Laura Lootens: Diabolico (Canberra)

About

With a sound that commands attention from the first note, Laura Lootens has emerged as one of the most exciting voices of the classical guitar. Her performances fuse fearless virtuosity with an impressive stage presence that is poised and dramatic, yet intensely communicative. At the heart of her artistry lies a fascination with contrast: for Lootens, tension and release are the lifeblood of music. The 2025/26 season brings major milestones, including her debut at the prestigious Concertgebouw Amsterdam and the Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, as well as three U.S. tours and an Australia tour. She also appears as a soloist with the Hessian State Orchestra Wiesbaden and the Heidelberger Sinfoniker, and performs Ponce’s Concierto del Sur with the Mittelsächsische Philharmonie. Her second album, Diabolico (Naïve, 2025), follows her acclaimed debut and was selected by Apple Music as one of its "Albums of the Month," spending weeks in the Apple Music Classical top charts. Gramophone praises her "exceptional command of the instrument" and her "capacity for pure theatre and drama." The magazine specifically highlighted her interpretation of Rochberg’s Caprice Variations, noting the "Lisztian tension between the facile and the profound." Among her honors are the First Prize and the Special Prize at the 2022 Andrés Segovia International Competition. She also received a scholarship and the Special Prize from the Deutsche Stiftung Musikleben. Laura began her studies with Professor Franz Halász at age fourteen. Only one year later, she began her Bachelor's degree as one of the youngest students ever at the University of Music and Performing Arts Munich. After earning her Master’s degree with distinction, she joined the university’s faculty at just twenty-two. What You’ll Hear Niccolò Paganini (1782–1840): Grand Sonata I. Allegro risoluto II. Romanza III. Andantino variato Joaquín Rodrigo (1901–1999): Invocación y Danza George Rochberg (1918–2005): Caprice Variations (