Leon Koudelak

Early life and career

In his teenage years, Koudalek studied with guitarists and teachers including Karl Scheit (Koudelak was one of his last students) at the University of Music and Performing Arts, Vienna, at the Zurich University of Music and Arts with Konrad Ragossnig and was one of the few students of Julian Bream in Liechtenstein l. He obtained a Bachelor's degree, a Master of Art Education degree, the Masters of Arts degree and the Magister (degree) in Vienna and Zurich . During his time in Vienna he studied as well Contemporary Music with Roman Haubenstock-Ramati.

Koudelak lived from 1983 to 1986 in Spain, learning with flamenco guitarists the flamenco technique. In that time he became a friend of the flamenco guitarist Merenge de Cordoba. Later he changed from the apoyando technique to a combination of apoyando and sin apoyar.

Shortly after he became a prize winner of the guitar competition Fundación Jacinto e Inocencio Guerrero in Madrid, he was contacted by a Swiss concert agency with which he signed a long-year contract as well an exclusive contract with Tyrolis Music. In 1989 he recorded his first album with Tyrolis Music, Guitar Music from Spain, Mexico and Brazil, and in 1993 the CD Modern Works for Guitar. He performed at music festivals and concerts in Europe, in Germany, Great Britain, Spain, Portugal, Czech Republic and Slovak Republic, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, Hungary, France, Greece or Liechtenstein. He performed premieres in Vienna of works by the composers Roman Haubenstock-Ramati, Karlheinz Stockhausen, and Michael Buchrainer

The 1996 album Joaquin Rodrigo - Guitar Music and the 1997 Pavana Triste were released by Tyrolis Music and led him to music festivals and concert halls.

21st century

In 2000, after a concert in Bangkok in 2001, he met Woratep Rattana-umpawan and suggested that he found a guitar festival, and offered his help to make the classical guitar popular in Asia. This led to the founding of the Asia International Guitar Festival in Bangkok. After being the artistic director of the LiGiTa (Liechtensteinische Gitarren Tage) over 10 years, Koudelak start to work at the same position in Bangkok for the Asia International Guitar Festival in 2001. In the same year, he recorded in a music studio in Bangkok the CD Exotic Fruits, which was released 2002 by Tyrolis Music and became the CD of the year by the French technical periodical Les Cahiers de la Guitar.

In 2002, he led the premiere of the guitar concert "Evasion 2002 – "Eschner - guitar concert" by Michael Buchrainer with the "Symphony Orchestra Liechtenstein at the Music Festival of Liechtenstein (LiGiTa). In the years 2003, 2006 and 2007 he went back to Europe to perform concerts but stayed based in Asia.

Car accident and respite from excessively touring

Since end of 2005, Koudelak resides in Thailand, on an extended respite from excessively touring.

In June 2005, on the way from Switzerland to perform a concert in Barcelona, Spain, with his sport car, Alfa Romeo, Koudelak was involved in a car accident with a triple disc herniation. He was immediately flown by helicopter to the Kantonsspital St. Gallen to do a surgical procedure, a spinal cord injury. He recovered within six months and returned to performing in concerts. He founded in 2008, together with Woratep Rattana-umpawan, the Thailand Guitar Society and teaches in Bangkok at Mahidol University (College of Music, Mahidol University) and Silpakorn University 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 (India, Arabia, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Japan, Singapore, China and Vietnam). In addition to being invited to play at music festivals and other music events in Asia, often with Woratep Rattana-umpawan as guitar duo, he also organizes music festivals in Thailand and acts as artistic director at the Thailand Guitar Society.

Comeback and current work

In an interview in June 2012 for the Japanese guitar magazin "Homa Dream", In August 2012, Koudelak agreed to cooperate with the Indonesia Guitar Society and was appointed as chairman of the steering committee of the Indonesia International Guitar Festival & Competition. Furthermore, he was included in February 2013, as a member of the Honour Committee for the Tirana International Guitar Festival & Competition (Albania).

His 2013 Europe concert tour started in Brussels at the Brussels International Guitar Festival on 26 April 2013 and ended at the Tirana International Guitar Festival on 25 May 2013.

A concert tour in Asia followed from June until December 2013 with confirmed dates in Bangkok, Jakarta, Tokyo, Kathmandu and Singapore.

Since 2013, Leon Koudelak performs regularly in Europe and Asia and was invited to prestigious guitar festivals like Iserlohn Guitar Symposium in Germany, Forum Gitarre Vienna in Austria, Liechtensteiner Gitarren Tage, Liechtenstein, Moisycos International Music Festival, Italy, Hibernal de Chitara, Bucharest, Romania, Asia International Guitar Festival, Bangkok, Thailand, Pattaya Classical Guitar Festival, Thailand, Indonesia International Guitar Festival, Jakarta, Indonesia, Kathmandu International Guitar Festival, Nepal, Calcutta International Guitar Festival, India, Delhi International Guitar Festival. India.

Honours and awards

Koudalek is a prize winner of the guitar competition "Fundación Jacinto e Inocencio Guerrero" in Madrid, and received for his artistic performances the Appreciation Award from the Federal Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture (Austria), (Austrian Federal Ministry for Science and Research).

The CD Exotic Fruits, released in 2002 by Tyrolis Music was awarded as "the best CD of the year" by French Technical Periodical "Les Cahiers de la Guitare".

In August 2012, Koudelak was appointed as chairman of the steering committee of the Indonesia International Guitar Festival & Competition. and became 2013 member of the honours committee for the Tirana International Guitar Festival Competition.

Discography

Koudelak has an exclusive contract with Tyrolis Music, with whom he has recorded and released eight CDs so far.

He recorded works by Dionisio Aguado, Anton Diabelli, Lennox Berkeley, Michael Buchrainer, Antonio José, Maurice Ravel, Joaquin Rodrigo, Joaquin Turina, Carlo Domeniconi, Manuel Maria Ponce, Heitor Villa-Lobos, Roland Dyens, Francisco Tarrega, Jon Lord, David Coverdale, Glenn Hughes, Leo Brouwer, Eduardo Martin and others.

DVD

The DVD Leon Koudelak: "Live in Seoul" was released 2008 by the Thailand Guitar Society.

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

On his world tour 2001, a concert in Seoul was recorded and broadcast worldwide by Arirang TV.