The Australian Guitar Quartet (AGQ) unites four of Australia’s most acclaimed guitarists — Slava Grigoryan, Leonard Grigoryan, Vladimir Gorbach, and Andrew Blanch — each an internationally recognised soloist and passionate advocate for the instrument.
Renowned for their “glorious sound” and “oozing creativity” (Sydney Morning Herald), the quartet is celebrated for performances that combine breathtaking virtuosity and expressive warmth, bringing a fresh and distinctly Australian voice to the global stage.
In their short time together, the AGQ has quickly established itself as one of Australia’s most dynamic new ensembles. Having appeared on the nation’s most prestigious stages — including the City Recital Hall in Sydney and the Melbourne Recital Centre — and at international festivals such as the iconic Festival Internacional de la Guitarra de Córdoba in Spain, they are scheduled to appear in major festivals across Europe, the United States, and Australia in 2026, alongside the release of their debut album.
Through inspired arrangements, new commissions, and collaborations that extend beyond the traditional guitar world, the Australian Guitar Quartet continues to expand the expressive and artistic horizons of the instrument.
Musicians
Leonard Grigoryan is well established in the Australian music scene. He has made his name as a collaborator at the highest levels of music making and is known as the other half of the ‘Grigoryan Brothers’. Famously taught from a very early age by their violinist father, Leonard and brother Slava Grigoryan are today revered around the world for their performances and recordings. They have released 12 albums and between them they have received 4 ARIA Awards (Australian Recording Industry Association) and 24 ARIA Award nominations. Leonard has dedicated himself to both classical and jazz genres and is an active arranger and composer. He has toured regularly throughout Australia and internationally, performing at festivals and concert halls and as a soloist with orchestras. In 2012 he released ‘Solo‘, his first album. In 2018 Leonard and Slava composed the soundtrack to the award-winning feature film ‘A Boy Called Sailboat’. He has collaborated with the likes of Wolfgang Muthspiel, Paco Pena, Luke Howard and many more.
Australian guitarist Andrew Blanch is as passionate as they come and has made it his mission to promote the unique beauty of the guitar far and wide. He is a prizewinner in more than ten music competitions, including top prizes at the Whitworth-Roach Classical Music Competition (2015), Melbourne International Guitar Competition (2016), and the Adelaide International Guitar Competition (2019) dubbed the ‘most prestigious guitar competition in the southern hemisphere.’ Andrew has collaborated with many leading artists, composers and orchestras throughout his career. His albums Alchemy (2021) with classical guitarist Ariel Nurhadi, and Suite mágica (2024) with QSO principal harpist Emily Granger reached No. 2 and No. 1 on the ARIA Classical Album charts. Andrew has worked with many leading Australian composers in commissioning or premiering new music for the instrument including Elena Kats-Chernin, Robert Davidson, Jessica Wells, Felicity Wilcox and more.
Regarded as a ‘wizard’ of the guitar, Slava has forged a prolific reputation as a classical guitar virtuoso and is known as one half of the guitar duo ‘Grigoryan Brothers’. Grigoryan was born in Kazakhstan and immigrated with his family to Australia in 1981. He began studying the guitar with his violinist father Edward at the age of 6. By the time he was 17 he was signed to the Sony Classical Label, and since then has released over 30 solo and collaborative albums spanning a vast range of musical genres. At the age of 18, his first tour was with guitar legends Paco Pena and Leo Kottke. He has travelled the world as a soloist in recitals and with orchestras in Europe, Asia and North America. Appearances with orchestras have included the London Philharmonic, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, the Halle, the Dresden Radio Orchestra, the Israel Symphony and the Hong Kong Sinfonietta. Since 2010, Grigoryan has been the Artistic Director of the Adelaide Guitar Festival.
Vladimir Gorbach has captivated audiences across Europe, the United States and his native country of Russia. His international success began when he was chosen as a solo artist for the Yehudi Menuhin Foundation "Live Music Now" outreach program in Germany. He then went on to win many international guitar competitions and prizes in Spain, Italy, Germany, Portugal, Greece and the USA alongside performing concert tours throughout North America, including a Debut at Carnegie Hall, NY; Canada, Mexico, South America, and China. In 2013 Vladimir became the first International Artist Fellow in Music at the University of Southern California, Thornton School of Music to pursue his Doctoral of Musical Arts studies. He has performed with chamber ensembles including Orchestra de Las Beiras, the Orchestra de Aveiro (Portugal), the Russian Academic Chamber Orchestra Musica Viva, the Symphony Orchestra of New Russia, and Junge Philharmonie Köln , as well as appearances at the Moscow Philharmonic Concert Series, Koblenz International Guitar Festival (Germany), Guitar Art Festival Belgrade (Serbia), Vienna Guitar Forum (Austria) and more.