About Julio Azcano

Different paths converge in the acoustic palette of Julio Azcano: the refining of his classical technique in his native Argentina, an intense activity in improvisation and composition projects in Europe, and an international performing activity that includes concerts in South America, Asia, Europe and the USA.

Julio Azcano has shared the stage with musicians such as Leo Brouwer, Dino Saluzzi, Juan Falú or Carmen Linares and has been invited to participate in prestigious festivals such as the "Menuhin Festival" Gstaad, "Guitar City" Warsaw (recorded and broadcast by the Polish National Radio), "Guitarras del Mundo" Argentina (participation in numerous festivals as well as a CD published by EPSA Music), Guitar Festival Lausanne, In Guitar Winterthur, among many others. His cross-border dialogue with different styles on the classical guitar allows him to constantly improve his musical expression as a soloist and in various ensemble projects: Current activities include his trio with Austrian jazz flutist Günter Wehinger and percussionist Claudio Spieler, the duo "Ayres" with Anatolian baglama player Taylan Arikan and collaborations with Latin Grammy award-winning guitarist Quique Sinesi, double bass virtuoso Juan Pablo Navarro, jazz guitarist and GIT teacher Sid Jacobs, saxophonist Javier Girotto, tango singer Marcela Arroyo and Yehudi Menuhin's favourite pupil Volker Biesenbender.

Since April 2013 he is a member of the Eos Guitar Quartet - praised by Leo Brouwer as "one of the best guitar quartets in the world" - playing music that guitar luminaries such as John McLaughlin, Paco de Lucia, Ralph Towner or Fred Frith have dedicated to the Eos.

Immersed in the strong Argentinean guitar tradition from an early age, Julio completed his Diplom in Classical Guitar in Mar del Plata and took private lessons with guitar virtuoso Eduardo Isaac. Subsequently, he continued his studies in Buenos Aires under the guidance and support of Pino Marrone, and began to incorporate elements of jazz and improvisation into his repertoire. In 2000, he won the first prize in both jazz and classical music at the National Biennial of Young Art, which gave him the opportunity to record his first album and began touring his country and, soon after, the USA and Europe. In Switzerland, he obtained a Master's Degree in Jazz and Improvisation from the Zurich University of the Arts and continued to refine his improvisational approach to jazz with Kurt Rosenwinkel and Ralph Towner. Currently he is a doctoral candidate at the Freiburg University of Music (Germany).

In addition to his artistic activities, Julio Azcano is regularly invited by internationally renowned institutions as a lecturer and jury member, and teaches regularly at the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland, where he has been based since 2004.