4GUITARS

Izidor Erazem Grafenauer, guitar
Timotej Kosovinc, guitar
Mario Kurtjak, guitar
Urban Meža, guitar

Programme:

Timotej Kosovinc (1991),
Letter
Good Moment

Malcolm Arnold (1921–2006)
Fantasia, Op. 107 

Isaac Albeniz (1860–1909)
Cataluña

Izidor Erazem Grafenauer (1991)
Tres puentes

Timotej Kosovinc (1991)
Sweet Melancholy

Astor Piazzolla (1921–1992)
Tango suita

Timotej Kosovinc (1991)
Fake Smile

Federico Moreno Torroba (1891–1982)
Rafagas

The quartet 4guitars was established in 2020 on the initiative of the Imago Sloveniae Foundation. It consists of four excellent young virtuosos, all winners of numerous competitions and internationally active concert musicians. They share the desire to recreate the music of different periods and composers, but also to create their own compositions. In this way, the musicians present themselves as soloists, as well as in various combinations – from duets, trios to quartets – they complement each other perfectly.

Izidor Erazem Grafenauer, born in 1991, began studying piano with Suzana Zorko at the age of six, and guitar at the age of eight with prof. Eva Hren at the Conservatory of Music and Ballet in Ljubljana. As an exceptionally talented young musician, in 2008 he was accepted to the Academy of Music in Ljubljana, where, under the mentorship of prof. Andrej Grafenauer, he graduated with honours in December 2013. He is completing his guitar studies at the third-level specialization study at the Music Academy of the University of Zagreb with prof. Istvan Romer. In June 2017 he also completed a master’s degree in baroque lute and theorbo at the B. Marcello Conservatory in Venice with lute specialist prof. Titian Bagnati. He is the winner of many prestigious domestic and international competitions and awards. As a soloist as well as a part of different ensembles he performs in Slovenia and abroad. He has released two solo CDs: in 2018 an album with compositions for baroque lute was released by Divya Records, and in 2019 an album with compositions for guitar and guitar in chamber ensembles by Slovenian composers was released by Baros records.

Composer, guitarist and arranger Timotej Kosovinc (1991) engages with various musical styles and genres. He composes for a wide variety of instruments and ensembles and is particularly successful in the field of concert music. He began his musical career at the age of seven, wrote his first song at the age of 10, and performed his first solo guitar recital at the age of 12. He later studied music at the Conservatory of Music and Ballet Ljubljana, where he received the Škerjanc Award for outstanding achievements in the artistic promotion of the conservatory) and at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, where he graduated with honours in guitar class of prof. Alvaro Pierri, compositions and theories of music in the class of prof. Johannes Kretz and Detlev Müller-Siemens, and from music pedagogy. For his outstanding academic achievements, he received the honorary award of the Austrian Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research (Bundesministerium für Bildung, Wissenschaft und Forschung) in 2019, which is awarded to the 50 best graduates out of about 16.000 from all over Austria. He is currently writing his doctoral dissertation in the field of music analytics with prof. dr. Margaret Saary at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna. As a composer, guitarist, and lecturer, he is a regular guest at important concert venues such as the Musikverein (Vienna, Austria), the Slovenian Philharmonic (Ljubljana, Slovenia) or Cankarjev Dom (Ljubljana, Slovenia) and at various festivals and summer schools such as Wien Modern, Intonation Hungary, Vienna Guitar Forum, Liechtensteiner Guitarrentage, Sonus – chamber music workshop etc. He regularly performs on tours in Europe and Canada.

Mario Kurtjak (1989) is a Slovenian guitarist, guitar professor, composer, chemist, and Doctor of Science. He was accepted to the Academy of Music in Ljubljana at the age of 16 as an extraordinary talent, where he graduated summa cum laude in the class of prof. Andrej Grafenauer in 2010. He also graduated with honours from the postgraduate guitar studies at the famous Royal Academy of Music in London, where he studied with prof. Michael Lewin, David Russell and Fabio Zanon, and composition with dr. David Gorton. He has won first prize at national and international youth competitions, and in 2019 he won the 2nd prize (the first was not awarded) and the audience prize at the prestigious 16th International Guitar Competition Miguel Llobet in Barcelona. He is considered an exceptional guitarist with an abundance of technical knowledge, a strong sense of musicality, a keen attitude towards tone and a sense of tonal nuance. He regularly performs in Slovenia and abroad as a soloist and a member of various chamber ensembels, among which currently most active are Slovenian Guitar Quartet and Solent Duo with the Colombian soprano Meliza Metzger. In 2018 and 2019, he performed over 20 concerts a year, including a solo recital at St James’s Piccadilly in London and concerts at the Bamberg Hall in Villach, the Lent Festival in Maribor and the Arsana Festival in Ptuj. In February 2019, he lived and worked in a Slovenian art residence in London, where he performed composition Guitar Rhapsody written especially for him by Brazilian composer Bernard Simões, presented works by Slovenian composers and his own compositions, and collaborated with chamber musicians living there. For his musical work he received the Antonio Tarsia Award (2005), the Logatec municipality award for outstanding achievements in the field of culture (2009), the Škerjanc Award (2007), the Prešeren Academy Award (2008), and the Blyth Watson Foundation Award (2017).

Urban Meža (1992) started to play the guitar at the age of 8 under the mentorship of prof. Boris Štih at the Velenje music school, followed by Music High School at the Velenje Art High School under the mentorship of prof. Monika Krajnc Štih. He completed his undergraduate studies and master’s degree at the University of Music and Fine Arts in Graz in the class of renowned guitarist and pedagogue Martin Mysliveček. In 2016/2017, he spent one year in in Seville – Spain at the Manuel Castillo Conservatory (student exchange), where he collaborated with Antonio Dur. In 2011 he received the 2nd prize in the category of guitar duets with Zala Javornik at the national competition TEMSIG, in 2013 he received a gold plaque and the 3rd prize at the international competition Days of Guitar Krško in the unlimited age category. In 2015, he achieved 3rd place in the highest age category at the national TEMSIG competition. He received additional training at seminars with world-famous guitarists such as Zoran Dukić, Carlo Marchione, Lorenzo Micheli, Paolo Pegoraro, Thomas Müller-Pering, Istvan Römer, Thomas Offerman and Jens Wagner, Marco Socias, and Adriano del Sal. Urban Meža teaches guitar at the Fran Korun Koželjski music school in Velenje, occasionally composes his own compositions, and is the secretary of the Slovenian Guitar Teachers’ Association – EGTA. In addition to performing in classical ensembles, he is also active in the acoustic ensemble Urban & Katarina, in which he and his sister Katarina Meža create their own original music and acoustic arrangements by well-known Slovenian and foreign authors.

Admission free. Free tickets can be picked up the last hour before the concert at the entrance to the City Museum. The number of seats is limited, so we advise you to arrive a little earlier.

Due to the amendments to the decree on the temporary restriction of the cultural services, event may be attended only by persons with a certificate of: recovery of covid-19 (P), vaccination (C) or a negative test result, which must not be older than 48 hours (T). Respecting the PCT condition is responsibility of the visitor. Certificate is not required for children under the age of 18 who attend the event with close family members or guardians.

Due to safety measures to contain the spread of COVID-19 infections, all visitors must wear protective facemasks, disinfect their hands regularly, and observe a safety distance of at least 1,5 m.

Entry to the event is only possible with a ticket, visitors are asked to enter the venue individually, hostesses will accompany them to a vacant seat. If you suspect that you have come in contact with the coronavirus or are showing typical signs of the disease, do not attend the event.