Stepan Rak (1945) 14 Pavan* 15 Rumba*

The Czech composer and guitar player Stepan Rak (1945) grew up in Prague and showed a great interest for art in general at an early age. Before he made a definite choice, he led the rockgroup 'The Racks' and a career as an artist and photographer seemed to be in the offing for him. However, his real passion appeared to be classical music and he decided to study the guitar seriously. After he had graduated at the Academy of Arts in Prague (where he had studied the guitar with Stepan Urban and composition with Jiri Dvoracek) he has become a guitar player who is much sought-after. He has given concerts in Australia, New Zealand, the USA and almost all European countries. He is especially famous for his great talent to improvise on the guitar. Stepan Rak receives recognition as a composer as well: internationally known soloists like John Williams and Vladimir Mikulka play his works during their concerts and there are many CDs available on which his compositions, varying from solo pieces to works for symphony orchestra. Nowadays he spreads his time among concert tours, masterclasses and the great number of composition orders he gets. Het Consort played contemporary music for Stepan Rak during a masterclass at the 30th International Guitar Festival in Zwolle. Among the performed pieces was Rak's 'Rumba,' a composition hewrote for the Prague guitar quartet. He was very pleased with the arrangement and the performance. "I like it even more," he said, and gave his approval to make arrangements of other compositions by his hand as well. This resulted in an arrangement of his 'Pavan,' a penetrating composition which resembles an elegy because its dramatic character, and seemsto be a complaint against all that is wrong. What fits in this context is a saying by Stepan Urban that Rak subscribes to: "...that whenever you touch the guitar, not only with your hands but in your imagination, try to believe you are in a great theatre of the world, and what happens there concerns you and all of us". Contrary to the 'Pavan,' the quick 'Rumba' with its percussion elements leaves a totally different impression: before you realize it, it is over.

Alex Timmerman ©2000

The CD “Aranci in Fiore” is sold out.