Artists

Guitar Styria Festival 2027

Gabriel Bianco ©Jean-Baptiste Millot

Concert, Masterclasses

GABRIEL BIANCO

An insatiable musician, Gabriel Bianco is not only a renowned soloist but also a passionate chamber musician. Whether performing on a modern or a historical romantic guitar, his repertoire encompasses the major works for his instrument as well as rarer pieces.

Born in Paris in 1988, Gabriel Bianco obtained his classical guitar diplomas in 2008 and his chamber music diploma in 2015. A prize winner at the international Guitar Foundation of America competition in 2008, he began a solo career that has taken him to around fifty countries. He has performed in prestigious venues such as the Théâtre du Châtelet (Paris), the Grand Hall of the Tchaikovsky Conservatory (Moscow), the Herbst Theatre (San Francisco), the Luis Ángel Arango Auditorium (Bogotá), the Central Conservatory (Beijing), the Musashino Art Center and Yamaha Hall (Tokyo), the Kyiv Philharmonic, the Zurich Opera House, and the Lausanne Opera.

He has also appeared at numerous festivals, including La Folle Journée de Nantes, the Radio France Montpellier-Occitanie Festival, the Cervantino Festival (Guanajuato, Mexico), and the Granada Festival of Music and Dance (Spain) ...

He shares the stage with renowned artists including Marina Viotti, Anastasia Kobekina, Luka Faulisi, and Marc André.

Gabriel Bianco has recorded several albums. His solo recital A Parisian in Paris was released in February 2025 (Naxos), followed by Filmaginaire with the Eclisses Quartet (Klarthe). An album with mezzo-soprano Marina Viotti and cellist Léonard Disselhorst is scheduled for release in 2026 (Naïve). He is also participating in the first album by double bassist Marc André, scheduled for release in spring of the same year.

Since 2018, Gabriel Bianco has been teaching classical guitar as principal professor at the Conservatory of Amsterdam. He gives masterclasses at the Royal College of Music in London, the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris, the Manhattan School of Music in New York, the Central Conservatory of Beijing, the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music, and at the Universities of Arizona (Tucson) and Florida (Tallahassee).

Gabriel Bianco plays Savarez strings and is an Altamira Artist.

PETRIT ÇEKU

Petrit Çeku’s sensitivity and expressiveness have captivated audiences worldwide. He has performed recitals across the globe and appeared as a soloist with renowned orchestras, including the Baltimore Symphony, Calgary Philharmonic, Czech Chamber Philharmonic, Daejeon Philharmonic, State Hermitage Orchestra of St. Petersburg, Pannon Philharmonic, and Zagreb Philharmonic. A frequent collaborator with the Zagreb Soloists, he is also a founding member of the Guitar Trio Elogio and Croatian Guitar Quartet.

Hailed by the Calgary Herald as “an effortless player, with a strong, projecting sound,” Çeku has won numerous international guitar competitions, securing prestigious first prizes at the Parkening (Malibu, USA), Schadt (Allentown, USA), Biasini (Bologna, Italy), and Pittaluga (Alessandria, Italy) competitions. In 2018, he was the only classical musician featured in the Night of the Proms tour with the Antwerp Philharmonic, conducted by Alexandra Arrieche, sharing the stage with pop icons Bryan Ferry, Milow, Seal, and Suzanne Vega.

Renowned for his dedication to musical collaboration, Çeku has performed chamber music with esteemed artists, including violinists Marc Bouchkov, Guy Braunstein, Boris Brovtsyn, Susanna Yoko Henkel, Stefan Milenković, Linus Roth, and Benjamin Schmid; violists Lise Berthaud, Sara Ferrández, Sindy Mohamed, and Timothy Ridout; cellists Stjepan Hauser, Monika Leskovar, Kajan Pačko, Giovanni Sollima, Kian Soltani, and Luka Šulić; as well as pianists Angela Hewitt, Aljoša Jurinić, and Markus Schirmer. In addition, he has collaborated with renowned string ensembles such as the Artis-Quartet, Minetti Quartet, Sebastian Quartet, Valo Quartet and Zagreb Quartet.

Born in Prizren, Kosovo, Çeku is based in Zagreb, Croatia. He studied guitar at the Academy of Music of the University of Zagreb with Darko Petrinjak before continuing at the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore, USA, under Manuel Barrueco. After serving on the faculty of the University of Music and Performing Arts in Graz, Austria, since 2019, Çeku was appointed in 2025 to the faculty of his alma mater - the Academy of Music of the University of Zagreb - where he teaches and mentors the next generation of guitarists.

His recordings have been released by BuntArt, Cantus, Croatia Records, EPR Classic, Eudora Records, Granola and Naxos. His album The Cello Suites, featuring Bach’s complete Cello Suites, was nominated for an ICMA Award. The recording process was documented in Sarabande, a film directed by award-winning filmmaker Kaltrina Krasniqi. Expanding their collaboration, Çeku later composed the original score for Krasniqi’s feature film Vera Dreams of the Sea, which premiered at the 78th Venice Film Festival.

Petrit Çeku is a D’Addario artist and performs on a Ross Gutmeier guitar.

Petrit Ceku © Majlinda Hoxha

Petrit Ceku © AtdheMulla

Lovro Peretić

Masterclasses

LOVRO PERETIĆ

Lovro Peretić (1995) is an internationally award winning classical guitarist from Zagreb (Croatia). He started studying guitar at a young age under the guidance of prof. Xhevdet Sahatxhija in a music school in Zagreb. He graduated with distinction from the Academy of Music in Zagreb under Prof. Darko Petrinjak. During his studies, he spent a year on an exchange program at L’École Supérieure Musique et Danse Hauts-de-France in Lille, studying with Prof. Judicaël Perroy. Later, he specialized in music performance in Geneva (Switzerland) where he studied with Judicaël Perroy at the Haute Ecole de Musique Genève. As of this year, 2026, he teaches guitar at the Gustav Mahler Private University of Music (Gustav Mahler Privatuniversität für Musik).

He is regarded as one of the leading guitarists of the younger generation, which is confirmed by results from various music competitions such as Guitar Foundation of America (USA), Eurostrings guitar competition, Changsha International Guitar Competition (China), Boris Papandopulo in Zagreb (Croatia), Zagreb Guitar Festival (Croatia), Antwerpen guitar festival (Belgium) ...

Lovro Peretić (1995) is an internationally award winning classical guitarist from Zagreb (Croatia). He started studying guitar at a young age under the guidance of prof. Xhevdet Sahatxhija in a music school in Zagreb. He graduated with distinction from the Academy of Music in Zagreb under Prof. Darko Petrinjak. During his studies, he spent a year on an exchange program at L’École Supérieure Musique et Danse Hauts-de-France in Lille, studying with Prof. Judicaël Perroy. Later, he specialized in music performance in Geneva (Switzerland) where he studied with Judicaël Perroy at the Haute Ecole de Musique Genève. As of this year, 2026, he teaches guitar at the Gustav Mahler Private University of Music (Gustav Mahler Privatuniversität für Musik).

He is regarded as one of the leading guitarists of the younger generation, which is confirmed by results from various music competitions such as Guitar Foundation of America (USA), Eurostrings guitar competition, Changsha International Guitar Competition (China), Boris Papandopulo in Zagreb (Croatia), Zagreb Guitar Festival (Croatia), Antwerpen guitar festival (Belgium), Andres Segovia in Velbert (Germany), Anna Amalia in Weimar (Germany), Enrico Mercatali in Gorizia (Italy), Ida Presti in Samobor (Croatia), Volos Guitar Festival (Greece), Fernando Sor in Rome (Italy), Concours international de guitare d'Antony (France), Brussels International Guitar Competition (Belgium).

In 2020, he won the 3rd Eurostrings competition, which brought him an opportunity to give numerous concerts and master classes throughout Europe in 2021/2022.

In 2022, he won the International Concert Artist competition of GFA (USA). As the winner, he had an extensive concert tour, playing around 50 concerts throughout the USA and Canada in the season 2023/2024. Also, he recorded his debut album for the recording label Naxos which was released in 2023.

In addition to his career as a soloist, he regularly performs with various chamber music ensembles, most notably the guitar trio Evocación, with whom he recorded the album of the same name, Evocación. As a soloist, he collaborated with the Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra, Croatian Radiotelevision Symphony Orchestra, Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra, Zagreb Soloists and others.

Borbála Seres

Jury, Masterclasses

BORBÁLA SERES

“Her music: warm-hearted, dreamy and always oriented towards the listener. She does not push herself into the foreground, even in technically difficult passages, but conveys feelings and takes the listener with her into her world.” Klaus Lipinski, Recklinghäuser Zeitung

Borbála Seres belongs to that class of musicians who moves the emotions of her listeners and engages them in a constant dialogue. She is one of the pillars of the outstandingly talented international artist community. It is a lesser known fact, that almost every single international competition Borbála has entered she has finished in the top three. This is an exceptional accomplishment in the mainly male dominated field of classical guitar.

In 2011 she graduated with honours at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna in the Class of Prof. Alvaro Pierri.

Her talent is demonstrated by her successful participation at national and international competitions, among others at Forum Gitarre Wien, the World Guitar Competition, as well as in Kutná Hora, Rust in Austria, Split, Belgrade, Petrer and Coria in Spain ...

Arnoldo Moreno © Blende

Masterclasses, Guitar Orchestra

ARNOLDO MORENO

Arnoldo Moreno comes from Mariara/Venezuela. He studied in his home country with Ludwig Kamratowski (Escuela de Música de Rubio/Táchira), Armando Y. Caicedo (Puerto Ordáz) and Antonio Lauro (Caracas). A scholarship from the Rotary Club Int. Puerto Ordáz/Venezuela enabled further musical studies with Leo Witozynskyj at the University of Music in Graz. He has attended numerous master classes with R. Zimmer, M. L. Sao Marcos, T. Walker, D. Russell and H. Smith, among others.

Moreno has taken part in numerous TV and radio productions and produced the CD “Latin Classics” and “Latin Roots” together with the singer Patricia Moreno. In addition to his concert activities in the USA, South America, Europe and Asia, he has won various international prizes, such as 1st prize as a solo performer at the Friendship Festival 2004 in Pyonyang/North Korea.

He was the founder of the “Popular Guitar Festival” in Aflenz (A) ...

XHEVDET SAHATXHIJA

Xhevdet Sahatxhija graduated from the Music Academy in Zagreb in the class of Professor Darko Petrinjak. As a guitar professor, he has been working for many years in Music scholl Pavla Markovca. Currently, he is a professor at the Faculty of Arts and Culture in Osijek and a lecturer at the Faculty of Arts in Peja.

From 2003-2017 he lectured at the Academy of Music in Zagreb and 2003-2021, as prof. Associate at the Faculty of Arts - Department of Music in Prishtina. He educated generations of young guitarists among which are those who won valuable awards at national and international competitions and who are now recognized artists and music teachers ...

Xhevdet Sahatxhija

Helene Widauer © Ulrich Gruchmann

Jury, Lecture

HELENE WIDAUER

Helene Widauer studied instrumental guitar and concert guitar with Wolfgang Guttmann and Matthias Seidel at the Mozarteum in Salzburg. Numerous master classes with C. Domeniconi, J. W. Duarte and M. Barrueco - among others – rounded her education. Also Pepe Romero, her long-term tutor, had a profound and lasting influence on her artistic and educational activities.

In addition to solo performances (for example with the Camerata Salzburg, the Salzburger Landesblasorchester (Wind Orchestra – Province of Salzburg), together with Folke Tegethoff, or the Salzburger Festspiele) she often performs chamber music. For several years she has successfully played in a duo with the guitarist Klaus Jäckle.

Today, Helene Widauer teaches at the Landesmusikschule Mondsee (Upper Austria). Many of her students have been awarded prizes in the Prima La Musica competitions. She holds regular lectures at the Hallein Sommer Studio and taught at several Universities in Austria about didactics and methodology ...

Stefan Hackl © Raimund Schwarz

Jury, Lecture

STEFAN HACKL

Stefan Hackl, Professor, PhD (Dr. phil.), born 1954
Studied at the Conservatory and the University of Innsbruck. He has taught at the Tyrolean State Conservatory, the Mozarteum University Salzburg (Innsbruck campus), the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, and at numerous international guitar festivals.

Publications:

Books (Die Gitarre in Österreich, Stauffer & Co. – Die Wiener Gitarre des 19. Jahrhunderts, Guitaromanie – Kleines Panoptikum der Gitarre von Allix bis Zappa, The Renewed Guitar - The Instrument’s Evolution Seen Through Period Pictures 1772-1925) ...

PAOLO PEGORARO

"Paolo plays the notes as a series of pearls, clear one after another and now is the extraordinary thing: he has pearls of all sizes and all shades of color, he puts together in a way that will produce a effect of strong compactness and harmony. Paolo follows his musical ideas without compromise: accelerating, and evaporates the sentence where it is necessary for reasons of musical logic and not because of technical problems. This is an extraordinary thing in the guitar world. Paolo Pegoraro is, I can only repeat once more, the discovery of the year!"
Peter Päffgen - Gitarre und Laute

Paolo Pegoraro is considered today one of the most renowned teachers and interpreters of his instrument. Elected in 2003 “Best guitarist of the year” by the readers of the magazine Guitart, both the critics as recognized figures of the music world appreciate in Paolo Pegoraro an uncommon depth and artistic sensibility. Winner of prestigious competitions, he performs regularly in the most important musical centers and festivals throughout Europe, USA, South America, Africa and Asia. In 2008 the great Cuban guitarist and composer Leo Brouwer has declared: “I’m very happy to know that in the guitar world there is a man and a musician as Paolo Pegoraro!”.

Paolo loves to teach so much that he founded the Segovia Guitar Academy, now an established and internationally recognised seat of learning for guitarists, with students from various countries around the world. In 2010 Paolo was elected guitar chair at the “Universitat für Musik und darstellende Kunst” in Graz (Austria).

Over the years the students at these institutes have won over 300 awards at major international competitions, including those of Alessandria (Pittaluga), Benicassim (Tárrega), Almeria (Arcas), La Herradura (Segovia), Tokyo, Munich (ARD), Wroklaw (Guitarmaster), Malibù (Parkening), Rome (Sor), Gargnano and Baltimore. For all these extraordinary results achieved by many different students, in 2019 Paolo Pegoraro received the “Chitarra d’oro per la didattica” at the Milan International Guitar Convention.

In addition, he serves as guest faculty at the “Universidad Pedro de Olavide” in Sevilla, Spain. Since 2017 he is Honorary Artist in Residence at the Yehudi Menuhin School in London like Daniel Baremboim, Andras Schiff, Itzhak Perlman, Julian Bream and John Williams among others.

He is often invited to be part of juries for musical and guitar competitions and gives regular masterclasses all around the world.

He has several recordings and the CD “Solo” has received enthusiastic reviews; in particular, the German magazine “Gitarre & Laute” declared “... the discovery of the year”. For his last CD, he was awarded with “La chitarra d’oro” at the Alessandria International Guitar Convention, as the best CD of the year (2010).

Born in Bassano del Grappa August 9, 1968, he began to study music at a very early age, quickly demonstrating a distinct talent and receiving from his family an environment rich in musical stimuli. He graduated with highest honors from the Conservatory “Benedetto Marcello” in Venice in the class of Tommaso de Nardis. He consecutively frequented masterclasses of Manuel Barrueco and David Russell, as well as receiving the"Diploma di Merito" at the Chigiana Academy of Siena in Oscar Ghiglia's Class.

In 2010 he became part of the “D’Addario family”.

www.paolopegoraro.com

Paolo Pegoraro

Jury

MARIO KURTJAK

Mario Kurtjak is a classical guitarist, guitar professor, composer, and chemist holding a PhD. After completing his guitar studies with Prof. Andrej Grafenauer at the Academy of Music in Ljubljana, where he also received the prestigious Prešeren Award, he graduated with distinction from the postgraduate programme at the renowned Royal Academy of Music in London. There, he studied guitar with Prof. Michael Lewin, David Russell, and Fabio Zanon.

In 2019, he won Second Prize and the Audience Award at the prestigious 16th Miguel Llobet International Guitar Competition in Barcelona.

He performs regularly as a soloist and as a member of various chamber ensembles, most notably the Slovenian Guitar Quartet, a duo with baritone Peter Grdadolnik, and the Solent Duo with Colombian soprano Meliza Metzger. In recent years, he has collaborated with the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra, the Ljubljana Opera and Ballet, the Neofonia Ensemble, and the Domžale–Kamnik Symphony Orchestra. He has appeared at festivals including Imago Sloveniae, Forum of New Music, Arsana, Lent, and Velenje, as well as in the Kit-ara and Rasgueado concert series in Ljubljana and on the Chamber Studio programme of Radio Ars. He has also given numerous concerts in England.

Between 2019 and 2022, he organised his own concert series, Logaške kitarodije. In 2026, he gave a solo recital in the Solo e da camera concert series of the Academy of Music and was featured on the Radio Ars programme Slovenski solisti ("Slovenian Soloists").

As a composer, he is best known for his First Guitar Sonata, which guitarist Erazem Grafenauer included on his 2019 album Works by Slovenian Composers, released by Baros Records. In 2023, Bogataj Publishing released Kurtjak's first collection of arrangements of Slovenian folk songs, choral works, art songs, and operatic arias for voice and guitar. In 2025, his first original solo guitar composition, Kraška reka ("Karst River"), was published.

As a guitar professor, Mario Kurtjak teaches at the Ljubljana Conservatory of Music and Ballet. Since 2015, he has also served annually as a mentor at the Črnomelj Summer Guitar School, where he conducted the participants' guitar orchestra until 2024. From 2022 to 2025, he additionally directed the Guitar Orchestra of the Ljubljana Conservatory's Music School Department.

Since February 2019, he has served as President of the Slovenian Guitar Teachers' Association, and since 2023 he has also been a teaching assistant in the Pedagogical Practice programme at the Academy of Music. In 2023, he was a jury member of the 52nd TEMSIG National Competition, and at every edition of the international Velespaña Competition (2021, 2023, and 2025) he has served as Chairman of the Jury.

More information about Mario Kurtjak is available at: www.mariokurtjak.com, https://mario.sk4.si, https://www.kgbl.si/zaposlen/kurtjak-mario/

Mario Kurtjak

Masterclasses

Zsombor Sidoo

The Hungarian classical guitarist Zsombor Sidoo is one of the most promising performers of his generation. Born in 1997, he received his early musical influences from József Eötvös at the Franz Liszt Academy for Music in Budapest. Since 2013, he has been studying with Paolo Pegoraro at the University for Music and Performing Arts, Graz, and in 2021, he completed a master’s degree with the highest honours. He has been studying composition with the Swiss-born Austrian composer and conductor Beat Furrer and often premières new works, including some of his own compositions.

Since 2022, he has been a doctoral candidate at the Doctoral School for Artistic Research in Graz. He is a prizewinner of numerous international competitions such as the International Instrumental Competition Markneukirchen, Concorso Pittaluga, Zagreb Guitar Festival and Mercatali Guitar Prize. Despite his young age, Zsombor Sidoo regularly gives concerts at prestigious venues such as the Ehrbarsaal in Vienna, Konzerthaus Klagenfurt, Musikhalle Markneukirchen, Fricsay Hall in Szeged, Vatroslav Lisinskij Hall in Zagrab and Verrucano in Mels ...

Zsombor Sidoo

Dejan Milevski

Jury substitute

DEJAN MILEVSKI

Dejan Milevski, born in Ohrid, North Macedonia started his music and guitar education at the age of 11 at State Music School in Ohrid at the class of Aleksandar Krstanoski.

At age of 14, he countinued his education at the State Music School in Skopje, North Macedonia in the classes of Darko Bageski and Borche Naumoski.

In 2017 he enrolled at the ‘‘Hochschule für Musik und Tanz- Köln‘‘ in Germany in the class of professor Gerhard Reichenbach, where he graduated and recived his bachelor and master degree.

During his studies, Dejan Milevski attended many national and international guitar competitions, which brought him several first place awards. He participated in many masterclasses with renowned guitar professors.

As a concert guitarist he performed throughout Europe, Canada, USA as a soloist and in various chamber ensembles.

Since 2018, he is an active guitar teacher and currently teaching guitar at the Music School ‘‘Helmut Schmidinger‘‘ in Graz, Austria.

Wenjie Si

Afternoon concert

WENJIE SI

Si Wenjie began studying classical guitar at the age of eight and was admitted to the Affiliated Middle School of the Sichuan Conservatory of Music at twelve. He has received guidance and high praise from renowned guitar masters and composers including Leo Brouwer, David Russell, and Pepe Romero.

He has won numerous major competitions in China, as well as special awards such as Best Bach Performance and Best Contemporary Music Performance. In 2019, he won First Prize in the Youth Category at the Iserlohn International Guitar Competition in Germany and was invited to perform at the opening concert of the 2020 Iserlohn International Guitar Festival.

In 2022, he was awarded First Prize in the Guitar, Bayan, and Accordion Category at the 7th Russian International Music Olympic Competition. Won 1st Prize at the Ida Presti International Guitar Competition and 3rd Prize at the Guitar Styria Competition in 2026 ...