«Rovshan Mamedkuliev is a real musician. Classical guitar today needs more musicians, not just guitarists»
Roland Dyens (France)
«In the very first moment I heard Rovshan Mamedkuliev I felt that a real sensitive and eхpressive musician had appeared in the guitar scene giving our instrument one of its most appreciated gifts: „emotion“»
Ernesto Bitetti (Argentina-Spain)
Rovshan Mamedkuliev belongs to the constellation of the finest guitarists of our time. The opinions of authoritative music critics, experts, and listeners fr om every continent — from France, Italy, Spain, China, Thailand, and Brazil to Russia, Mexico, Canada, Japan, Germany, Switzerland, and the USA — are virtually unanimous. Rovshan’s performance style is described as «incredible, colorful, confident, sophisticated, unforgettable, stunning, and brilliant,» while the musician himself is hailed as a «unique, fiery talent,» a «poet of the guitar», and «one of the most exciting instrumentalists».
Rovshan Mamedkuliev is a laureate of more than 25 international and national competitions, including:
- First Prize and Special Prize for the best performance of Leo Brouwer’s works at the 10th Leo Brouwer International Guitar Competition (France, 2009);
- First Prize, Audience Choice Award, and Special Prize for the best performance of Heitor Villa-Lobos’s works at the 1st Heitor Villa-Lobos International Guitar Competition (Spain, 2011);
- First Prize at the 2nd Alexander Frauchi International Competition (Moscow, 2011);
- First Prize, Audience Choice Award, and Special Prize for the best performance of Francisco Tárrega’s works at the 48th Francisco Tárrega International Guitar Competition (Spain, 2014);
- First Prize at the 48th Michele Pittaluga International Classical Guitar Competition (Italy, 2015);
- Winner of one of the most prestigious classical guitar competitions — the 30th Guitar Foundation of America (GFA) International Concert Artist Competition (USA, 2012).
Rovshan Mamedkuliev tours extensively, performing on leading concert stages in Russia and abroad, including the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall, the Moscow International House of Music, and the Concert Hall of the State Academic Capella of St. Petersburg.
Rovshan’s guitar playing has been heard by audiences in Los Angeles, Toronto, Paris, Madrid, Berlin, Istanbul, Baku, Vilnius, Minsk, Tokyo, Seoul, Beijing, Bangkok, and many other cultural centers around the world.
In 2012, Rovshan gave a solo recital at the legendary Carnegie Hall (New York, USA).
During the 2013-2014 season, as part of his GFA winner’s tour, Rovshan performed solo concerts and held masterclasses in 50 cities across North and South America (USA, Canada, Mexico, Brazil).
In 2017, Rovshan Mamedkuliev performed a solo concert at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam (Netherlands).
Rovshan Mamedkuliev’s concert career is multifaceted. He successfully balances solo recitals with performances alongside orchestras and chamber ensembles. The guitarist’s extensive repertoire ranges from the Baroque era (Bach) to contemporary music, and includes his own transcriptions of works originally composed for other instruments.
Several collections of Rovshan Mamedkuliev’s arrangements have been published, including:
- Masters of Russian Composition: Alexander Borodin and Anatoly Lyadov (Mel Bay Publications, USA, 2014);
- Fikret Amirov: 6 Miniatures (LACG Editions, USA, 2015).
Contemporary composers such as Philippe Lemaigre (Belgium), Nikita Koshkin, Elena Lebedeva, and Sergey Rudnev (Russia) have dedicated new works specifically to Rovshan Mamedkuliev.
Rovshan has recorded two solo albums for the Naxos label (Canada, 2012, 2016), as well as the CDs Semi-Awake, Semi-Dream (Contrastes Records, Spain, 2015) and Con Anima (Soundset Recordings, Russia, 2011).
Rovshan Shahbaz oglu Mamedkuliev was born on May 12, 1986, in Baku, Azerbaijan. In 2009, he graduated with honors from the Glinka Nizhny Novgorod State Conservatory, wh ere he studied classical guitar under Professor Alexei Petropavlovsky, a laureate of the All-Russian Competition and Candidate of Art History.
From 2009 to 2014, Rovshan taught classical guitar at the Folk Instruments Department of the Nizhny Novgorod Conservatory. Since 2014, he has been an Associate Professor at the Maimonides Academy of the Kosygin Russian State University (Moscow).
Since 2020, he has served as an Associate Professor at the Department of String Folk Instruments of the Gnesin Russian Academy of Music.
For his outstanding achievements in the arts, Rovshan Mamedkuliev has been awarded the Prize of the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin (2006), as well as scholarships from the Governor of the Nizhny Novgorod Region and the Mayor of Nizhny Novgorod.
