Szeged IGF is a multi-venue guitar amusement for open-minded individuals, bringing together the greatest players and hosting acts from all around the World.

It is for curious fans of guitar in any kind of genre, like classical, world, folk and even pop-rock and astonishing combinations with other arts in three cities, Szeged Budapest and Subotica (Serbia).

It is also a great networking platform for wits, competition / showcase for the best creative talents of classical guitar and masterclasses given by noted classical guitar players worldwide.

What to enjoy?

• Shows of the best classical guitarists from all over the World.
• The concerts of the greatest artists in any kind of musical genres.
• Exciting international competition of classical guitar.
• Astonishing combination of various art forms.
• Performances of many stages in more cities. Concerts take place in various venues such as concert halls, music bars, churches or your comfortable coach thanks to the live streaming.

What to learn?

• Interactive masterclasses for amateurs or professionals who can learn from noted musicians.
• Useful workshops held by experts who help to learn how to build a successful career or organize a popular festival.

The artists present a rich array of performances, masterclasses and lectures, highlighting the versatility of the guitar as a solo and ensemble instrument, also in different genres like classical, finger-style, flamenco, folk, singer-songwriter and even pop-rock. Celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Festival it will be organized not just in Szeged, but Budapest and Subotica (Serbia) too, collaborating Cultural Institutes, Embassies and music clubs.

From 2018, Szeged IGF is involved in EuroStrings , the European Guitar Festival Collaborative which is the first European platform gathering 14 classical guitar festivals from Croatia, Finland, United Kingdom, Germany, Austria, Italy, Holland, Montenegro, Bulgaria, Spain, Portugal, Estonia, Bosnia-Herzegovina.

This platform with an international reputation and professional structure enables promotion and education of emerging guitar players exchanging artists, events and one of Europe’s major guitar competitions. The ultimate aim is to help the Young Stars on the international scene, to foster the European market and to build a modern and positive classical guitar vibe with the rest of the world.

Szeged IGF is very proud to organize sold-out performances from the very beginning and to get ample media coverage for classical guitar. The festival was founded by guitarist-composer Dávid Pavlovits in 1999, he gave concerts in more than 30 countries at cult venue like Carnegie Hall in New York and Montreal, Moscow, Ankara, Shanghai as well. He is the head of guitar department at the University of Szeged which is one of the most successful and popular communities of classical guitar in Hungary. More winners of “Virtuosos", the Hungarian-developed talent show revolving around classical music, were students of David.

Aiding Young Stars with strong professional background, scholarships and by organizing concerts, our festival provides vasty attention and performance opportunities necessary for growing.

Founding the festival the aim was not only to create a long-lasting tradition in Szeged and its area, but also to bring the internationally acclaimed musicians to the local audience every year. We have already had artists from 31 countries of 5 continents.