Congratulatory concert on the occasion of the 80th birthday of guitarist Štěpán Rak. With his son Jan-Matěj and the Prague Guitar Quartet, he will rock the Masquerade Hall with six guitars.
Guitar virtuoso, composer, professor at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague. Also, a photographer, traveller, lover of life - that's Štěpán Rak. In 2025 he will celebrate a significant anniversary of his life. On this occasion, the festival will present him with a congratulatory concert. He will perform both in solo pieces and together with his son Jan-Matěj, with whom he has been a sought-after virtuoso duo for many years. The Prague Guitar Quartet, whose members are students of Štěpán Rak, will also come to congratulate Štěpán on his 80th birthday. The ensemble is appreciated and recognized by the professional public and performs all over the world. At the end of the concert, a unique combination of six guitars will be heard in a composition by the birthday boy called Rumba.
Artists
Štěpán Rak – guitar
Jan-Matěj Rak – guitar
Prague guitar quartet: PGQ
Marek Velemínský
Eliška Holá
Matěj Freml
Patrick Vacík
Program
Štěpán Rak (*1945): Fanfares
Jaroslav Ježek (1906-1942): Isabel Valse
Štěpán Rak: Suite Again (selection) – dedicated to Alfred Strejček
Štěpán Rak: Moods (Lento cantabile, Allegro, Tombeau, Toccata)
Štěpán Rak: Variations on a Theme by Jaromír Klempíř
intermission
Štěpán Rak: Variations on a Baroque Theme (improvisation)
Antonín Dvořák (1841—1904): Poetic Moods op. 59, In the Old Castle
Štěpán Rak: Song for the Virgin Mary
Štěpán Rak: Fantasy-Rhapsody
Jaroslav Ježek: Life Is Just a Coincidence
Edvard Hagerup Grieg (1843–1907): Peer Gynt, Suite No. 1 op. 46 (selection) – Morning Mood, Anitra's Dance, In the Cave of the Mountain King
Štěpán Rak: Rumba