Regarded as one of the most accomplished musicians of our time, Pablo Márquez takes the guitar to rare levels of expression, combining spontaneity and profound intellectual rigor. His extraordinary repertoire spans centuries, from the earliest lute and vihuela works to the most sophisticated contemporary compositions, many of which have been written for him.

Renowned for his unique sound, Márquez’s recordings for ECM and other labels are often considered benchmarks in classical guitar. His artistry has earned numerous prestigious distinctions, including the Grand Prix du Disque Charles Cros and the Japan Record Academy Award, along with universal praise from critics, including those of the New York Times and the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.

Beside his groundbreaking 2007 ECM debut Musica del Delphin, the first classical guitar recording of the iconic label featuring Luys de Narváez’s output, number of other solo and chamber music recordings appeared since then, including collaborations with soprano María Cristina Kiehr, cellist Anja Lechner, violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaja and fortepianist Jan Schultsz.

His discography also includes first recordings of works for guitar and orchestra, such as Luciano Berio’s Chemins V with Dennis Russel Davies and the Orchestra della Svizzera italiana, Luca Francesconi’s A fuoco with Susanna Mälkki and the Ensemble Intercontemporain, Zad Moultaka’s Hanbleceya with Lorraine Vaillancourt and the Nouvel Ensemble Moderne of Montreal, as well as Javier Torres Maldonado’s Fénix  with Maurizio Grandinetti, Jürg Henneberger and the Phoenix Ensemble. A second live-recording of Berio’s Chemins V with Jean-Michaël Lavoie and the WDR Sinfonieorchester of Cologne was awarded with the prestigious Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik.

A native of Argentina, Pablo Márquez studied guitar with Jorge Martínez Zárate and Eduardo Fernández, winning major competitions early in his career, including the Villa-Lobos competition in Rio de Janeiro and the Concours de Radio France in Paris. He later studied conducting with Rodolfo Fischer and Peter Eötvös, and followed the teaching of legendary pianist György Sebök, who would deeply mark his artistic development.

Márquez’s career has taken him in more than 40 countries, performing in the finest concert halls -from the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam to the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires-, and at major festivals such as Aix-en-Provence, Avignon and Ultraschall in Berlin. He appeared as a soloist with orchestras like the Radio France Philharmonic, the Bavarian Radio Orchestra, the Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie, the Sinfónica Nacional de Colombia and the Orquesta de Valencia.

A passionate advocate of new music, he has worked with some of the greatest composers of our time, such as Luciano Berio, Mauricio Kagel and György Kurtág, and has premiered over thirty works dedicated to him by composers such as Zad Moultaka, Roland Moser, Martin Matalon, Fuminori Tanada, Oscar Strasnoy, Ramón Lazkano or Arthur Kampela. He is particularly noted as the definitive interpreter of Berio’s Sequenza XI, a work he performed at the invitation of Pierre Boulez for Berio’s 70th birthday.

As a conductor, he founded the KlangMundo Kammerorchester in Basel, an ensemble dedicated to exploring the soundscapes of the world’s different cultures, combining music with action in the fields of human rights, ecology and humanitarianism. With this orchestra, he has already recorded Eduardo Falú’s Suite Argentina (forthcoming release), with Fabián Cardozo as soloist.

Márquez’s teaching career is equally distinguished. He is a Professor at the Musik-Akademie in Basel and he regularly offers master-classes all around the world. He was awarded a Chitarra d’oro in Milan for his video of Ponce’s Folia Variations, as well as a Konex Prize in Buenos Aires in recognition of his lifetime achievements.