Miloš Karadaglić: ‘Picking up the guitar was a complete accident – it’s now my best friend’

12 April 2024, 14:52

Miloš Karadaglić: ‘The guitar is my best friend’ | Classic FM

Star guitarist MILOŠ shares his journey into classical guitar, which started as a “key to a wonderful new world” when he was growing up in Montenegro.

Miloš Karadaglić is a classical guitarist, born in 1983 in Montenegro, who was already making appearances in major concert halls by the time he was 14 years old.

In October 2023, he delighted audiences at Classic FM Live at the Royal Albert Hall, playing Piazzolla’s ‘Libertango’ and Boccherini’s ‘Fandango’ alongside the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. We spoke to him backstage about his journey into music…

“The first time I picked up the guitar, it was a complete accident,” Miloš says.

“I was always musical. I always sang around. I really wanted to go to the music school. I wasn’t like the regular boys, I didn’t know what to do with the ball in the field or, you know, anything like that.

“But music was my thing and we had an old guitar at home and, and that became my best friend and that’s how I became a guitarist.”

Read more: Miloš names his five all-time favourite guitar pieces

At eight years old, Miloš went to study guitar at the music school in his home country’s capital, Podgorica. At 17, he won a scholarship to study at London’s Royal Academy of Music, where he graduated with First Class honours and went on to do a Masters in performance.

“I grew up in Montenegro and that comes with a whole series of problems and at the time when I was growing up, it was certainly not an ideal time, but there was one thing that was brilliant and that it was a sort of refuge and an escape.”

Now based in London, Miloš is signed exclusively to Sony Classical and has appeared as a soloist with some of the world’s greatest orchestras including the London and LA Philharmonics, Philadelphia Orchestra and Chicago Symphony.

A passionate advocate for music education, Miloš also recently launched his own foundation based in Porto Montenegro, providing educational opportunities, partnerships and musical mentorship.

Fiery Piazzolla ‘Libertango’ – Miloš Karadaglić and Ksenija Sidorova | Classic FM Live

The guitarist credits much of his musical success to the free music lessons he had access to in Montenegro, which allowed him to develop that special relationship with his instrument from a young age.

“I could just go to the music school and have lessons twice a week – not just for the guitar, but also for general music skills,” Miloš says. “And that was so empowering,” he adds. “It [allowed] me to create a beautiful world, no matter what was going outside.”

“For that reason, I today believe so strongly that we have to work harder on making sure that music education is available and that it’s out there for younger generations.

“It doesn’t mean that it has to become their life and their profession. But it makes certainly their life a much, much better place to be.”

Watch the full interview here on YouTube.