Filippos Manoloudis has quickly emerged as one of the most compelling young classical guitarists of his generation. Born in Kavala, Greece, in 2001, he has already built an impressive international profile, with recital appearances across Europe, Asia, and the Americas; invitations to teach and serve on juries; and more than twenty first prizes in international competitions. Gendai Guitar Magazine praised his “stunning technique and expressive power,” qualities that have helped establish him as both a formidable technician and a deeply communicative artist.
Among his many achievements, Manoloudis won first prize at both the 2022 Koblenz International Guitar Competition in Germany and the 65th Tokyo International Guitar Competition in Japan and made his orchestral debut with the Basel Sinfonieorchester as a prizewinner of the Maurizio Biasini Guitar Competition. His musical formation has taken him from Greece to Germany, Spain, and Switzerland, where he is currently pursuing the Master de Concert at the Geneva University of Music. Along the way, he has worked with some of the most distinguished figures in the guitar world.
In this interview, Manoloudis shares his insight and philosophies and the artistic values that continue to shape his path as one of the guitar world’s most exciting young voices.
When did you start playing, and why? Or, what drew you to the guitar initially?
I had my first musical lessons at the age of 6 and started playing the guitar at the age of 7, after my parents’ suggestion. I do not come from a musical family, but my parents always encouraged me to try different extracurricular activities to find out about my inclinations/talents or just develop some hobbies. After trying out several different sports and other activities, I ended up continuing with music.
At first I wanted to take electric guitar lessons, but the teachers in the Municipal Conservatory of Kavala, Greece, encouraged me to start with the classical guitar to learn about the foundations of the instrument and of classical music. I was very fortunate to have had an excellent musician as my teacher, who made me love the guitar; his name is Fotis Koutsothoros, and he is one of the most complete guitarists I know as a player, pedagogue, and musician overall. After the first three years of learning with him, I eventually took some electric guitar lessons, but it was too late; I was already deeply in love with the classical guitar.
What repertoire do you enjoy playing most?
I usually do not choose my repertoire based on style or musical epoch but based on the connection I feel with each work. I have realized that this approach is the only way I can remain sincere and have a fresh perspective on pieces that I practice and perform over and over. I have to feel that I can contribute something to the music that I play and vice versa.
So I choose to learn whatever inspires me to discover more about it, whichever pieces I consider “good music,” regardless of the style or if they are known or not.
Musical taste, of course, changes with time, but until now I have always had an affinity for early music, especially baroque and how it translates to the guitar. I enjoy listening and reading about this music and often make my own transcriptions.
I also love exploring the tone colors that the classical guitar can produce, so I enjoy playing contemporary music where I can showcase this aspect (for example, pieces by Tōru Takemitsu). I have found a similar joy in performing classical-romantic music, especially by Fernando Sor, where the tone colors are used deliberately to “orchestrate” a piece, mimicking the sounds of different orchestral instruments through the possibilities of the guitar.
What guitar or guitars do you perform on? Strings?
I perform on Koumridis guitars, mainly on my 2017 cedar double-top but also on my 2024 spruce top. In 2025 I got a custom 7-string cedar double-top, which is absolutely marvelous, and I look forward to performing on it soon (as soon as I find the time to develop a repertoire on it).
Charalambos Koumridis is a fantastic luthier from my hometown (Kavala, Greece), whom I have had the privilege to know since the start of his career. I have owned 6 instruments by him until now, and it is just outstanding how he manages to improve every year. He always tries to experiment and develop new models or improve his existing ones, and he is very open to listening to the player’s needs and requests.
I have been a D’Addario artist since 2023, and I mostly use the EJ46FF set (high tension with carbon trebles). This choice of course depends on the instrument; I often replace the first string with a high-tension nylon one, or occasionally I use a normal-tension set altogether. I have always loved D’Addario strings for their brilliance, mellow tone, durability, and just their touch in both hands.
Which guitarists/musicians have had the most influence on you?
The most influential people in my career have definitely been my teachers: Fotis Koutsothodoros (11 years in the Municipal Conservatory of Kavala, Greece), Tilman Hoppstock (4 years in the Akademie für Tonkunst, Darmstadt, Germany), and most recently Judicaël Perroy (2 years in the Haute école de musique de Genève, Switzerland).
Each of them contributed immensely to my education, aesthetics, playing, and overall perception of music.
I want to emphasize the importance of matching with your teachers and communicating with each other. I have gained different kinds of knowledge from each of them and developed musically and technically in different ways, but they all had one thing in common: they were very open to listening to my ideas and needs and let me develop my own aesthetic instead of “forcing” theirs on me. This is what I consider the most important quality in a teacher.
They have, moreover, taught me to be curious about music, to listen, and to respect other musicians. I love to listen and discover new music, pieces, and interpretations. There have been many composers and interpreters that have inspired me over the years (for instance, Tōru Takemitsu, Pēteris Vasks, Daniil Trifonov, and Vikingur Ólafsson), but I have always been inspired by music itself. I think that’s what keeps me motivated—there’s always something new to discover. Sometimes it’s a new piece; sometimes it’s just hearing something differently than before. This naturally influences the way I play and the music I choose. I’m usually drawn to music that feels genuine and says something meaningful, and over time that has shaped my musical voice in a very natural way.
What recording(s) are you most proud of?
I do not have a professional CD recording yet, but I do have some high-quality recorded videos on YouTube, released with various platforms.
It is always very difficult to listen to myself because I am very self-judgmental, but one video that I am happy with is my online concert released in 2024 with the Omni Foundation, in collaboration with D’Addario. I believe it showcases well my way of playing, choice of repertoire, and overall musical perspective, masterfully captured by Musik.im.Blick.
Are there any recordings that you consider to have the finest recorded sound for the guitar?
I actually think the classical guitar is one of the most difficult instruments to record well. The sound is incredibly subtle and complex, and if you record it too closely or in a dry studio environment, it can become very percussive and small-sounding. The instrument really needs air and natural resonance around it to sound the way we perceive it in a concert hall or a church. Many engineers and guitarists point out how important acoustics are for the instrument, sometimes even more than the microphones themselves.
For that reason, I’ve always admired the recordings produced by Norbert Kraft for the Naxos Guitar Collection. He manages to capture both clarity and warmth without losing the natural character of the guitar. Many of those recordings took place in churches such as St. John Chrysostom in Canada, where the acoustics give the instrument space to breathe.
Apart from the Naxos productions, one of the recent recordings that I enjoyed the most is the Goldberg Variations for guitar duo, performed by Thibaut Garcia and Antoine Moriniere and produced by Warner Classics. What I especially love is that the sound never feels “manufactured.” You really impress with two instruments breathing together in an acoustic space, which is extremely difficult to achieve with the classical guitar.
In my own experience, every video I recorded with Musik.im.Blick has absolutely excellent sound. Émilie Fend manages to record the tone of the instrument with such clarity every time that it is almost surprising how natural and detailed it sounds, as if you were hearing the instrument live. We have worked on several videos together, published by the GSI and Omni Guitar Foundation Youtube channels and there are also new ones coming soon – both for my solo and guitar quartet projects.
Are you active as a chamber musician?
Yes, very much so. Chamber music feels critical for the classical guitar today, as it opens the instrument up and brings it into a more flexible, collaborative space.
What I especially enjoy is the variety of repertoire. You can play original works written for specific ensembles, but also many arrangements and transcriptions, which are a big part of the guitar tradition. It really broadens what you can explore musically.
I perform regularly with my guitar quartet, Frequency Guitar Quartet, and I’m also in the process of starting a duo with the wonderful Romanian guitarist and close friend Dragoș Ilie, which I’m really looking forward to.
What are some up-and-coming projects (recordings and concerts) you are excited about?
I’m very happy to have a busy and inspiring year ahead. This summer, I’ll be performing and teaching in Asia, with projects in Taiwan and Japan, and in the autumn I’m excited for a series of solo concerts across Europe, including London, Portugal, Norway, the Netherlands, and Greece.
I’m also particularly excited about an upcoming video release: a series I recorded in Germany in November 2025 with Musik.im.Blick. It features around 30 minutes of music by Fernando Sor, performed on an original 1831 instrument by Johann Anton Stauffer. It’s an absolutely beautiful guitar with a very distinctive sound, kindly lent by the Haute école de musique de Genève.
Finally, I’ll be recording my first solo CD in Germany towards the end of the year—something I’m really looking forward to. I’ll be sharing more details about that very soon.
Technique and Performance
How much do you practice? And do you structure your practice in any particular way?
I usually practice between two and three hours a day, although the duration naturally depends on the amount of repertoire I’m preparing at any given time.
I try to make my practice as efficient as possible, always prioritizing concentration and physical well-being to avoid injuries. One simple but essential habit is taking short breaks—two or three minutes every twenty minutes, and longer breaks every hour.
In terms of approach, I’m constantly asking myself questions: how can I make this more convincing? What are the different ways to shape this phrase? What should I be thinking while playing this passage? For me, practice is an ongoing process of identifying problems and finding solutions, both technical and musical.
When it comes to practicing difficult passages, I try to understand the mechanics behind them rather than repeating them over and over: finding the most effective fingering, clarifying the gestures, and deciding where I need to give myself more time. Once these elements are clear, I do not need to spend countless hours on the same passages.
I do record myself regularly when practicing, first in small phrases, then in longer parts of a piece. This helps immensely to understand how I sound and to pay attention to detail. When I record a full piece, I usually listen to it the next day to avoid being too judgmental.
Are there aspects of guitar technique or performance you still struggle with?
Of course, I believe this process is something that never really ends. Being aware of our weaknesses is essential, because that’s how we continue to grow.
One aspect I’m still working on is tension in performance, particularly in my left hand. In practice, I pay a lot of attention to how I press and try to stay as relaxed as possible, and I make a conscious effort to carry that awareness onto the stage.
I also notice that I sometimes tend to rush in concert, often starting at a faster tempo than I had practiced, probably due to adrenaline. To counter this, I try to begin at a tempo that feels slightly slower in the moment, knowing that it will likely come across closer to the intended tempo.
Overall, it’s a continuous process of observation and adjustment.
Do you deliberately memorize music or have a technique that helps you assimilate music into memory?
I don’t treat memorization as a separate task. Because I have relatively absolute pitch, I naturally hear the names of the notes in my head as I play (almost like doing solfège at the same time). This is essentially how I retain my repertoire: I can go through pieces without the instrument simply by “reciting” the notes internally.
This is definitely not a technique that I recommend, but what I do recommend is mental practice. Being able to go through a piece in your head while imagining both hands can be extremely helpful with memorization.
Have you published any editions, or do you plan to publish any editions in the future?
Unfortunately not yet, but I do plan to publish my arrangement of the Valses Poéticos by Enrique Granados soon!
Do you have a favorite drill or set of exercises you use to warm up?
My warm-up consists of some basic arpeggios, slurs, scales, and tremolo (for about 10 minutes), using different finger combinations (for example, playing a scale with I-M, M-I, I-A, A-I, M-A, A-M, P-I, etc.). Then I slowly practice some spots I worked on the day before, as well as some difficult sections from the pieces I will practice that day. My complete warm-up lasts about 20 minutes.
Do you have any pre-concert rituals?
Good sleep, a good breakfast, and a normal day of practicing. Oh, and a banana with some dark chocolate before going on stage 🙂
Advice to Younger Players
What single most important piece of advice about practicing would you offer to younger aspiring players?
Record yourself and be fully concentrated when practicing—it will save you so much time, and it is the most effective way to improve, in my opinion.
What repertoire do you consider essential for young/conservatory students to assimilate? Why?
Although they are sometimes overlooked (perhaps because they are considered too simple), I believe that the studies of Fernando Sor are essential for young and conservatory-level students. They are not only pedagogical pieces but also truly beautiful works through which one can learn a great deal about phrasing, voicing, tone color, and technique.
During my studies with Tilman Hoppstock in Germany, we worked in great detail on many of these études. We would explore different ways of phrasing the same piece, developing multiple interpretations while always remaining faithful to the musical text. This process helped me enormously in deepening my musical understanding, particularly in terms of phrasing and interpretive creativity.
I believe that many students could benefit from this kind of approach, as it encourages both technical and musical awareness.
Are you accessible as a teacher?
Yes, I am currently teaching online, and I am always happy to work with new students. I love to teach, especially on a longer-term basis, as it allows me to really get to know the student and support their development in a more meaningful way. Anyone interested is welcome to contact me through my website.
Tangent
What is the last book that you read? Favorite author(s)?
I am currently reading two books: the first is “The Road Less Traveled” by M. Scott Peck, and the second is “The World Atlas of Coffee” by James Hoffmann. I do read regularly, but I do not have any favorite authors—I usually choose a book about something that interests me at a given period. It can be about music, philosophy, life, or simply about a hobby.
Do you try to stay healthy? Exercise?
Yes! I work out in the gym three times per week, combining weights with some calisthenics and mobility exercises. I also walk as much as I can, and I keep a balanced diet. I find everything very important for musicians, considering that we spend most of the day sitting.
Do you meditate in any way?
I do not, except for visualizing my repertoire through mental practice, for example, when I have a walk.
What is your favorite way to spend time when not practicing?
Cooking, hanging out with friends, going to the gym, and trying new food—I love discovering new flavors, restaurants, and coffee shops. Especially when I travel, I am always curious to explore the food culture of each country.
Anything else you’d like to add?
I would like to thank you for this opportunity, as well as the readers for their time. I am a big fan of Six String Journal, and I feel honored to be featured here!
SSJ: The honor is ours!
Filippos is on Instagram
