17th INTERNATIONAL GUITAR FESTIVAL BALATONFÜRED 28 June – 1 July 2023

Pablo Márquez, guitar

Regarded as one of the most accomplished and complete musicians of our time, Pablo Márquez elevates the guitar to rare levels of expression, combining spontaneity and deep intellectual rigor. The extraordinary extent of his repertoire, which embraces the full historical spectrum from the very first lute and vihuela publications to the most recent and sophisticated contemporary works – which are often dedicated to him – is the subject of a unanimous admiration.

His name is always associated with a unique sound, as evidenced by the numerous recordings for ECM and other labels. Each of his registers has become a reference, whatever the repertoire engraved. This is illustrated by awards such as the Grand Prix du Disque Charles Cros or the Prix Amadeus, as well as the countless reactions from the press.

Thus, on the subject of Musica del Delphin, his debut CD with ECM –the first ever classical guitar recording in that label, which caused a sensation in 2007-, the New York Times published: Pablo Márquez makes an eloquent case of Luys de Narváez’s mastery of counterpoint and sense of virtuosity. Regarding his Schubert disc with Anja Lechner, Die Zeit wrote: Anja Lechner and Pablo Márquez enlight the night with Schubert. El Cuchi bien temperado, dedicated to the music of his fellow countryman Gustavo Leguizamón, was among the 100 best recordings (all genres included) of 2015, selected by the American journalist Ted Gioia. His last opus, A joyful brotherhood, which explores the unique friendship of Mauro Giuliani with piano virtuosos Hummel and Moscheles, sparkled the reaction of the Suddeutsche Zeitung: Pablo Márquez and Jan Schultsz have now recorded some of these pieces: they are magical paradises and dream holidays.

His discography also includes first recordings of works for guitar and orchestra such as Chemins V by Berio (with Dennis Russel Davies and the Orchestra della Svizzera italiana), A fuoco by Luca Francesconi (with Susanna Mälkki and the Ensemble Intercontemporain), Hanbleceya by Zad Moultaka (with Lorraine Vaillancourt and the Nouvel Ensemble Moderne of Montreal) and Fénix by Javier Torres Maldonado with Maurizio Grandinetti, Jürg Henneberger and the Phoenix Ensemble. A second live-recording of Berio’s Chemins V with the WDR Sinfonieorchester of Cologne and Jean-Michaël Lavoie was awarded with the prestigious Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik.

Pablo Márquez studied guitar in Argentina with Jorge Martínez Zárate and Eduardo Fernández. At the age of twenty he unanimously won the Villa-Lobos competition in Rio de Janeiro, as well as the Concours de Radio France in Paris, the most prestigious guitar competition of that time. A complete musician, he studied conducting with Rodolfo Fischer and Peter Eötvös, and followed the teachings of the legendary pianist György Sebök, who would deeply mark his artistic development.

His career flourished in more than 40 countries, being acclaimed in the most beautiful halls (Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, National Concert Hall in Taipei, Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg…), in major festivals (Aix-en-Provence, Avignon, Ultraschall in Berlin, San Sebastián, Ticino Musica…), both in recital and in partnership with Patricia Kopatchinskaja, Dino Saluzzi, María Cristina Kiehr, Rosamunde Quartett, Anne Gastinel, Mario Caroli. He appears as a soloist with the Radio France Philharmonic Orchestra, the Bavarian Radio Orchestra, the Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie, the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Colombia and the Orquesta de Valencia.

He worked in collaboration with the greatest composers of our time, such as Luciano Berio, Mauricio Kagel and György Kurtág. On the occasion of Berio’s 70th birthday, Pierre Boulez invited him to perform the Italian composer’s Sequenza XI, a work of which he has become the favoured interpreter. The New Music being at the center of his priorities, he has premiered no less than thirty works dedicated to him by composers such as Zad Moultaka, Martin Matalon, Fuminori Tanada, Oscar Strasnoy, Ramón Lazkano or Arthur Kampela.

Pablo Márquez is not only a sought-after virtuoso, but also a highly demanded teacher. His class at the Musik-Akademie in Basel is one of the most respected ones and he gives master-classes all around the world. He received the Konex Prize in Buenos Aires in recognition of his career.