Born in Málaga in 1984, Rafael Aguirre began his musical studies at the age of seven in Málaga Conservatory. He studied with Teresa García de Candido, Manuel Jesús Pérez Vela, Miguel Tojar and Javier Chamizo, always receiving the highest marks, and attended master-classes with Joaquín Clerch, Leo Brouwer, David Russell, Manuel Barrueco and Roberto Aussel. Winner of the Pujol, Arcas, Tárrega, Sor and Guerrero international competitions, he has played with the Málaga Young Philharmonic, the Robert Schumann Hochschule Symphony Orchestra, Almería Symphony Orchestra, the Valencia Collegium Instrumentale and the Andalusian Youth Orchestra. Since 2004 he has been studying with Joaquín Clerch at the Robert Schumann Hochschule in Düsseldorf. In 2007 he made his début recording for RTVE Musica.

 

The Swedish guitarist and composer Johannes Möller has captivated audiences throughout the world with charismatic and soulful performances. After playing his first public concerts at the age of 13, his performances now total over 500 and span Europe, Asia, South and North America. In 2010 he was awarded first prize in the GFA International Concert Artist Competition, considered by many to be the most prestigious guitar competition in the world, resulting in a 50-concert tour and a recording with the Naxos label.

As a performer, Johannes’s artistry has reached well beyond the usual guitar circles. This was confirmed in 2008 when he won the Dutch Vriendenkrans Concours where he was competing against performers in all instrumental categories. As a part of this award his name has been engraved on a metal plate that can be seen in the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. Critics have also noted his special qualities, writing of his playing "Guitarist Johannes Möller achieved miracles with his lucid, spacious playing." (London Evening Standard). At the age of 12, as a self-taught composer, Johannes experienced an outburst of creativity that resulted in a large quantity of pieces that were performed and recorded with great critical acclaim. A selection of these works was recorded on a CD with some of the top instrumentalists in Sweden when he was 14 years old. Recently, Doberman- Yppan has published a number of his works and his pieces are being performed by such groups as the Eden-Stell Duo.

Johannes plays Gregory Byers guitars fitted with D’Addario strings.

 

 

Jorge Caballero, the youngest musician and the only guitarist to win the prestigious Naumburg International Competition, is known for his dazzling virtuosity, his intense musicality and his spellbinding performances. He is widely regarded as one of the finest guitarists of his generation. Allan Kozinn of the New York Times called him a "superb young guitarist" and praised his rare combination of "a deft, powerful technique and a soft-spoken interpretive persona."

 

Critics have praised Mr. Caballero's daring in performing the most difficult pieces in the guitar's repertoire, often together in the same program.

 

He recently recorded Dvorak's New World symphony, transcribed for solo guitar, a piece that he is one of only two guitarists in the world to perform. His 2000 Musical Heritage recording of the Bach cello suites, which he transcribed, was highly praised by critics. He has also recorded a CD with soprano Theresa Santiago. A recording of Bach's keyboard works is in the planning stages.

 

 

This concert is presented by

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Born in Beijing, now based in the UK, Xuefei Yang (Fei) is acclaimed as one of the world’s finest classical guitarists.

Born following the Cultural Revolution, an era where Western music & instruments were banned, the fascinating story of Fei’s rise to the world stage is that of a musical pioneer. She was the first ever guitarist in China to enter a music school, and became the first to launch an international professional career.
Prodigious musical talent was evident at all stages.

Her first public appearance at the age of ten, at the China International Guitar Festival, received such acclaim that the Spanish Ambassador in China immediately presented her with a concert guitar. The composer Joaquin Rodrigo attended her debut concert in Madrid when she was fourteen and in 1995, when John Williams came to Beijing, he was so impressed with her playing that he gave two of his own Smallman guitars to her Conservatory especially for Fei and another top student to play.