Leon Koudelak
Encyclopedia
Leon Koudelak classical guitar
Classical guitar
The classical guitar is a 6-stringed plucked string instrument from the family of instruments called chordophones...

ist.

Leon Koudelak has toured internationally in most parts of Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

, Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...

 and the Americas
Americas
The Americas, or America , are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World. In English, the plural form the Americas is often used to refer to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, while the singular form America is primarily...

. He inspired famous composers such as Tom Pegram, Apostolos Paraskevas
Apostolos Paraskevas
Apostolos Paraskevas is a Grammy-nominated composer and guitarist. He was born in Volos, Greece.Apostolos Paraskevas is a published recording artist and recently an award winning Film Director/Producer...

 or Michael Buchrainer to write guitar music. He founded the Liechtenstein
Liechtenstein
The Principality of Liechtenstein is a doubly landlocked alpine country in Central Europe, bordered by Switzerland to the west and south and by Austria to the east. Its area is just over , and it has an estimated population of 35,000. Its capital is Vaduz. The biggest town is Schaan...

 Guitar Festival, Ligita, the Asia International Guitar Festival (AIGF) in Bangkok
Bangkok
Bangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...

 and the Pattaya
Pattaya
Pattaya is a city in Thailand, located on the east coast of the Gulf of Thailand, about 165 km southeast of Bangkok located within but not part of Amphoe Bang Lamung in the province of Chonburi....

 Classical Guitar Festival.. Among many in the international music scene he is known as "La mano santa de la guitarra" ('the holy hand of the guitar'). 1996 he released a CD with the major Guitar Solo Works by Joaquin Rodrigo
Joaquín Rodrigo
Joaquín Rodrigo Vidre, 1st Marquis of the Gardens of Aranjuez , commonly known as Joaquín Rodrigo, was a composer of classical music and a virtuoso pianist. Despite being nearly blind from an early age, he achieved great success...

 which brought him worldwide recognition. Maestro Rodrigo wrote him a letter expressing great enthusiasm after listening to his CD about his interpretation. On the following concert tour, Koudelak played a complete program with works by Joaquin Rodrigo
Joaquín Rodrigo
Joaquín Rodrigo Vidre, 1st Marquis of the Gardens of Aranjuez , commonly known as Joaquín Rodrigo, was a composer of classical music and a virtuoso pianist. Despite being nearly blind from an early age, he achieved great success...

. Leon Koudelak entered the ranker
Ranker
Ranker is a social site and platform that is in essence an operating system for Lists. From the Ranker website - "We make it easy, fun, and social for users to Rank things – anything - via a Netflix-style drag-and-drop interface and a huge backend database...

 list of "the most famous classical guitarists of all time".

Early life and career

When Leon was six years old, his family moved to Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...

 from the former Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...

. His father was a musician and medical doctor. Leon was brought up on American jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...

 as his father appreciated the likes of Duke Ellington
Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...

 and Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong , nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana....

. His father also exposed Leon to a lot of classical music, especially those of Slavic extraction such as Antonín Dvořák
Antonín Dvorák
Antonín Leopold Dvořák was a Czech composer of late Romantic music, who employed the idioms of the folk music of Moravia and his native Bohemia. Dvořák’s own style is sometimes called "romantic-classicist synthesis". His works include symphonic, choral and chamber music, concerti, operas and many...

, Leoš Janáček
Leoš Janácek
Leoš Janáček was a Czech composer, musical theorist, folklorist, publicist and teacher. He was inspired by Moravian and all Slavic folk music to create an original, modern musical style. Until 1895 he devoted himself mainly to folkloristic research and his early musical output was influenced by...

 and Bohuslav Martinů
Bohuslav Martinu
Bohuslav Martinů was a prolific Czech composer of modern classical music. He was of Czech and Rumanian ancestry. Martinů wrote six symphonies, 15 operas, 14 ballet scores and a large body of orchestral, chamber, vocal and instrumental works. Martinů became a violinist in the Czech Philharmonic...

.

When his father's work contract expired in Algeria, he opted to return to Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

 rather than eastern Europe. During his time in Switzerland as a nascent classical guitarist, Koudelak heard Andres Segovia
Andrés Segovia
Andrés Torres Segovia, 1st Marquis of Salobreña , known as Andrés Segovia, was a virtuoso Spanish classical guitarist from Linares, Jaén, Andalucia, Spain...

  for the first time. This would galvanize, at quite an early age, his desire to be a musician.

In his later teenage years, he studied with the most famous guitarists and teachers such Karl Scheit (he was the last student of Karl Scheit) at the University of Music and Performing Arts, Vienna, at the Zurich University of Music and Arts with Konrad Ragossnig
Konrad Ragossnig
Konrad Ragossnig is a classical guitarist and lutenist.He was born in Klagenfurt, Austria, in 1932. He taught at City of Basel Music Academy, University of Music and Performing Arts, Vienna and The University of Zurich. He is editor of several books on guitar music such as "Step by step...

 and was one of the few students of Julian Bream
Julian Bream
Julian Bream, CBE is an English classical guitarist and lutenist and is one of the most distinguished classical guitarists of the 20th century. He has also been successful in renewing popular interest in the Renaissance lute....

 in Liechtenstein. He obtained the Bachelors degree, the Master
Master
Master or Masters are terms denoting some kind of rank or status, and may refer to:-Ranks and titles:* Master craftsman in the Medieval guilds* Master , a title...

 of Art Education
Art education
Art education is the area of learning that is based upon the visual, tangible arts—drawing, painting, sculpture, and design in jewelry, pottery, weaving, fabrics, etc. and design applied to more practical fields such as commercial graphics and home furnishings...

 degree, the Masters of Arts
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...

 degree and the Magister (degree)
Magister (degree)
Magister is an academic degree used in various systems of higher education.-Argentina:...

 in Vienna and Zurich . During his time in Vienna he studied as well Contemporary Music with Roman Haubenstock-Ramati
Roman Haubenstock-Ramati
Roman Haubenstock-Ramati was a composer and music editor who worked in Kraków, Tel Aviv and Vienna.Haubenstock-Ramati studied composition, music theory, violin and philosophy in Kraków and Lemberg from 1937 to 1940. Among his teachers were Artur Malawski and Józef Koffler. From 1947 to 1950 he was...

.

Shortly after he became a prize winner of the prestigious guitar competition “Fundation Jacinto e Inocencio Guerrero” in Madrid, he was contacted by a Swiss concert agency with which he signed a long-year contract and as well an exclusive contract with Tyrolis Music. 1989 He has recorded his first album with Tyrolis Music called : "Music from Spain, Brasil and Mexico" and 1993 the following CD “Modern Trend of Factories for Guitar". At this time he performed on music festivals and concerts in Europe, in countries like such Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

, Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...

, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

, Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...

, Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....

 and Slovak Republic, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

, the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

, Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...

, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

 or Liechtenstein
Liechtenstein
The Principality of Liechtenstein is a doubly landlocked alpine country in Central Europe, bordered by Switzerland to the west and south and by Austria to the east. Its area is just over , and it has an estimated population of 35,000. Its capital is Vaduz. The biggest town is Schaan...

. He did the premieres
Premières
Premières is a commune in the Côte-d'Or department in eastern France.-Population:-References:*...

 in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...

 of works by composers such as Roman Haubenstock-Ramati
Roman Haubenstock-Ramati
Roman Haubenstock-Ramati was a composer and music editor who worked in Kraków, Tel Aviv and Vienna.Haubenstock-Ramati studied composition, music theory, violin and philosophy in Kraków and Lemberg from 1937 to 1940. Among his teachers were Artur Malawski and Józef Koffler. From 1947 to 1950 he was...

, Karlheinz Stockhausen
Karlheinz Stockhausen
Karlheinz Stockhausen was a German composer, widely acknowledged by critics as one of the most important but also controversial composers of the 20th and early 21st centuries. Another critic calls him "one of the great visionaries of 20th-century music"...

, Michael Buchrainer.

In 1996 the albums “Joaquin Rodrigo – "guitar music" and 1997 “Pavana Triste" were released by Tyrolis Music and led him to major music festival
Music festival
A music festival is a festival oriented towards music that is sometimes presented with a theme such as musical genre, nationality or locality of musicians, or holiday. They are commonly held outdoors, and are often inclusive of other attractions such as food and merchandise vending machines,...

s and concert halls around the world. The album “Joaquin Rodrigo – guitar music" becomes one of the best selling CD in classical guitar music, highly praised by critics around the world.

1998 he did a interview with the guitar magazine "Gitarre & Laute". which earned criticism because of this statement about the classical guitar repertoire, which actually was misunderstood.

the 21st century

At the beginning of the 21st century, Koudelak flirted with Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...

, as there was a greater potential on interest in classical guitar and guitar players than anywhere else.
By chance, he met Woratep Rattana-umpawan
Woratep Rattana-umpawan
Woratep Rattana-umpawan born August 1, 1969 in Bangkok, is a classical guitarist from Thailand. He is founder of the Thailand Guitar Society and the Asia International Guitar Festival, Bangkok.-Life:...

 in Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...

 who suggested to found a guitar festival and make the classical guitar popular in Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...

. This has led to found the Asia International Guitar Festival in Bangkok
Bangkok
Bangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...

, which becomes the biggest guitar festival in Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...

 and led to an unusually high increase in interest for the classical guitar
in Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...

.
Finally after being the artistic director
Artistic director
An artistic director is the executive of an arts organization, particularly in a theatre company, that handles the organization's artistic direction. He or she is generally a producer and director, but not in the sense of a mogul, since the organization is generally a non-profit organization...

 of the LiGiTa (Liechtensteinische Gitarren Tage) over 10 years, Koudelak start to work at the same position in Bangkok
Bangkok
Bangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...

 for the Asia International Guitar Festival in 2001.
The same year he recorded in a prominent music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...

 studio
Studio
A studio is an artist's or worker's workroom, or the catchall term for an artist and his or her employees who work within that studio. This can be for the purpose of architecture, painting, pottery , sculpture, scrapbooking, photography, graphic design, filmmaking, animation, radio or television...

 in Bangkok
Bangkok
Bangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...

 the CD " Exotic Fruits" which was released 2002 by Tyrolis Music and became the CD of the year by French Technical Periodical " Les Cahiers de la Guitar".

In 2002, back to Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

, he led the premiere of the guitar concert “Evasion 2002 – “Eschner - guitar concert” by Michael Buchrainer with the “Symphony Orchestra Liechtenstein” at the Music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...

 Festival
Festival
A festival or gala is an event, usually and ordinarily staged by a local community, which centers on and celebrates some unique aspect of that community and the Festival....

 of Liechtenstein
Liechtenstein
The Principality of Liechtenstein is a doubly landlocked alpine country in Central Europe, bordered by Switzerland to the west and south and by Austria to the east. Its area is just over , and it has an estimated population of 35,000. Its capital is Vaduz. The biggest town is Schaan...

 (LiGiTa).
In the years 2003, 2006 and 2007 he went back to Europe to perform concerts but definitely stayed based in Asia.

"apoyando" and "sin apoyar"

Emilio Pujol
Emilio Pujol
Emili Pujol Vilarrubí was a composer and the leading twentieth century musicologist and classical guitar teacher.- Biography :...

 mentioned in his guitar school "Escuela Razonada de la Guitarra Vol I-IV" in four volumes, the "apoyando
Apoyando
Apoyando is a method of plucking used in both Classical guitar and Flamenco guitar known in English as 'Rest Stroke'. Apoyando is a method of plucking used in both Classical guitar and Flamenco guitar known in English as 'Rest Stroke'. Apoyando is a method of plucking used in both Classical...

" and "sin apoyar". Where the name "tirando" instead of "sin apoyar" comes from is not comprehensible but used in many new guitar methods.
The "apoyando" comes from the flamenco
Flamenco
Flamenco is a genre of music and dance which has its foundation in Andalusian music and dance and in whose evolution Andalusian Gypsies played an important part....

 tradition of playing guitar. With the "apoyando" it is possible to create a louder sound and clear tone. This is what Francisco Tárrega
Francisco Tárrega
Francisco de Asís Tárrega y Eixea was an influential Spanish composer and guitarist of the Romantic period.-Biography:Tárrega was born on 21 November 1852, in Vila-real, Castelló, Spain...

 and Emilio Pujol
Emilio Pujol
Emili Pujol Vilarrubí was a composer and the leading twentieth century musicologist and classical guitar teacher.- Biography :...

 introduce in the guitar technique. Andres Segovia
Andrés Segovia
Andrés Torres Segovia, 1st Marquis of Salobreña , known as Andrés Segovia, was a virtuoso Spanish classical guitarist from Linares, Jaén, Andalucia, Spain...

 was a great representative of this technique. Followed by John Williams
John Williams
John Towner Williams is an American composer, conductor, and pianist. In a career spanning almost six decades, he has composed some of the most recognizable film scores in the history of motion pictures, including the Star Wars saga, Jaws, Superman, the Indiana Jones films, E.T...

, Julian Bream
Julian Bream
Julian Bream, CBE is an English classical guitarist and lutenist and is one of the most distinguished classical guitarists of the 20th century. He has also been successful in renewing popular interest in the Renaissance lute....

, Pepe Romero
Pepé Romero
Pepe Romero is a world-renowned classical and flamenco guitarist. He is particularly famous for his outstanding technique and colorful musical interpretations on the instrument....

, Karl Scheit, Konrad Ragossnig
Konrad Ragossnig
Konrad Ragossnig is a classical guitarist and lutenist.He was born in Klagenfurt, Austria, in 1932. He taught at City of Basel Music Academy, University of Music and Performing Arts, Vienna and The University of Zurich. He is editor of several books on guitar music such as "Step by step...

, Eliot Fisk
Eliot Fisk
Eliot Fisk is an American classical guitarist.-Biography:Fisk was the last direct pupil of Andrés Segovia and is the holder of all reproduction rights to Segovia's music, given to him by Segovia's wife, Emilia...

, Flavio Cucchi, Marco Tamayo or Jorge Luis Zamora.
Leon Koudelak lived in the years 1983 to 1986 in Spain, learning with flamenco guitarists the flamenco technique. In that time he became a close friend of the master of Flamenco "Merenge de Cordoba". Later he changed from the Apoyando technique to a mixture between "apoyando" and "sin apoyar". The Barock, Classic
Classic
The word classic means something that is a perfect example of a particular style, something of lasting worth or with a timeless quality. The word can be an adjective or a noun . It denotes a particular quality in art, architecture, literature and other cultural artifacts...

 and Romantic repertoires are played with "sin apoyar", but in the music by Joaquin Turina
Joaquín Turina
Joaquín Turina was a Spanish composer of classical music.-Biography:Turina was born in Seville but his origins were in northern Italy . He studied in Seville as well as in Madrid...

, Joaquin Rodrigo
Joaquín Rodrigo
Joaquín Rodrigo Vidre, 1st Marquis of the Gardens of Aranjuez , commonly known as Joaquín Rodrigo, was a composer of classical music and a virtuoso pianist. Despite being nearly blind from an early age, he achieved great success...

, Manuel de Falla
Manuel de Falla
Manuel de Falla y Matheu was a Spanish Andalusian composer of classical music. With Isaac Albéniz, Enrique Granados and Joaquín Turina he is one of Spain's most important musicians of the first half of the 20th century....

 or other Spanish composers it is not possible to interpret the music correctly without the flamenco technique. In particular the Concierto de Aranjuez
Concierto de Aranjuez
The Concierto de Aranjuez is a composition for classical guitar and orchestra by the Spanish composer Joaquín Rodrigo. Written in 1939, it is probably Rodrigo's best-known work, and its success established his reputation as one of the most significant Spanish composers of the twentieth century. ...

 where the scales need to be played loud.
Today the "apoyando" almost disappeared as the performers use microphones and amplifier.
The real spirit from the Spanish guitar sadly disappeared as well and is only represented today by a few artists. But it continue to stay alive in the flamenco music and more and more classical guitarist like Pavel Steidl
Pavel Steidl
Pavel Steidl is a classical guitarist who was born in Rakovnik, Czechoslovakia , but has lived in the Netherlands for many years...

 discover this technique again.

Nowadays

Today, Koudelak resides in Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...

, on an extended respite from excessively touring.

He founded 2008, together with Woratep Rattana-umpawan
Woratep Rattana-umpawan
Woratep Rattana-umpawan born August 1, 1969 in Bangkok, is a classical guitarist from Thailand. He is founder of the Thailand Guitar Society and the Asia International Guitar Festival, Bangkok.-Life:...

,
the Thailand Guitar Society and teaches in Bangkok at Mahidol University
Mahidol University
Mahidol University is a public research university in Bangkok, Thailand. Established back in 1888 as School of Medical Practitioners, Siriraj Hospital and reorganized in 1943 as University of Medical Sciences . The university originally focused on Health Sciences but also expanded to other...

 (College of Music, Mahidol University
College of Music, Mahidol University
The Mahidol University College of Music is a Music Faculty in Thailand offering various degree programs, including Pre-College, Undergraduate, Masters and Doctoral programs in many areas of music. The Master of Arts in Cultural Study with an emphasis in music was offered in 1989...

) and Silpakorn University
Silpakorn University
Silpakorn University is a well-known public university in Thailand. The university was founded in Bangkok in 1943 by Italian-born art professor Corrado Feroci, who took the Thai name Silpa Bhirasri when he became a Thai citizen. It is the leading Thai university in the fine arts and archaeology,...

 and leads his own guitar class at the Thailand Guitar Society, which is attended by students from all parts of the world, mostly from Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...

 (India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

, Arabia, Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...

, Philippines, Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...

, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

, Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...

, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

 and Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...

).
In addition to being invited to play in music festivals, often with Woratep Rattana-umpawan
Woratep Rattana-umpawan
Woratep Rattana-umpawan born August 1, 1969 in Bangkok, is a classical guitarist from Thailand. He is founder of the Thailand Guitar Society and the Asia International Guitar Festival, Bangkok.-Life:...

 as guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...

 duo
Duo
-Arts:*Duet , a musical piece performed by two people*Duo, a musical ensemble composed of two musicians*Comedy duo, also known as a double act*Duo , 2008*Duo , 1991...

, he also organizes music festival
Music festival
A music festival is a festival oriented towards music that is sometimes presented with a theme such as musical genre, nationality or locality of musicians, or holiday. They are commonly held outdoors, and are often inclusive of other attractions such as food and merchandise vending machines,...

s in Thailand and acts as artistic director
Artistic director
An artistic director is the executive of an arts organization, particularly in a theatre company, that handles the organization's artistic direction. He or she is generally a producer and director, but not in the sense of a mogul, since the organization is generally a non-profit organization...

 at the Thailand Guitar Society.

To his classical guitar playing he improvises with passion
as seen in this video on youtube with Flavio Cucchi and Jorge Luis Zamora, write and arrange music for guitar.

In October 2011 Leon Koudelak's agency
Agency
Agency may refer to:* Agency * Agency , refers to a person who acts on behalf of another person.* Agency * Agency , the ability of social actors to make independent choices....

 announced a possible comeback
Comeback
A comeback is the return of a person of public interest, a style or fashion in the mid-point of media interest. The term is predominantly used in politics, sports and pop music. In the case of a band, the term reunion is used...

 on world
World
World is a common name for the whole of human civilization, specifically human experience, history, or the human condition in general, worldwide, i.e. anywhere on Earth....

 stage
Stage
- acting :Stage , a space for the performance of theatrical productions* Theatre, a branch of the performing arts, often referred to as "the stage"* The Stage, a weekly British theatre newspaper...

s to be expected during 2014/2015.

Honours and awards

Leon Koudelak is a prize winner of the prestigious guitar competition “Fundation Jacinto e Inocencio Guerrero” in Madrid and also received for his artistic performances the Appreciation Prize from the Federal Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture (Austria)
Federal Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture (Austria)
The Federal Ministry for Education, Arts and Culture is a ministry of the Austrian federal government. It has offices in Vienna...

, (Austrian Federal Ministry for Science and Research).

Discography

Leon Koudelak has an exclusive contract with Tyrolis Music, with whom he has recorded and released eight CDs so far, distributed worldwide by Amazon.com
Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...

 and other internet shops.
  • 1989 Guitar Music from Spain, Mexico and Brazil
    Guitar Music from Spain, Mexico and Brazil
    Guitar Music from Spain, Mexico and Brazil is Leon Koudelak's first studio album.Shortly after he signed an exclusive contract with Tyrolis Music, he recorded this album in the old Tyrolis Studios 1989 in Fussach, Austria...

  • 1993 Modern Trend of Factories for Guitar
    Modern Trend of Factories for Guitar
    -Legacy:The album was commissioned by the Department of Arts and Culture of the state of Vorarlberg, Austria.Leon Koudelak was approached to record works for guitar by the Austrian composer Michael Buchrainer.-The CD concept:...

  • 1996 Joaquin Rodrigo - Guitar Music
    Joaquin Rodrigo - Guitar Music (Album)
    The CD “Joaquin Rodrigo – guitar music" becomes one of the best selling CD in classical guitar music, highly praised by critics around the worldLeon Koudelak, as among many in the international music scene is known as "La mano santa de la guitarra" , released 1996 the CD “Joaquin Rodrigo – guitar...

  • 1997 Pavana Triste
    Pavana Triste
    -Legacy:The album is dedicated to the Austrian guitarist Dietmar Tiefenthaler. During the summer of 2006 Leon Koudelak and Konrad Ragossnig worked on the arrangement of Antonio José's Sonata for Guitar, as the Sonata by Antonio José in the Berben edition didn't correspondent with the facsimile...

  • 2002 Exotic Fruits
  • 2005 "Classical Guitar" best of...
  • 2011 Live in Seoul (album)
    Live in Seoul (album)
    The album "Leon Koudelak live in Seoul" is an album of live performances in Seoul, Korea, by Leon Koudelak. It was released to accompany the DVD, which features video of the performances. The sound was completely remastered and adjusted to a high quality stereo sound. The listening of the album...

  • 2011 Pavana Triste (Album new edition)


He recorded works from Dionisio Aguado
Dionisio Aguado
Dionisio Aguado was a Spanish classical guitarist and composer.-Biography:Born in Madrid, he studied with Miguel García. In 1826, Aguado visited Paris, where he met and became friends with and for a while lived with Fernando Sor...

, Anton Diabelli
Anton Diabelli
Anton Diabelli was an Austrian music publisher, editor and composer of Italian descent. Best known in his time as a publisher, he is most familiar today as the composer of the waltz on which Ludwig van Beethoven wrote his set of thirty-three Diabelli Variations.-Early life:Diabelli was born in...

, Lennox Berkeley
Lennox Berkeley
Sir Lennox Randal Francis Berkeley was an English composer.- Biography :He was born in Oxford, England, and educated at the Dragon School, Gresham's School and Merton College, Oxford...

, Michael Buchrainer, Antonio José
Antonio José
Antonio José was a Spanish composer.He was born Antonio José Martínez Palacios in Burgos, but later dropped his surnames. He became a music teacher at a Jesuit school, and conducted the city choir in Burgos. His friends included Federico García Lorca and Salvador Dalí...

, Maurice Ravel
Maurice Ravel
Joseph-Maurice Ravel was a French composer known especially for his melodies, orchestral and instrumental textures and effects...

, Joaquin Rodrigo
Joaquín Rodrigo
Joaquín Rodrigo Vidre, 1st Marquis of the Gardens of Aranjuez , commonly known as Joaquín Rodrigo, was a composer of classical music and a virtuoso pianist. Despite being nearly blind from an early age, he achieved great success...

, Joaquin Turina
Joaquín Turina
Joaquín Turina was a Spanish composer of classical music.-Biography:Turina was born in Seville but his origins were in northern Italy . He studied in Seville as well as in Madrid...

, Carlo Domeniconi
Carlo Domeniconi
Carlo Domeniconi is an Italian guitarist and composer known as a concert artist in both the classical and jazz idioms. Born in Cesena, Italy, he received his first instruction with Carmen Lenzi Mozzani at the age of 13...

, Manuel Maria Ponce
Manuel Maria Ponce
Manuel María Ponce Cuéllar was a Mexican composer active in the 20th century. His work as a composer, music educator and scholar of Mexican music connected the concert scene with a usually forgotten tradition of popular song and Mexican folklore...

, Heitor Villa-Lobos
Heitor Villa-Lobos
Heitor Villa-Lobos was a Brazilian composer, described as "the single most significant creative figure in 20th-century Brazilian art music". Villa-Lobos has become the best-known and most significant Latin American composer to date. He wrote numerous orchestral, chamber, instrumental and vocal works...

, Roland Dyens
Roland Dyens
Roland Dyens is a French classical guitarist, composer, and arranger.Dyens studied guitar with the Spanish classical guitarist Alberto Ponce and analysis with Désiré Dondeyne. He has won several prizes in competitions for classical guitar performance as well as for composition...

, Francisco Tarrega
Francisco Tárrega
Francisco de Asís Tárrega y Eixea was an influential Spanish composer and guitarist of the Romantic period.-Biography:Tárrega was born on 21 November 1852, in Vila-real, Castelló, Spain...

, Eduardo Martin, David Coverdale
David Coverdale
David 'Jack' Coverdale is an English rock singer, most famous for his work with the his own hard rock band Whitesnake which achieved massive commercial success.-Early life:...

, Glenn Hughes, Leo Brouwer
Leo Brouwer
Juan Leovigildo Brouwer Mezquida is a Cuban composer, conductor and guitarist. He is the grandson of Cuban composer Ernestina Lecuona Casado.-Biography:...

 etc.

DVD

The DVD Leon Koudelak: "Live in Seoul" was released 2008 by the Thailand Guitar Society.
  • currently only available in Asia.


The DVD Leon Koudelak: "Live in Seoul" remastered, "10th Years Anniversary Edition", was released by Tyrolis Classic in February 2011.

On his world tour 2001, the concert in Seoul
Seoul
Seoul , officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of over 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the OECD developed world...

 was recorded and broadcast
Broadcast
Broadcast or Broadcasting may refer to:* Broadcasting, the transmission of audio and video signals* Broadcast, an individual television program or radio program* Broadcast , an English electronic music band...

 worldwide
Worldwide
Worldwide may refer to:* Worldwide , 1991* Worldwide , a 2003 Christian rock album* "Worldwide", a song on Outlawz's 2001 album Novakane...

 by the Arirang TV
Arirang TV
Arirang TV is an international, English-language network based in Seoul, South Korea, operated by The Korea International Broadcasting Foundation...

 and shows a highlight
Highlight
Highlight may refer to:* In photography, any of the brightest parts of a subject, in contraposition to "shadow"* An especially significant or interesting detail or phenomenon.Highlight is also used in the following expressions:...

 in Koudelak's concert career.

Teaching and practicing

Leon Koudelak recommends: "First learn the rules, then you can break them". Practice technique exercises for the dexterity, the music in your head and play with your heart and soul!

Use tuning fork
Tuning fork
A tuning fork is an acoustic resonator in the form of a two-pronged fork with the prongs formed from a U-shaped bar of elastic metal . It resonates at a specific constant pitch when set vibrating by striking it against a surface or with an object, and emits a pure musical tone after waiting a...

 instead tuning machines. Read "Handbuch der Gitarre und Laute" by Konrad Ragossnig
or the translation from German to English from the "Chapter VI
The Guitar for the lesson".

Caution! High tension strings can damage your guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...

 as well your fingers!

Guitars

Leon Koudelak plays guitars by Karl Heinz Roemmich, Eduard. B. Jones (David Rubio
David Rubio
David Rubio, , 1934 - died Cambridge on 21 October 2000) was an English maker of stringed musical instruments. His creations included guitars, lutes, harpsichords, theorbos, vihuelas, citterns, panduras, and finally also violins, violas and cellos...

), José Luis Romanillos, Masaru Kohno, Masaki Sakurai and Yuichi Imai.

Charity Donation

Leon Koudelak support as well the Fr. Ray Foundation
Fr. Ray Foundation
The Father Ray Foundation is named after Father Raymond Brennan. The Foundation cares for more than 850 children without a family, street children, blind children and young disabled adults. The vision is "We Never Turn a Needy Child Away".- History :...

 with donations from the income of his activities. Particularly from the Pattaya Classical Guitar Festival & Competition.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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