Captivating audiences throughout the world with his five-finger technique, Rak was born at the end of the World War II. He was found by Russian soldiers in the Ukraine and taken to Prague, where he was adopted and raised by foster parents. At 18 he started to play the guitar studying at Prague Conservatory classical guitar and composition. Upon graduation he moved to Finland where he worked, taught and lived, as his reputation as a guitarist and an innovative composer spread.

In 1981 Stepan Rak established classical guitar studies at the Prague Academy of Musical Arts where he continues to teach, and was appointed the first university professor of the guitar studies in the Czech Republic. Rak has performed throughout the world and in 2001 he was the first guitarist to give a solo concert at the Rachmaninoff Hall of the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow where he premiered one of his composition, "20,000 Leagues Beneath The Sea" which he dedicated to those engraved in the depths of the sea. He also performed it during the NATO Summit 2002 in Prague. In addition to works for solo guitar, which makes up the majority of his compositions, Rak has composed countless works for different instruments and ensembles.

“Mozart of the guitar…Stepán Rak is simply one of the top two or three players in the world today, arguably the best.” –Joe Matyas, The London Free Press