Štěpán Rak
He is a founding member of the guitar department at the Academy of Music
and Arts in Prague and he was appointed in 2000
by the President of the Czech Republic Václav Havel as the first university-level professor of guitar. His five-finger technique he
has been teaching around the world has become something of a legend, as has his
"tremolo etherna". His meeting professor Štěpán Urban has proved portentous as he was led to devote
himself also to composition. His works cover almost all instrumental
combinations from the solo guitar to a large symphony orchestra. Intense
musical experience, mastery, the composer-interpreter´s absolute identification
with the spirit of the music performed, these are the main characteristics of
Štěpán Rak´s musical expression. In the year 2001 he was the first guitarist to
play the solo concert at the famous Tchaikovsky conservatory in Moscow. Among the others achievements of professor Štěpán Rak there has been a
successful participation at the 2004 World Guitar Masters Festival in
California, USA, where he performed his concert-long suite for solo guitar
entitled 20,000 Miles Under the Sea. For many years he has been concerting with Alfred Strejček in many countries
e.g. with a programme Vivat Comenius. Last year he made his guitar sound like a
bagpipe orchestra at the International Bagpipes Festival in Strakonice. During
his rich career he has performed in more than 70 countries of the world.