"a soloist of the highest ability."
Petrit Çeku, guitar
Petrit Çeku’s exquisite sensibility and expressiveness have attracted and engaged audiences worldwide. He has performed recitals throughout the world and was a soloist with symphonic orchestras such as Baltimore Symphony, Calgary Philharmonic, Czech Chamber Philharmonic, Daejeon Philharmonic, State Hermitage Orchestra of St. Petersburg, Pannon Philharmonic, and Zagreb Philharmonic. He collaborates regularly with The Zagreb Soloists and is a founding member of Guitar Trio Elogio.
Hailed by Calgary Herald as “an effortless player, with a strong, projecting sound”, Çeku is the first prize winner of many international guitar competitions, including the most prestigious ones like Parkening (Malibu, USA), Schadt (Allentown, USA), Biasini (Bologna, Italy), and Pittaluga (Alessandria, Italy). He was the only classical music act in the 2018 Night of the Proms Tour with the Antwerp Philharmonic conducted by Alexandra Arrieche, featuring pop music greats like Brian Ferry, Milow, Seal, and Suzanne Vega.
Born in Prizren, Kosovo, Çeku lives in Zagreb, Croatia, and graduated from the Zagreb Academy of Music in the class of Darko Petrinjak and at the Peabody Conservatory (Baltimore, USA) in the class of Manuel Barrueco. Petrit Çeku teaches Chamber Music for Guitar at The University of Music and Performing Arts in Graz, Austria. His recordings have been released by BuntArt, Cantus, Croatia Records, Naxos, and Eudora Records. Çeku’s album The Cello Suites, which includes all six cello suites by Bach was nominated for ICMA Award. Recording sessions for this album were the subject of the documentary film ‘Sarabande’ by the award-winning director Kaltrina Krasniqi. Continuing the collaboration with the filmmaker, Petrit Çeku later composed the original score for her feature film ‘Vera Dreams of the Sea’, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival 2021.
Petrit Çeku is a D’Addario artist and plays on a Ross Gutmeier guitar.
Notable music awards received include:
2019 Milka Trnina Annual Award
2012 JoAnn Falletta International Guitar Concerto Competition, Buffalo, New York, Audience Favorite and Musicians Favorite Honors
2008 Zagreb Philharmonic, Best Young Musician of the Year, Zagreb, Croatia
2005 Ivo Vuljevic Best Young Musician of the Year Award
For more information, please visit http://petritceku.com
RECITAL
Ferdinando Carulli (1770-1841)
Six Andantes, Op. 320 (19’)
No. 1: Andante affettuoso con poco moto
No. 2: Andante con moto
No. 3: Andante molto sostenuto
No. 4: Andante giusto
No. 5: Andante leggero e grazioso
No. 6: Andante risoluto
Hans Werner Henze (1926-2012)
Drei Tentos (7’)
Giulio Regondi (1822-1872)
Nocturne “Rêverie”, Op. 19 (10’)
INTERMISSON
Joaquín Rodrigo (1901-1999)
Un tiempo fue Itálica famosa (9’)
Claude Debussy (1862-1918) (arr. Tomorr Kumnova)
Three Preludes from Book I (17’)
No. 1: Lent et grave (… Danseuses de Delphes)
No. 6: Triste et lent (… Des pas sur la neige)
No. 8: Très calme et doucement expressif (… La fille aux cheveux de lin)
No. 9: Modérément animé (… La sérénade interrompue)
No. 12: Modéré (… Minstrels)
Joaquín Rodrigo (1901-1999)
Bajando de la meseta (7’)
CONCERTI
Joaquín Rodrigo (1901-1999)
Concierto de Aranjuez (24’)
Fantasía para un Gentilhombre (23’)
Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco (1895-1968)
Guitar Concerto No. 1 in D major, Op. 99 (21’)
Kreshnik Aliçkaj (1982*)
Guitar Concerto
Trio Elogio (recipient of the 2025 inaugural concert series at Zagreb’s largest hall – Lisinski)
Croatian Guitar Quartet (featuring Zoran Dukić).
Chamber – recent collaborations include the following artists and attractions
PIANO
Angela Hewitt
Aljoša Jurinić
Markus Schirmer
CELLO
Kian Soltani
Monika Leskovar
Kajana Pačko
VIOLIN
Marc Bouchkov
Susanna Yoko Henkel
Jonian Ilias Kadesha
VOCAL ENSEMBLE
Antiphonus
Programming repertoire included
Works with CELLO
Luigi Boccherini (1743-1805)
Cello Sonatas G. 4, 5 and 13 (Arr. Valter Dešpalj)
Arcangelo Corelli (1653-1713)
(arr. V. Dešpalj)
La Follia (12’)
Srđan Dedić (1965*)
Canzona (10’)
Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904)
Sonatina in G major, Op. 100 (Arr. Valter Dešpalj and Dušan Bogdanović) (18’)
Enrique Granados (1867-1916)
Intermezzo, from the opera “Goyescas” (Arr. Valter Dešpalj) (6’)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Sonata in A major, K. 331 (Arr. Valter Dešpalj) (22’)
Boris Papandopulo (1906-1991)
Suite
Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
Sonata in A minor, D.821 “Arpeggione” (Arr. Valter Dešpalj) (25’)
Works with VIOLIN
Béla Bartók (1881-1945)
Rumanian Folk Dances (7’)
Jules Messenet (1842-1912)
“Méditation”, from the opera “Thaïs” (6’)
Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
Sonata No. 1 in D major, D.384 (Op. 137) (15’)
Niccolò Paganini (1782-1840)
Cantabile (5’)
“Centone di Sonate”, M. S. 112
Sonata Concertata, M.S. 2
Astor Piazzolla (1921-1992)
Histoire du Tango
Works with FLUTE
Astor Piazzolla (1921-1992)
Histoire du Tango
Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco (1895-1968)
Sonatina Op. 205 (13’)
Jacques Ibert (1890-1962)
Entr’acte (5’)
Mauro Giuliani (1781-1829)
Duetto concertante in A-dur, Op. 52 (15’)
Works with piano
Valton Beqiri (1967*)
XX
Luigi Boccherini (1743-1805)
Grave and Fandango from G. 448 (Arr. Julian Bream)
Anton Diabelli (1781-1858)
Sonatina in A major, Op. 68 (8’)
Sonata in D minor, Op. 102 (13’)
Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco (1895-1968)
Fantasia, Op. 145
Carl Maria von Weber (1786-1826)
Divertimento in C major, Op. 38 (15’)
Works with VOICE
Manuel de Falla (1876-1946)
Siete canciones populares españolas
Benjamin Britten (1913-1976)
Songs from the Chinese, Op. 58
Ivan Padovec (1800-1873)
Selection of songs
Violin, Cello and Guitar
Nicolò Paganini (1782-1840)
Terzetto M.S. 69 (26’)
Viola, Cello and Guitar
Nicolò Paganini (1782-1840)
Terzetto M.S. 114 (26’)
Violin, Viola and Guitar
Ludwig v. Beethoven/Wenzel T. Matiegka
(1770-1827) (1773-1830)
Serenade in D major, Op. 8 (27’)
Violin, Viola, Cello and Guitar
Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)
Quartet in D major, Op. 2, No. 2 (18’)
Nicolò Paganini (1782-1840)
Quartets No. 1-10
Boris Papandopulo (1906-1991)
Quartet for Guitar and String Trio
Works with string quartet
Luigi Boccherini (1743-1805)
Guitar Quintets Nos. 1-9
Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco (1895-1968)
Guitar Quintet, Op. 143 (26’)
Maurice Ravel (1875-1937)
Alborada del gracioso (Arr. Petrit Çeku) (9’)
Works with string orchestra
Isaac Albéniz (1860-1909)
(Arr.: Petrit Çeku)
Granada
Asturias
Roland Dyens (1955-2016)
Tango en skaï (3’)
Mauro Giuliani (1781-1829)
Guitar Concerto No. 1 in A major, Op. 30 (23’)
Stanley Myers (1930-1993)
‘Cavatina’, from the movie “The Deer Hunter” (4’)
Ivan Padovec (1800-1873)
Concertino No. 1 in A major (10’)
Concertino No. 2 in D major (10’)
Boris Papandopulo (1906-1991)
Suite (20’)
Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
Sonata in A minor, D.821 “Arpeggione” (Arr.: Petrit Çeku) (25’)
Works with choir
Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco (1895-1968)
Romancero Gitano, Op. 152 (23’)
Rafet Rudi (1949*)
“Deti i varreve te hapura” (11’)
Moments Musicaux recording review
“This wonderful tribute to Franz Schubert (1797-1828) is quite simply remarkable […].As was the case in his preceding recording, devoted to the famous “Suites for Solo Cello” by Jean-Sebastian Bach […] , Petrit Çeku keeps on astonishing us by his playing, technique and enthusiasm that are rare.”
By Jean-Jacques Millo, Opushd.net
The Cello Suites recording reviews
«This is a recording for the ages»
By Fritz Balwit, Audiophile Audition
«It seems that guitarist Petrit Ceku has found the “voice” of his artistic soul»
By Jean-Jacques Millo, OpusHD.net
«I believe this could be one of those desert island discs you keep hearing about»
By Jean-Yves Duperron, Classical Music Sentinel
«Technically perfect»
By Aart van der Wal, OpusKlassiek
«I have already put this 2-disc album into my list of Records of the Year»
By John Miller, HRAudio.net
Quotations:
“an effortless player, with a strong, projecting sound” – Calgary Herald
“a soloist of the highest ability.” – Colin Cooper, Classical Guitar Magazine
Visit Eudora Records (website) for full track records and reviews
Moments Musicaux (2024)
The Cello Suites (2016)
Naxos Laureate Series (2008) | Reviews
