Rak and Rak

Štěpán Rak (born 1945) is a guitarist, composer, and improviser who will perform in all three roles at this concert. His distinctive "Rak tremolo" - a technique of playing with all five fingers of the right hand on one or multiple strings simultaneously - has become a recognized term in the guitar world. In 1982, he founded the guitar department at Prague's HAMU, where he now focuses primarily on teaching improvisation. Professor Rak's lifelong mission has been to present the guitar not only as a solo instrument but also as an orchestra.

Jan-Matěj Rak (born 1977) is a singer-songwriter, passionate amateur astronomer, photographer, and creative personality. He has arranged music by Jaroslav Ježek for solo guitar - including Bugatti Step and Three Policemen - and also works with arrangements of Baroque music, Antonín Dvořák, and Bedřich Smetana.

Father and son have been performing together for many years. Many compositions take their final form directly on stage, so the programme of each Rak and Rak concert is open-ended to a certain degree.