How does the reality of your career compare to what you originally expected? What do you enjoy most, and what has been more difficult?

 

What I absolutely love is the chance to meet people from all over the world — not just professionally, but socially. If you enjoy traveling to festivals and musical events, you get exposed to many cultures and form meaningful, often unexpected connections. The guitar community is quite small, but you find surprising things in common, and that creates a special kind of beauty. And it’s very fulfilling to see your hard work pay off.

 

What I really don’t like — and what even made me question whether I should continue at one point — is how much this field depends on connections. Job and concert opportunities, even competition prizes, don’t always come down to merit. There’s a lot of politics, and sometimes you’re simply affected by things beyond your control. Some people are born into the right place or family, and others are not — and that creates a real imbalance in how much effort people have to make to reach the same place.

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I really dislike the idea that competitions are seen as the only path to a career. Do you see them that way?

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No, absolutely not. I take part in competitions because — and this might sound like a cliché — they’re a great source of personal development. I get to hear other musicians, meet inspiring performers, and that raises my own standards. I become more demanding of myself.

 

Even if I win a first prize, I still pay close attention to how others play. Being surrounded by hardworking and talented people motivates me to keep improving. But of course, winning prizes alone isn’t enough. How many people do we know who won the GFA and then, a few years later, just disappeared from the scene?

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Why do some winners fade away after a few years?

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The world has changed. Twenty years ago, there were fewer guitar competitions and fewer competitors. Winning often led directly to offers — like a teaching position. Now, there are many competitions and many talented players, and even if you win, getting a conservatory job requires going through a lengthy application and audition process.

 

Also, nowadays, if you don’t promote your success, people might not even know about it. Social media is the most powerful publicity tool we have. If you don’t use it, your achievement may go unnoticed. But if you do, it becomes much more visible and real!

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What was your experience like performing at the Joseph Kaspar Mertz Festival?

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The hall was very nice, and the audience was incredibly enthusiastic. They kept clapping after each piece, asking for encores… it really felt like they were enjoying the concert. The hall was also completely full, which was a very positive surprise. There are excellent guitar festivals where the concerts aren’t full — even some that are “more famous.” So this really stood out.

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What’s going on in your mind while you’re performing? What do you focus on, and how do you listen to yourself?

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It’s hard to say. You enter a different world — the inner dimension of the pieces. I think about the historical period, and the social and cultural background of the music.

 

For instance, with The Old Lime Tree by Sergey Rudnev, I think about the traditional folk roots — the drama in the simplicity of the melody. That’s very typical of that tradition. When I play Telemann, I think about Baroque aesthetics — and also what Carlo Marchione, who arranged the piece, brought into it. I focus a lot on that, and on the sound I’m creating with the guitar in relation to the space. That’s why playing in a good concert hall is so important to me.

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How does the current guitar scene, full of outstanding players, affect your choice of repertoire? Do you think it's important to go beyond the standard works.

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I think it depends on your musical personality. Some guitarists have an identity that fits perfectly with the established repertoire — they’ve practiced it for years and keep it as their core program. That’s fine. The pieces are well chosen, deeply worked through, and they suit them.

 

But I also believe the newer generation has a responsibility to bring something different. Even when playing composers like Mauro Giuliani, we can choose lesser-known works and bring our own voice into them. That’s how we begin to make history — by offering convincing interpretations of pieces that weren’t commonly played.

 

Sometimes those pieces were overlooked because people didn’t think they were good enough, or because scores weren’t easily available. But once we include them in our concerts with conviction, they can become part of the norm — and others will follow. That’s the mission: to bring something fresh.

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What are your dreams for the future — as a guitarist and as an artist?

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I do have dreams and many objectives. Right now, I’m still finishing my studies and competing, so I’m balancing a lot. But in the future, I’d love to teach at a conservatory and have my own guitar class — a space where students feel inspired to follow their own artistic path, with quality, structure, and the best tools I can give them.

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As a performer, I want to expand the repertoire — through new compositions and arrangements, both mine and those of my friends. But it’s hard to manage everything: studying, teaching, competing, arranging, composing, and performing.

 

​Just one last question — imagine young teenage guitarists dreaming of a professional career. What advice would you give them at the start of their journey?

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You’re going to face situations where your work goes unrecognized. Sometimes, people will ask you to play for free. But you have to keep working hard, with no excuses. Be methodical. Stay focused. Be consistent. Also, promote your work. Even small achievements — post them on social media, share them with local newspapers, make connections. Many great guitarists don’t get noticed simply because they don’t promote themselves. And others, who may not be as strong musically, become famous because they understand marketing.

 

And what to avoid? Don’t let professors or others make you doubt your musical identity. There will always be people who love what you do — and people who don’t. Some may try to push you to change. But you don’t have to.​ You can always follow your own musical path. That’s what you have to offer — your personality. There are young players, fifteen years old, who can play Joaquín Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez or Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s Caprichos de Goya without a mistake. But what really defines you is your musical voice.

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​Don’t be brought down by conservative thinking that tells you you’re doing it wrong or need to fit a certain mold. Listen to opinions, sure — but stay true to who you are.