Cem Duruöz | en

"His excellent stage presence complements his virtuosic technique and musical, elegant artistry.” said Grammy winner guitarist Sharon Isbin –one of the many accolades that guitarist Cem Duruöz has received from performers and critics alike.

With a recent cover article feature published by the UK based Classical Guitar magazine, Cem Duruöz was characterized as an "extraordinarily gifted player” and "cultural ambassador who delivered a generous and landmark introduction of new repertoire”. The American Record Guide/Music in Concert recently wrote: "His flawless classical technique, depth of color, long flowing lines, clean playing and tight rhythmic style made everyone listen in an entirely different way. In a total hush, I felt the audience transformed."

Mr. Duruöz has performed in four continents in countries such as Argentina, Brazil, Peru, Bolivia, Japan, France, Greece, Bosnia, Spain, Serbia, Kosovo, Poland, Mexico, throughout Turkey and the USA. His recent concert appearances include a return performance at the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall in New York in a program titled Guitar in Turkey, his Concierto de Aranjuez performances with the Turkish National Symphony Orchestra, a French Baroque Concert at the prestigious Istanbul Festival, recitals at the Baščaršijske Noći Festival in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Hondarribia Guitar Festival in France, Gliwice Guitar Festival in Poland, Ramon Noble Festival in Mexico and Semana de Guitarra Sainz de la Maza in Spain as well as the World Premiere performance of the Concerto Anatolia by David Hahn in Texas. His 2008-2009 season concerts include his UK premiere performance at the Purcell Room in London, Turkish premiere of the Concierto Anatolia in Ankara, recitals at the Minnesota Guitar Society, Marlow Guitar Series and Redwood Arts Council Series in the US and Circulo Guitarristico in Argentina.

A multi-faceted musician, Cem Duruöz has collaborated with bandoneón/tango master Raul Jaurena, gambist John Dornenburg and soprano Camille Zamora. A frequent soloist, he has appeared with more than ten orchestras regularly performing Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez among others, under the batons of such conductors as Michel Tabachnik, Angel Gil-Ordóñez, Antonio Pirolli and Erol Erdinç. In January 2008 he gave the world premiere performance of Concierto Anatolia, a guitar concerto featuring Turkish melodies and rhythms written for him by American composer David Hahn.

Cem Duruöz has released three CDs to international critical acclaim: His debut album Pièces de Viole,which features his arrangements of Marais’ French baroque gamba music, was released by Centaur and received rave reviews in magazines such as American Record Guide, Fanfare, Classics Today, Classical Guitar and BBC Music. Being a contemporary music enthusiast, he commissioned new works from emerging composers and recorded them in his second Centaur release Contemporary Music for Guitar along with masterpieces of the guitar repertoire by Walton and Davidovsky.

His most recent solo CD, Desde el Alma - Tango Classics was released in 2006 under ADA-Müzik label and called “A masterpiece” by Argentine critics. The CD features a variety of tango styles such as the milonga and vals as well as some of the most famous tangos transcribed by him using the interpretations of the legendary Argentine Tango orchestras of the 20th century. The CCGS Newsletter wrote: "His rich tone of execution is superbly captured on this high quality recording, as is the exactness of every note without any sacrifice of the rhythmic pulse.”

Turkish born guitarist Cem Duruöz (or "Gem" as pronounced in his native tongue) began his training with Safa Gürbüz and continued with Ahmet Kanneci. He won the first prize in the Turkish National Guitar Competition at the age of seventeen. Subsequently he participated in the master-classes of John Duarte, Oscar Ghiglia and Eliot Fisk in Europe, received his Master’s degree at the San Francisco Conservatory and completed his graduate guitar studies at The Juilliard School with Sharon Isbin. As an enthusiastic educator, Cem Duruöz has been giving master-classes throughout the world and teaching guitar performance at Wesleyan University in the USA. For more information please visit Mr. Duruöz’ web site: www.duruoz.com. .