Denis Azabagić (born 1972) is a Bosnian classical guitarist. Denis Azabagić was born in

Tuzla Tuzla (, , ) is the List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, third-largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the administrative center of Tuzla Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2013, it has a population of 110,979 inha ...

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

and is married to

Eugenia Moliner ''Eugenia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the myrtle family Myrtaceae. It has a worldwide, although highly uneven, distribution in tropical and subtropical regions. The bulk of the approximately 1,100 species occur in the New World tropics, ...

(

flutist The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...

Musical background

In 1993, at the age of 20, he became the youngest winner of one of the most prestigious international guitar competitions Jacinto Guerrero and Inocencio Guerrero, in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

, Spain . Between 1992 and 1999, Azabagić won twenty-four prizes in international competitions, of which eleven were first prizes including Alhambra International Guitar Competition in 1996 and

Guitar Foundation of America The Guitar Foundation of America (GFA) is an American classical guitar nonprofit organization that was founded in 1973 at the National Guitar Convention sponsored by the American String Teachers Association. The foundation offers various ser ...

International Concert Artist Competition in 1998. In 1993 Denis Azabagić formed duo with a flutist Eugenia Moliner and as a member of the " Cavatina Duo" performed in concert halls and festivals in more than 30 countries. He has written a book published by

Mel Bay Melbourne Earl Bay (February 25, 1913 – May 14, 1997), known professionally as Mel Bay, was an American musician and publisher best known for his series of music education books. His '' Encyclopedia of Guitar Chords'', first published in 197 ...

, ''On Competitions'', based on his experience during these years. Azabagić has recorded seven CDs for international labels such as Naxos, Cedille, Opera Tres and Orobroy as well as two DVDs for Mel Bay. As a guest instrumentalist and soloist Azabagić has appeared with the

Chicago Symphony Orchestra The Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) is an American symphony orchestra based in Chicago, Illinois. Founded by Theodore Thomas in 1891, the ensemble has been based in the Symphony Center since 1904 and plays a summer season at the Ravinia F ...

Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra The Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Tallahassee, Florida that was founded in 1979, with Nicholas Harsanyi as director. Harsanyi was a noted violist and a student of Béla Bartók, who later played chamber music wi ...

Illinois Symphony Orchestra Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

, Sacramento Chamber Orchestra,

Madrid Symphony Orchestra Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

Orchestre Royal de Chambre de Wallonie The Orchestre Royal de Chambre de Wallonie () is a Belgian chamber orchestra based in Mons. History The Orchestra was founded in 1958 by the violinist Lola Bobesco and its leadership was entrusted successively to the concertmasters Philippe Hirsc ...

, among others. He has been a guest performer at Chicago's

Symphony Center Symphony Center is a music complex located at 220 South Michigan Avenue in the Loop area of Chicago, Illinois. Home to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO); Chicago Symphony Chorus; Civic Orchestra of Chicago; and the Institute for Learning, ...

, Masters of the Guitar at the

Royal Concertgebouw The Royal Concertgebouw (, ) is a concert hall in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The Dutch term "concertgebouw" translates into English as "concert building". Its superb acoustics place it among the finest concert halls in the world, along with Boston' ...

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

Radio France Radio France () is the French national public radio broadcaster. Stations Radio France offers seven national networks: *France Inter — Radio France's "generalist media, generalist" station, featuring entertaining and informative talk mixed wi ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

Aix-en-Provence Festival The Festival d'Aix-en-Provence is an annual international music festival which takes place each summer in Aix-en-Provence, principally in July. Devoted mainly to opera, it also includes concerts of orchestral, chamber, vocal and solo instrumenta ...

, France, El Palau de la Musica,

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

, Spain,

Savannah on Stage A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) biome and ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ...

, United States, Omni Foundation, USA,

Ravinia Festival Ravinia Festival is a primarily outdoor music venue in Highland Park, Illinois. It hosts a series of outdoor concerts and performances every summer from June to September in a wide variety of musical genres from classical to pop. The first orche ...

, USA, National Chang Kai Shek Cultural Center, Taiwan, and the National Center for the Performing Arts,

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

, China. Azabagić's performances have been broadcast live on radio (

NPR National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

WFMT WFMT (98.7 MHz) is a commercial FM radio station in Chicago, Illinois, with a classical music radio format. It is part of Window to the World Communications, Inc, in the same company as Chicago's PBS member station WTTW. WFMT seeks donations ...

) and television in Asia, Europe and the United States.

References

External links

Homepage
www.azabagic.com
Cavatina DuoAn Interview with Denis Azabagic
1972 births Living people Musicians from Tuzla Bosnia and Herzegovina classical guitarists Roosevelt University faculty Bosniaks of Bosnia and Herzegovina 21st-century guitarists Cedille Records artists {{BosniaHerzegovina-musician-stub