Štěpán Rak (CZE)

In 1982, he founded the guitar department at the Music and Dance Faculty of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague, where he currently teaches improvisation. In addition, he mainly presents his original performances.
His style is very lively, often accompanied by singing or rhythmic elements. Sometimes it's hard to believe that what we hear is just one person playing one guitar. The so-called "Rak's tremolo" has become a legend in the world of classical guitar. Štěpán uses the technique of playing with all five fingers of his right hand on one or more strings at the same time. His lifelong effort is to present the guitar not only as a solo instrument, but also as an orchestra.
In 2006, he was gifted with a world-unique stone guitar from the workshop of the sculptor Jan Řeřicha.
Štěpán Rak is a personality who captivates his listeners with the intensity of the experience, mastery and the absolute fusion of performer and composer in one person with the soul of music.