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The Austrian guitarist and lutenist, Konrad Ragossnig, studied with Professor Karl Scheit in Vienna. His career began with the first prize award at the 1961 Concours International de Guitare in Paris.
Since then, concert tours have taken Konrad Ragossnig throughout the world and to prestigious festivals such as Salzburg, Vienna, Ossiach, Hohenems/Feldkirch, Ansbach, Berlin, Schwetzingen, Luxembourg, Festival van Vlaanderen, Paris, Ann Arbor and Osaka, amongst others.
Konrad Ragossnig has a particular predilection for guitar chamber music, which he performs with various musicians among them tenors Peter Schreier, and Kurt Equiluz, and Ian Partridge; flutists Peter-Lukas Graf, Aurèle Nicolet, Hans-Martin Linde, and Werner Tripp; cellist Marek Jerie; and and his son, harpsichordist Thomas Ragossnig; as well the Barchet Quartet Stuttgart, the Berner String Quartet, the Kyndel String Quartet Stockholm, the Prague String Quartet, the Kyndel String Quartet Stockholm and Festival Strings Lucerne. He has performed in concert as a soloist with famous symphony and chamber orchestras in Austria and abroad.
Konrad Ragossnig's repertoire ranges from Renaissance lute music to contemporary guitar music, and he has premiered works by two dozen composers, such as Hans Erich Apostel, Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Friedrich Cerha, Hans Werner Henze, and Pierre Wissmer. He also enjoys playing chamber works where the guitar has been neglected, such as in Schubert's Die schöne Müllerin, which he has performed with Peter Schreier at the Salzburg Festival.
Konrad Ragossnig has made a large number of radio and TV performances and has produced over 60 records and CD recordings for renowned classic labels. Among the many prizes he has been awarded are the Grand Prix du Disque and the Edison Award. His six-part anthology "Musik für Laute" (DG/Archiv) was selected by the German record magazine Fono Forum for the "Guitar and Lute music" section as Record of the Century. The recordings show a varied repertoire that ranges from lute music of the Renaissance to works of contemporary music for the guitar. He has published approximately 70 music editions for both guitar and lute of lute and guitar music, ranging from basic technique to arrangements of works such as Falla's Suite Populaire Espagnole (arranged for cello and guitar), and performing editions of works like J.S. Bach's Fugue for Lute, BWV 1000.
From 1964 to 1983 Konrad Ragossnig taught at the Music Academy in Basel. In 1983 he was offered a chair as full professor at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna. From 1989 to 1997 he was also guest professor at the Conservatoire Zürich and held many master-classes in several European countries, the USA and Japan. He is also a member of the jury at important international competitions, including Paris, Munich, Brussels/Walcourt, Geneva and Vienna. |
