Greek pianist takes on the Russian greats

The Shoe Factory in Nicosia will host a piano recital next Friday by one of the most sought-after and talented pianists of his generation in Greece, Theodore Tzovanakis.

The recital, presented by the Pharos Arts Foundation and supported by the Embassy of Greece in Cyprus, will feature an all-Russian programme including works by Alexander and Julian Scriabin, PI Tchaikovsky, Sergei Prokofiev and Nikolai Medtner.

As a piano scholar of the Greek State Scholarships’ Foundation, the Alexander S Onassis Foundation and the Yamaha Music Foundation of Europe, Tzovanakis studied piano at the Cologne University of Music, the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (RSAMD) and the Royal Conservatory of The Hague, completing his studies as a solo pianist and being awarded the titles of Konzertexamen and Master in Performance. He has also gained a degree in Music Studies from the Aristotelean University of Salonika. He has won three first prizes in national piano competitions as well as the third prize at the Dorothy Mackenzie Awards in New York.

As a soloist, he has collaborated with symphony orchestras and music ensembles from Greece, Germany, the United Kingdom, Austria, Israel, the Netherlands and Ukraine. He has performed in international music festivals, such as the Athens Megaron Festival for Contemporary Music in collaboration with the Greek Radio Symphony Orchestra, Thessaloniki Piano Festival, Epidaurus-Athens Festival, International Keyboard Institute and Festival in New York, Athens Chopin Festival and the Belgrade Chopin Fest among others.

Outside Greece, the pianist has performed worldwide in piano recitals and chamber concerts including in Germany, Austria, Italy, Belgium, Switzerland, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and America. His national premiere performances include Lutoslawski’s Concerto for Piano and Orchestra in Ukraine with the National Symphonic Orchestra of Odessa and in Greece with the Orchestra of Colours, Szymanowski’s Concertante Symphony for Piano and Orchestra with the State Orchestra of Athens, Alan Hovhaness’ Lousatzak Concerto, Beethoven’s Concerto WoO4 and Philippos Tsalachouris’ Second Concerto for Piano and Orchestra with the Greek String Orchestra Camerata, and Tassos Rosopoulos’ Concerto for Piano, Guitar and Orchestra.

Tzovanakis has performed and recorded premiere performances of works for solo piano and songs by Dimitri Mitropoulos and Emilios Riadis, and his recent recording includes songs by Schumann, Schubert, Brahms, Wolf and Mendelssohn. His recordings have been broadcast by the national broadcasting corporations of Greece, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Israel, Moldova and Serbia.

The pianist is a piano professor at the Athens Conservatoire.

Theodore Tzovanakis
The Pharos Arts Foundation presents a piano recital. May 5. The Shoe Factory, Nicosia. 8.30pm. €15/10. Tel: 22-663871

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