Only rarely do we find an artist with the range of musicianship of Aliéksey Vianna. He is equally at home performing classical guitar solos, concerti, chamber works, jazz and Brazilian music with unique artistry and a technical expertise that are compelling to critics and the general public alike.
Born in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, Aliéksey has performed in prestigious music venues in over thirty countries throughout Europe, the Americas, Africa and the Middle East. Some of his recent engagements include New York’s Carnegie Hall, San Francisco’s Jazz Club Yoshi’s, Basel’s Stadtcasino, Cairo’s Opera House, Mexico City’s Nezahualcoyotl and Sao Paulo’s Sala Guiomar Novaes.
Aliéksey often performs as a soloist with orchestras such as the Sinfonieorchester Basel (Switzerland), Turku Philharmonic (Finland), Filarmonia das Beiras (Portugal), Orquesta Ciudad de Almeria (Spain) and the Aukso Tychy Chamber Orchestra (Poland). He has also been working in chamber settings with musicians of the highest caliber, such as the Artaria Quartet, Peter Erskine, Dusan Bogdanovic, Tracy Silverman and Pierre Boulez.
An avid advocate of contemporary music, in 2001 he was chosen to perform Boulez’s landmark work “Le Marteau sans Maitre”, conducted by the composer at Carnegie Hall. Since then he has premiered pieces by Egberto Gismonti, Ralph Towner, Edino Krieger, David Burge and Sérgio Assad.
Maestro Assad recognized Aliéksey’s talent and offered to produce a recording of his own solo guitar works, which was released by the GSP label in 2005. In 2010 Aliéksey released “Ritmos e Danças”, his second CD, accompanied by the São Paulo and Harmony-Shanghai string quartets.
In 2011 Aliéksey released his first commercial recording with improvised music: the DVD Ébano, recorded live with his long time collaborator Mike Eckroth (pianist of the John Scofield Quartet) and the legendary multi instrumentalist Paul McCandless.
Aliéksey first took up the guitar at the age of eight. At age twelve, he began formal musical studies, which included classical and Jazz guitar, composition, arranging and orchestration. He has performed in master classes of Sergio and Odair Assad, Manuel Barrueco, Paul Galbraith, Roland Dyens, Abel Carlevaro, Oscar Ghiglia, Nigel North, Paul O’dette, Hopkinson Smith and Ralph Towner.
He holds a bachelor’s degree from the San Francisco Conservatory on Music (USA) in the class of David Tanenbaum, and two Master’s degrees, one in classical guitar and other in Jazz, respectively in the classes of Pablo Marquez and Wolfgang Muthspiel, from the Hochschule für Musik Basel (Switzerland).
Since 2005 Aliéksey serves as artistic director of the International Guitar Festival of Belo Horizonte, Brasil.
Aliéksey has been awarded the first prize in the following competitions:
I San Francisco International Guitar Competition, USA
XII Savona International Guitar Competition, Italy
John Duarte International Guitar Competition, Austria
IV Sernancelhe International Guitar Competition, Portugal
XI Kutna Hora International Guitar Competition, Czech Republic
VI Concurso Internacional de Guitarra Manuel M. Ponce, México
I Concurso Nacional de Violão- Homenagem a Fred Schneiter, Brazil
XIII Concorso Internazionale di Chitara- Cita di Mottola, Italy
2000 Fresno Guitar Competition, USA
I Concurso de Violão Jose Lucena Vaz, Brazil
1998 Portland Guitar Festival Solo Competition, USA
“Herb Ellis Award”- best Guitarist of the 1997 Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival, USA
1995 “Tucson Jazz Society Award”, USA

Other prizes include:
XVI Guitar Foundation of America International Competition, Montreal- 2nd prize
III Stotsenberg International Guitar Competition, Malibu, CA- 2nd prize
I Toru Takemitsu International Competition, Turku, Finland- 4th prize
III Crete International Guitar competition, Arhanes, Greece- 3rd prize
I Certamen Internacional de Guitarra Classica Julian Arcas, Spain- 3rd prize
III Ville d’Antony International Guitar Competition, France- 2nd prize
X Premio Eldorado de Musica, Sao Paulo, Brazil- 3rd prize
II Concurso Internacional de Guitarra, Trofa, Portugal- 2nd prize
VI Printemps de la Guitare International Competition, Belgium- 4th prize

Aliéksey has collaborated with many musicians of a wide range of styles and backgrounds, such as:
Conductors Pierre Boulez, Petri Sakari, Nicole Paiement, Benito Juarez, Dan Asia and Neal Finn, pianists Jack Perla and Mike Eckroth, bassists Kai Eckhardt and Elliot Wadopian, percussionists Peter Erskine, Caito Marcondes, Decio Ramos and Todd Hames, trombonist Bill Watrous, saxophonist Harvey Wainapel, clarinetist Sheldon Brown, oboist Paul McCandless, bassoonists Paul Hanson and Claudio Moller de Freitas, flutist Carlos Ernst Dias, violinist Tracy Silverman, cellists Dimos Goudaroulis and Anna Jonshult, guitarists Paul Galbraith, Toninho Horta, Marco Pereira and Magno Alexandre, the Turku Symphony Orchestra, Aukso Tychy Chamber Orquestra, Orquestra Filarmonia das Beiras, Campinas Symphony Orchestra, the string quartets Knifkvarteten and Quarteto Mineiro de Cordas, Arizona Contemporary Ensemble, Maestro Duda do Frevo’s Big Band and group UAKTI’s workshop ensemble.
Aliéksey has been performing and/or teaching in the following music festivals:
Turku Guitar Festival (Finland), Mikulov Guitar Festival (Czech Republic), Kutna Hora Guitar Festival (Czech Republic), Sernancelhe Guitar Festival (Portugal), Festival Internaciolal de Guitarra Arranda del Duero (Spain), Portland Guitar Festival (Oregon- USA), Appalachian Guitar Fest (North Carolina- USA), Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival (Idaho- USA), NCU Jazz Festival (Colorado- USA), IDRS Festival (Wisconsin- USA), AZ Jazz Week (Arizona- USA), Festival Iberoamericano de Guitarra Instituto Cervantes (Morocco, Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan and Chile), Ciclo de Conciertos CIDEG (Mexico), Festival de Violao Jose Lucena Vaz (Brazil), Articulacoes Music Festival (Brazil), Festival Concertos do Seculo XX (Brazil), I Semana da Musica UFMG (Brazil), Festival Intermidia Off (Brazil), Festival Dilermando Reis em Guaratingueta (Brazil), Londrina Winter Festival (Brazil), UFMG Winter Festival in Ouro Preto (Brazil).

Seit den späten achtziger Jahren, als ich das Gitarrenspiel erlernte hat mich die Musik der Gitarristen/Komponisten, die auf dieser CD vorgestellt werden, sehr stark geprägt und meinen musikalischen Geschmack beeinflusst. In dieser Zeit als noch Jugendlicher waren diese Leute für mich grosse Ideale, deren Musik interessant tönte, echt, frisch und herausfordernd.
Zu dieser Zeit gab es keine Musikschulen in Brasilien, die Angebote zum Erlernen von populärer oder Jazzmusik anboten, sodass ich mich immer mehr mit klassischer Musik befasste, ein musikalisches Universum, das mir anfänglich unbekannt war. Allerdings war die mich schon immer interessierende Musik dauernd auf meinem Plattenteller. Mein Enthusiasmus und die Liebe zur Musik waren dann die Gründe, dass ich professioneller Musiker wurde aber die Brasilianische Musik ist immer noch eine Quelle der Inspiration für mich.
Ich war deshalb unglaublich froh und erfreut, als sich die Gelegenheit ergab, mit meinem Trio diese CD Aufnahme realisieren zu können.