Miloš Karadaglić

Biography

Karadaglić first started playing the guitar at the age of eight. By the time he was a teenager, the Yugoslav Wars were raging and, although Montenegro was spared from direct conflict, its citizens were isolated from the rest of Europe. Despite all obstacles, the 17-year-old Miloš successfully applied for a scholarship at the Royal Academy of Music and moved to London, where he has continued to live while keeping close ties with his family and homeland.

Kara (dark) dağ (mountain) means Montenegro in Turkish. Karadaglić is the slavicized form of the Turkish surname (Karadağli) meaning Montenegrin.

Career

His debut album was Mediterráneo (also titled The Guitar in some markets) which topped the classical charts around the world in 2011, and earned him both the prestigious Gramophone Young Artist of the Year and Echo Klassik Newcomer of the Year awards. In 2012, he was named Classic BRIT MasterCard Breakthrough Artist of the Year for his second release Latino. Gramophone, reviewing the record, commented: "Karadaglić is a guitarist of superior musical and technical gifts who allows his personality to sing through the music with taste and intelligence". Geoffrey Norris of The Daily Telegraph said: "The playing is lithe, subtle of timbre and transcendentally beautiful."

2012 was a breakthrough year on the concert stage for Miloš, with sold-out debut performances and tours in the UK, France, Netherlands, Switzerland, USA, Canada, Korea, Japan, Hong Kong and Australia. "Part of the reason Karadaglić has such a large following" commented The West Australian, "is his ability to straddle both hardcore classical and pop classical camps." This was echoed by the London press following his celebrated Royal Albert Hall debut of which The Guardian commented: "More extraordinary by far, however, was the way a single guitarist, playing an intimate and understated set, and equipped with a single microphone and some clever lighting, could shrink the Hall's cavernous space into something so close." The Independent concluded: “Defying its many critics to offer a dramatic and rounded evening of classical music, the guitar itself was the breakout star here – a sleight of hand that makes Karadaglić not only a magician, but a serious and accomplished musician”.

Miloš’ passion for the guitar is matched with an intuitive sense of how to bring the instrument across to his public – whether it be for an audience of 3000 in the Royal Albert Hall or an intimate chamber music performance for 100 people. He enjoys performing in the major concert halls as much as in non traditional venues such as New York’s Le Poisson Rouge, London’s Camden Roundhouse (iTunes Festival) and Deutsche Grammophon’s Yellow Lounge club nights in London, Berlin, Amsterdam and Seoul.

Miloš's 2013 schedule includes recital tours of UK, US, Germany and Japan as well as concerto performances with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. His schedule remains as challenging and exciting as ever; performances with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, the London Philharmonic, English Chamber Orchestra, Hong Kong Philharmonic, Bangkok Symphony and NHK Symphony Orchestra (Japan) feature alongside recitals from Boston to Berkeley, Taipei to Turin and other appearances such as at the esteemed Verbier International Music Festival in Switzerland. In 2013, he had a solo recital in Prague at the Prague Spring International Music Festival and in 2015 he was given a large ovation at the Czech Philharmonic New Year´s Concert in Rudolfinum, Prague.

The success of Latino/Pasión has led to a new 2013 release entitled Latino GOLD featuring thirty minutes of newly recorded tracks from a wealth of Latin America-inspired music.

Miloš is a patron of the Mayor of London’s Fund for Young Musicians and the charity Awards for Young Musicians.

Miloš uses D'Addario J46 strings and a 2007 guitar by Greg Smallman, kindly lent to him by Paul and Jenny Gillham.

On 18 October 2016, Miloš announced via Facebook that he would be withdrawing from performance owing to a problem with his hand.

Discography