Slovenia)

PROGRAMME SEMI-FINAL ROUND

 

John Dowland (1563-1626)

Fantasia No. 7  

Leo Brouwer (*1939)

Sonata No. 1 - 1. Fandangos y Boleros 

Marek Pasieczny (*1980)

Hommage a Aleksander Tansman - 5. Fugato Pathéthique

Staš Čakš was born in 1997 in Celje, Slovenia. He began playing the guitar at the age of six at the music school in Rogaška Slatina and Maribor under the guidance of Professor Anja Pirjevec. After completing primary music school, he continued his education at the Conservatory of Music and Ballet Maribor, where he further developed his guitar skills under Professor Vojko Vešligaj. At the age of eight, he participated in his first international competition, where he received a gold award and second prize. He is the recipient of top awards at various competitions in Slovenia, Italy, Serbia, the Czech Republic, and Croatia. He has performed several solo recitals and has appeared as a soloist with the Feguš Quartet, the guitar orchestra of the Conservatory of Music and Ballet Maribor, and the accordion orchestra of the Academy of Music in Ljubljana. In 2016, he received a Dr. Roman Klasinc award of the Conservatory of Music and Ballet Maribor. After completing high school, he decided to continue his studies at the Academy of Music in Ljubljana under the guidance of Professor Tomaž Rajterič, where he graduated with honors. During his studies at the Academy, he won second prize at the national competition "TEMSIG" and performed the Double Concerto for Guitar and Bandoneon by Astor Piazzolla alongside accordionist Rok Fišer and the chamber string orchestra of the Academy of Music. He also performs in duo AdArt with guitarist Ana Gorjanc and is currently pursuing further education at the Zurich University of the Arts under the guidance of professors Anders Miolin and Vojin Kocić. 

Nino D'Amico (Italy)

PROGRAM

 

Agustín Barrios Mangoré (1885-1944)

Prélude en do mineur

Napoléon Coste (1805-1883)

Fantaisie Dramatique “Le Départ”, Op.31 

Joaquín Turina (1882-1949)

Sonata Op.61 (III. Allegro Vivo) 

Leo Brouwer (*1939)

La Gran Sarabanda

Rostyslav Holubov © Rostyslav Holubov.JPG

Rostyslav Holubov (Ukraine)

PROGRAMME SEMI-FINAL ROUND

 

Rostyslav Holubov (*1994)

Fantasy on the theme of the Ukrainian folk song "Oh, in the cherry orchard"

Antonio José (1902-1936)

Sonata - I Allegro Moderato 

Sérgio Assad (*1952)

Suite “Aquarelle” - Valseana & Preludio e toccatina

Rostyslav Holubov, born in 1994 in Kharkiv, Ukraine, first studied with Prof. Volodymyr Dotsenko at the National University of Arts in Kharkiv. As part of the Erasmus program, he traveled to Vigo, Spain, where he studied with Prof. Margarita Escarpa. In 2023 he began his master's degree at the Folkwang Universität der Künste in the class of Prof. Tomasz Zawierucha. He also studies composition with Prof. Matthias Schlothfeld. Rostyslav is a winner of international guitar competitions. In the summer of 2023, he won the International Guitar Competition in Nürtingen, Germany.

Nino D'Amico (Italy)

PROGRAM

 

Agustín Barrios Mangoré (1885-1944)

Prélude en do mineur

Napoléon Coste (1805-1883)

Fantaisie Dramatique “Le Départ”, Op.31 

Joaquín Turina (1882-1949)

Sonata Op.61 (III. Allegro Vivo) 

Leo Brouwer (*1939)

La Gran Sarabanda

Yaroslava Ihnatenko.JPG

Yaroslava Ihnatenko (Ukraine)

PROGRAMME SEMI-FINAL ROUND

 

Frederic Mompou (1893-1987)

Suite Compostelana - Preludio

Joaquín Rodrigo (1901-1999)

Fandango

Leo Brouwer (*1939)

Sonata No. 5 "Ars Combinatoria" - III. Danza alla rustica

"Brilliant technique, deeply felt emotionality and mature musical understanding – there seem to be no limits to Yaroslava Ihnatenko's playing. Her unique, warm-hearted and at the same time energetic stage presence makes it a great pleasure for the audience to experience one of the new stars of classical guitar." - Prof. Alexander-Sergei Ramírez

Yaroslava Ihnatenko was born in Sumy, Ukraine and completed her first musical education at the D. Bortnyansky Sumy College of Music and Arts and the R. Glier Kyiv Institute of Music in Ukraine. 

 

From 2018 onwards, she regularly took lessons with the renowned concert guitarists and professors of the Robert Schumann University, Joaquín Clerch and Alexander-Sergei Ramirez, as well as with the Portuguese concert guitarist Joaquim Santos Simões. These lessons had a huge impact on the development of their technique and playing style. 

 

Since 2019, Yaroslava has been studying at the Robert Schumann University in Düsseldorf in the class of Professor Alexander-Sergei Ramirez. In the meantime, she has been awarded numerous scholarships such as two Germany Scholarships (2020 and 2021), the DAAD Scholarship (2022-23) and in 2022 she was included in the artist list of the Yehudi Menuhin Fellow organization "Live Music Now". 

 

In addition to prizes at Ukrainian national competitions such as "The Prospect", "Kharkov Zori", "Kyivska Vesna", Yaroslava is a laureate at international competitions such as: International Guitar Competition "Federico Moreno Torroba" (2021), International Guitar Competition "Guitarlab" in the USA (2022). In the same year, she won both the 1st prize and the "Joaquín Rodrigo" special prize at the International Guitar Competition in Madrid.

 

As a soloist, she has given concerts in France, Spain, Italy, Belgium, Germany and Ukraine, including the Sumy Philharmonic, the Sumy Palace of Culture, the Kiev Art Center.

 

Yaroslava attended master classes with renowned guitarists such as Eliot Fisk, Joaquín Clerch, Marco Tamayo, Pepe Romero, Fabio Zanon, Alvaro Pierri, Judicael Perroy, Joaquim Santos Simoes, Anielo Desiderio, Tomás Zavierucha, Tilman Hoppstock, Eduardo Inestal and Vladimir Dotsenko.

Nino D'Amico (Italy)

PROGRAM

 

Agustín Barrios Mangoré (1885-1944)

Prélude en do mineur

Napoléon Coste (1805-1883)

Fantaisie Dramatique “Le Départ”, Op.31 

Joaquín Turina (1882-1949)

Sonata Op.61 (III. Allegro Vivo) 

Leo Brouwer (*1939)

La Gran Sarabanda

Francisco Luis © Francisco Luis.jpg

Francisco Luis (Portugal)

PROGRAMME SEMI-FINAL ROUND

 

Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767)

Fantasia VIII for solo violin (arr: Carlo Marchione)

Niccolò Paganini (1782-1840)

Grand Sonata - Romanza 

Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco (1895-1968)

Rondo Op. 129

Winner of more than 40 international prizes and official D’Addario artist, Francisco Luís is considered one of the most acclaimed artists of his generation. Francisco was born in Caldas da Rainha in 1998. He started his studies at the age of 10 at the Conservatory of Caldas da Rainha with Professor Luís Roldão.

 

After studying for 5 years in his hometown, Francisco was admitted to the Music School of the National Conservatory in Lisbon, where he studied with Eurico Pereira. In addition to his focus on solo playing, Francisco also studied basso continuo with Helena Raposo, and learned analysis and compositional techniques with the composers Daniel Schvetz and Eurico Carrapatoso. Finished his studies in Lisbon, Francisco Luís proceeded with his academic path in Maastricht Conservatorium, where he began his bachelor’s degree with Carlo Marchione. After finishing with distinction (10/10), Francisco moved to Den Haag, where he completed his master’s degree in the Royal Conservatory, with Professor Zoran Dukic. In 2023, Francisco Luis made his debut in Central America, playing as a guest artist and lecturer at Mexico's famous International Guitar Festival in Saltillo.

 

At the age of 25, Francisco Luís has played in several renowned halls around Europe. In 2015 he interpreted the emblematic Concierto de Aranjuez by J. Rodrigo with the symphonic orchestra from the National Conservatory of Lisbon, in the Cinema/ Theater Sao Jorge. Francisco has also performed in more than 10 different countries, including some of the most important venues such as Musikverein (Wien), Casa da Música (Porto), Palácio da Ajuda (Lisbon), Victoria Hall (Switzerland), and more.

 

Francisco Luís has been awarded at several international competitions, including 30 first prizes. Among these, Francisco has obtained the 1st prize in Iserlohn International Guitar competition, 1st prize in Florida Guitar Foundation competition, 1st  prize in Dutch Guitar Foundation competition, 1st in Harmonia Cordis International guitar festival, 1st prize in Aalborg Guitar Festival, 1st prize in Viseu guitar competition, 1st prize in Albania Guitar Competition, etc. Francisco has also very recently been awarded the 2nd prize (1st not awarded) in the renowned Koblenz International Guitar Competition (Hubbert Kappel). 

 

Francisco became member of the Eurostrings 2020-2021 project, being the first and only Portuguese guitarist part of this program, where he toured around Europe, playing several concerts and providing masterclasses for diverse European guitar festivals (Zagreb Guitar Festival, Twents Guitar Festivals, Rust Guitar Festival, etc.).

 

Francisco Luís made several professional recordings in acclaimed studios, notably Siccas Guitars, in Karlsruhe (Germany) and Galerie de Luthiers in Lyon (France). Francisco is also an official artist on the channel Resonant Connections Media (Netherlands), owned by Michael Ibsen (Canada) and Steven den Toom (Netherlands), where he not only recorded solo but also his own arrangements of pieces by Fauré and Schubert (The Hague Guitar Duo).

 

Francisco’s performing skills and deep interpretations have touched many diverse audiences, presenting a wide variety of styles in repertoire, showcasing fresh features such as classical improvisation, arrangements, and compositions of his own. Carlo Marchione, renowned Italian guitarist, has stated "Francisco embodies all the qualities expected of a great musician, not least the ability, impossible to learn (but the result of a precious and rare natural talent) to perform his music with a touching sense of inevitability and naturalness”.

Nino D'Amico (Italy)

PROGRAM

 

Agustín Barrios Mangoré (1885-1944)

Prélude en do mineur

Napoléon Coste (1805-1883)

Fantaisie Dramatique “Le Départ”, Op.31 

Joaquín Turina (1882-1949)

Sonata Op.61 (III. Allegro Vivo) 

Leo Brouwer (*1939)

La Gran Sarabanda

Juan Manuel Molano © Sofía Betancur Silva.jpg

Juan Manuel Molano (Colombia)

PROGRAMME SEMI-FINAL ROUND

 

John Dowland (1563-1626)

A Fancy P. 5

Manuel María Ponce (1882-1948)

Sonata III - I. Allegro moderato

 

Sérgio Assad (*1952)

Aquarelle - II. Valseana & III. Preludio e toccatina

Born in Medellín, guitarist Juan Manuel Molano graduated with honors from the EAFIT University and is one of the most outstanding Colombian guitarists of his generation. Due to his special interest in the Latin American repertoire, he completed an exchange program at the University of São Paulo in Brazil in 2018. He is currently studying for a postgraduate degree at the Robert Schumann Hochschule in Düsseldorf, Germany, on a scholarship from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). 

 

Thanks to his great musical sensitivity and technical skills, he has won the “Jóvenes Intérpretes” of the Banco de la República de Colombia competition several times and has won prizes at various national and international competitions in Colombia, Brazil, Spain, Germany, Albania, and Panama. 

Nino D'Amico (Italy)

PROGRAM

 

Agustín Barrios Mangoré (1885-1944)

Prélude en do mineur

Napoléon Coste (1805-1883)

Fantaisie Dramatique “Le Départ”, Op.31 

Joaquín Turina (1882-1949)

Sonata Op.61 (III. Allegro Vivo) 

Leo Brouwer (*1939)

La Gran Sarabanda

Tomasz Radziszewski © Tomasz Radziszewski 2.jpeg

Tomasz Radziszewski (Poland)

PROGRAMME SEMI-FINAL ROUND

 

Maurice Ohana (1913-1992)

Saturnal 

Joaquín Rodrigo (1901-1999)

Sonata Giocosa - I. Allegro Moderato 

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

Toccata BWV 914 - Adagio & Fuga

Performed in multiple European countries, recorded 4 CDs and awarded over 30 times on international competitions, Tomasz Radziszewski is a Polish guitarist, passionate about music and will to spread it among the world.

 

He started his musical education at the age of 7 in Poland where he was born. Since young age he was active in his artistic path, participating in many competitions, concerts and developing his musicianship, not only as a guitarist. As a teenager started to compose and study opera singing as well.

 

Tomasz graduated from Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw under supervision of Ryszard Bałauszko and Mateusz Kowalski. So far, he has performed concerts in many European countries including France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Croatia, Finland, Estonia, Austria, Bosnia, Netherlands, Romania and others. Also multiple times as a soloist with orchestra (with ADDA Sinfonica, Sound Factory Orchestra, Polish Art Philharmonic, Cottbus Philharmonic, Zielona Góra Philharmonic, Lublin Philharmonic and AMKL Chamber Orchestra), including Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez, Concierto Andaluz and Double Portrait Concerto by Marek Pasieczny for two guitars with the biggest orchestra ever accompanied the guitars in history so far, premiered with Cassie Martin in Poland, 2023. Tomasz and Cassie started playing as a duo together and have already had a successful tour in Poland.

 

The artist published four CDs - one solo album - “Guitar Portrait” (2020), two duo albums with Polish soprano - Olga Ksenicz which are containing songs and arias by Mauro Giuliani (Mauro Giuliani, il Maestro, 2022), Domenico Cimarosa and Stanisław Moniuszko (Znasz-li ten kraj i inne pieśni na głos i gitarę, 2022 - awarded in Phonografic Competition “Muzyczne Orły”), and the newest one - “Delicious” (2022) with Mateusz Kowalski, presenting the idea of pairing music with wine.

 

Tomasz is also passionate about historical instruments. He plays 1979 Jose Ramirez III, ~1900 Salvador Ibanez and 1890 Jérôme Thibouville Lamy.

Nino D'Amico (Italy)

PROGRAM

 

Agustín Barrios Mangoré (1885-1944)

Prélude en do mineur

Napoléon Coste (1805-1883)

Fantaisie Dramatique “Le Départ”, Op.31 

Joaquín Turina (1882-1949)

Sonata Op.61 (III. Allegro Vivo) 

Leo Brouwer (*1939)

La Gran Sarabanda

Vyacheslav Shugaev (Russia)

PROGRAMME SEMI-FINAL ROUND

 

Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco (1895-1968)

Sonata “Omaggio a Boccherini” - II. movement

Sérgio Assad (*1952)

Variaciones sudamericanas sobre un estudio de Fernando Sor

Vyacheslav Shugaev was born in 2001 in Electrostal, Moscow region, Russia.

 

In 2021, he graduated with honors from the Gnesin State Musical College in Moscow (guitar class of Anastasia Bardina). At the moment, he is a student of the Gnesin Russian Academy of Music (Artyom Dervoed’s class).

 

Vyacheslav is a prize-winner of many regional, all-Russian and international competitions. Among the recent achievements is the 2nd prize at the VIII International Frauchi Competition.

 

He is a frequent guest of many prestigious concert halls: Chamber hall of Moscow State Philharmonic Society, Moscow International House of Music, Pushkin State Art Museum of Fine Arts, concert halls of Gnesin Russian Academy of Music.

 

In 2019, Vyacheslav performed as a special guest at the Tartu klassikalise kitarri Festival in Tartu, Estonia. Also he took part in master classes by Eduardo Fernandez (Uruguay) and Ekachai Jearakul (Thailand).

 

The guitarist's repertoire includes the music from the Renaissance to modern works by Assad, Miranda, Duplessy and Koshkin.

Nino D'Amico (Italy)

PROGRAM

 

Agustín Barrios Mangoré (1885-1944)

Prélude en do mineur

Napoléon Coste (1805-1883)

Fantaisie Dramatique “Le Départ”, Op.31 

Joaquín Turina (1882-1949)

Sonata Op.61 (III. Allegro Vivo) 

Leo Brouwer (*1939)

La Gran Sarabanda

Stanislav Steshenko © Stanislav Steshenko.jpeg

Stanislav Steshenko (Ukraine)

PROGRAMME SEMI-FINAL ROUND

 

Silvius Leopold Weiss (1687-1750)

Suite No. 7 - Fantasia & Allemande

Joaquín Turina (1882-1949)

Sonata op. 61 - lll. movement

Miguel Llobet (1887-1939)

Variations op.15

Stanislav Steshenko was born in 1996.

 

At the age of five, Stanislav Steshenko began to learn singing and the piano, later, at the age of 9, he began to study guitar at the Mirgorod Music School (teacher Kasyanenko M, 2004-2011). He graduated from the R. Glier Kyiv Institute of Music (2011-2015, teacher Drozdova O), Kyiv University of Culture and Arts (Prof. Zhadko V.) and the National University of Arts in Kharkiv (Prof. Dotsenko V) in the guitar and conducting class.

 

Since 2019 he has been studying at the University of Music and Performing Arts Munich (Prof. Halasz) and Akademie für Tonkunst Darmstadt (Prof. Hoppstock) on a scholarship from the DAAD Foundation.

 

Stanislav Steshenko is a participant and winner of international competitions and festivals and has performed on stages in Ukraine, Poland, Russia, Germany, Greece, Belgium, Spain, Denmark, Italy, Croatia and Chile.

 

Stanislav is the first performer of world premieres of Ukrainian composers, also with the orchestra “Kyiv Soloists”.

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