A to Z Guitar Duo, Classical Guitar Duo

Touring 2026-2027 season, please contact AranjuezArtists[at]gmail[dot]com for more information.

Latest Project: new composition by Stephen Goss – “Cocktail List” (2022)

“Cocktail List” is a collection of twelve miniatures for two guitars commissioned by Zoran Dukić and Aniello Desiderio. The cocktails vary in length from just a few seconds to around three minutes. They take in a broad range of musical styles from Italian opera to Brazilian choro, from Berlin cabaret to Detroit funk. Many of the cocktails parody or pay homage to specific musical genres, while others are adaptations or distortions of existing music. For instance, “Iron Lady” draws on the style of Elgar’s ‘Pomp and Circumstance’ marches, while “Negroni” evokes the film scores of Ennio Morricone. “Alabama Slammer” is an arrangement of Kurt Weill’s “Alabama Song”, whereas “Caipirinha” and “Vieux Carré” rework pieces by Nazareth and Gershwin respectively. “Manhattan”, written in collaboration with pianist Graham Caskie, draws on several sources, including music by Rachmaninoff, Chopin, and Gershwin (again).

Zoran Dukić and Aniello Desiderio gave the first performance of “Cocktail List” at the Kurfürstliches Schloss, Koblenz, Germany, on 2nd June 2022, as part of the 30th Koblenz International Guitar Festival. The piece was funded by invited individuals who each chose a cocktail to be characterized in music, either for themselves or as a gift for someone else.

Check out the full video below!

Live in Barcelona

Biographies

A Duo of Unrivaled Mastery

When two of the most decorated titans of the classical guitar join forces in the 90s, the result was nothing short of a historical musical event. Aniello Desiderio and Zoran Dukić represent the pinnacle of contemporary guitar performance, blending Neapolitan fire with Slavic precision to create a duo partnership defined by “spectacular virtuosity” and “profound maturity.”
Combined, their trophy cabinets hold the world’s most prestigious honors, including double victories at the “Andrés Segovia” competitions and the “Guerrero” International Competition in Madrid. Their collaboration brings together two distinct yet complementary musical philosophies, creating a concert experience that has left audiences on their feet from the very first note.
The Artists
Aniello Desiderio
Hailed since childhood as “il Fenomeno” and the “Orpheus of the guitar,” Desiderio is a Neapolitan virtuoso who graduated with honors from the Conservatory of Music in Alessandria. A regular soloist at Carnegie Hall and the Berlin Philharmonie, he has been a preferred collaborator for legends such as Lorin Maazel and John McLaughlin. His playing is characterized by a “genius” level of expression that earned him the “Artist in Residence Award” from German Radio DLF.

Zoran Dukić
Regarded as one of the most distinguished classical guitarists of our time, Dukić is a master of stylistic versatility. From his “tour de force” competition years to his deep dedication to the works of J.S. Bach, his performances are noted for their “powerful inspiration.” Notably, he was the first non-Spaniard to be awarded the special prize for the best interpretation of Spanish music in Madrid, a testament to his “astounding mastery” of the instrument’s core repertoire.

Critical Acclaim
The international press has been unanimous in its praise for these two masters:
“Always the master of his instrument, Dukić demonstrated spectacular virtuosity over and over again together with a great maturity and powerful inspiration.”
— Il Gazzettino, Italy

“A guitarist of the century… il Fenomeno.”
— Music Critics on Desiderio

“A thrilling concert… the audience was on its feet already after the first piece… a phenomenal evening.”
— Gevelsberger Zeitung, Germany

Global Presence and Pedagogy
Both artists maintain a rigorous global touring schedule, appearing as soloists with the world’s leading orchestras, including the Virtuosi di Mosca, RSO Berliner, Vancouver Symphony, Oregon, and the Istanbul State Symphony, to name a few recent engagements.

Beyond the stage, they are two of the most sought-after educators in the world. Desiderio serves as a professor at the University of Music in Avellino and is invited for regular masterclasses at the Koblenz Festival, Mozarteum in Salzburg and many other universities and conservatories throughout Europe, while Dukić is often invited to similar biggest festivals and continues to inspire the next generation through his extensive premiering of contemporary works by composers such as Takemitsu, Henze, and Gubaidulina.

Together, Desiderio and Dukić offer a program that spans the history of the guitar—from the Baroque precision of Bach to the rhythmic intensity of South American Tangos—delivered with a level of technical authority that only two “masters of the century” can provide.
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