NEW CD RELEASE!

TRIO ELOGIO 

MOZART / RUŽDJAK / DVOŘÁK  

W. A.Mozart: Piano Sonata No. 8

M. Ruždjak: April is the Cruellest Month

A.Dvořák: Three Slavonic Dances

Trio Elogio is one of the most energetic guitar ensembles in today's classical music scene. Petrit Çeku (Kosovo), Pedro Ribeiro Rodrigues (Portugal) and Tomislav Vukšić (Croatia) bring new light to some of the greatest piano and orchestral music. Their interpretations have inspired contemporary composers such as K. Seletković, R. Rudi and H. Vasco Reis to write for guitar trio. 

As an ensemble, they've shared the stage with musicians such as S. Manz (clarinet), S. Cañón Valencia (cello), Sara Ferrandez (viola), Gili Schwarzman (flauta) and T. Ruždjak (soprano) in chamber music festivals throughout Europe. 

Petrit Çeku

Petrit Çeku's exquisite sensibility and expressiveness have attracted and engaged audiences worldwide. He has performed many recitals throughout the world and was a soloist with major symphonic orchestras such as Baltimore Symphony, Czech Chamber Philharmonic, State Hermitage Orchestra of St. Petersburg and Zagreb Philharmonic. He also appears regularly with the famed string ensemble Zagreb Soloists and is a founding member of Guitar Trio Elogio, established in 2008.

Hailed by guitar critic Colin Cooper as "a soloist of the highest ability", Çeku is the first prize winner of many international guitar competitions, including the most prestigious ones like Parkening (Malibu, USA), Schadt (Allentown, USA), Biasini (Bologna, Italy), and Pittaluga (Alessandria, Italy).

Born in 1985 in Prizren, Kosovo, Çeku graduated from the Zagreb Academy of Music, in the renowned class of Darko Petrinjak. He then went on to study with the great master, Manuel Barrueco, at the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore USA, where he completed his studies in 2013.

Çeku's first CD was released in 2008 by Naxos. In May 2015 the Spanish label Eudora issued his recording of all six Bach Cello Suites, arranged by Valter Dešpalj. 

Petrit Çeku plays on a Ross Gutmeier guitar.

Tomislav Vukšić

Tomislav Vukšić was born in 1980 in Zagreb, Croatia, where he began his music studies at the Vatroslav Lisinski Music School in the class of Ratko Podvorac. He graduated at the Zagreb Music Academy in the class of Darko Petrinjak and completed his master's degree at the Royal Conservatoire in Den Haag in the class of Zoran Dukić.

He has attended masterclasses of world-famous guitarists such as Pavel Steidl, Carlo Marchione, Pablo Marquez, Aniello Desiderio, Timo Korhonen, Angelo Gilardino, Thomas Offerman, Ana Vidovic and others.

During his studies in Den Haag, Tomislav Vukšić received a prestigious scholarship from the Huygens Scholarship Programme which is awarded only to the most talented students.

He has won many high prizes in national competitions in Croatia as well as international competitions such as First Prize and Prize of the Audience at Alhambra Gitaar Festival 2007 (Alkmar, Netherlands), Second Prize at Twents Gitaar Festival 2007 (Enschede, Netherlands), First Prize at Guitarmania 2006 (Almada, Portugal), Second Prize at the National Competition of Music and Dance Students 2003 (Dubrovnik).

Tomislav Vukšić has performed in many countries across Europe and is a member of Guitar Trio Elogio.

He currently teaches at the Zagreb Music Academy. 

Pedro Ribeiro Rodrigues

Pedro Ribeiro Rodrigues is a classical guitarist from Portugal. His interests range from performing to teaching and arranging music. Pedro's debut album, with his own transcriptions of sonatas by Carlos Seixas, is the only solo guitar recording entirely dedicated to the Portuguese composer.

Although his first passion was Karate, which he started intensively training at the age of 4, his elder brother soon taught him how to play several instruments. After his performance of Fado singing accompanied by José Fontes Rocha, the legendary Amália Rodrigues's guitarist influenced his parents to give him a formal music education.

Pedro R. Rodrigues studied with Dejan Ivanović in Conservatório de Música Jaime Chavinha in Minde (Portugal) and with Darko Petrinjak at the Zagreb Music Academy (Croatia).

Apart from being a soloist, he currently takes part in several chamber music projects, such as duos with soprano and flute. He is a founding member of Trio Elogio, with Petrit Çeku and Tomislav Vukšić.

He teaches guitar and chamber music in Zagreb and Amsterdam, and he is a co-founder and a permanent teacher of Youngmasters Festival in Samobor, Croatia. His students have won an impressive number of prizes in international competitions.

Lately, he's been presenting a new guitar teaching approach in his lecture "Well-tempered lesson". Pedro Ribeiro Rodrigues plays on a guitar made by Antonio Zwirn.