Biography
Born on October 6th, 1954, Ante ÄŒagalj graduated from Zagreb Academy of Music and Academia Benedetto Marcello in Venice. He is the headmaster of the classical guitar department at the Elly BaÅ¡ić Music School and has a class of guitar and chamber music at the Zagreb Academy of Music. Since 1993, he has lead masterclasses of guitar solo and chamber music at the International Summer School Upbeat in Islands of Hvar and KorÄula, Croatia.
His students have won numerous awards at national and international competitions in Croatia, Poland, Italy and Czech Republic. In 1996, at the International competition Trofeo Kawai in Tortona, Italy, he was proclaimed the most successful teacher with four prizes won by his students. He gives masterclasses and is a member of the jury in various national and international competitions in Croatia, Slovenia and Italy.
Ante ÄŒagalj transcribed a lot of music originally composed for organ, piano, harpsichord, violin, orchestra, etc., for guitar solo and guitar ensembles.
Guitar days in Zagreb, a festival founded and organized by Ante ÄŒagalj, is a meeting of guitarists and guitar ensembles from Croatia and abroad.
In 1990 he formed the Zagreb Guitar Quartet and remains the ensemble’s artistic director until the present day.
He received the Annual Award of the Croatian Music and Dance Teachers Association in 1998, and the National Award Ivan Filipović in 1999.
