Duo of Greek musicians at the Shoe Factory

The Pharos Arts Foundation, in collaboration with the embassy of Greece, will present a cello and piano recital with Angelos Liakakis on cello and Titos Gouvelis on the piano in Nicosia on Friday.

Liakakis and Gouvelis have established themselves as soloists in Greece and abroad, and they have also been collaborating as a duo for many years, presenting unique programmes and receiving acclaim from the press and the public.

Liakakis began taking cello lessons from Hristos Sfetsas and continued his studies as a scholar at the Onassis Foundation and the Greek State Scholarships Foundation with Csaba Onczay, Leonid Gorokhov and Kim Bak Dinitzen. He frequently appears in recital and chamber music concerts in major festivals in Greece and abroad, and collaborates regularly with a number of contemporary Greek composers whose works he has premiered. As a soloist, he has appeared with a number of prominent orchestras including the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, the Evergreen Symphony Orchestra and the Bilkent Symphony Orchestra. The cello player has also been a member of the renowned New Hellenic Quartet, with which he has given numerous concerts and recorded extensively for the BIS, EMI Classics, Naxos and Legend labels.

Gouvelis studied piano at the Athens Conservatoire before continuing his studies at the Royal College of Music in London and the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow. He is a prize winner in a number of piano competitions including the Croydon Performing Arts Festival Concerto Competition (UK), the International Competition Isidor Bajic Piano Memorial (Serbia), the Chieri International Chamber Music Competition (Italy) and the International Piano Competition Giorgos Thymis (Greece) and has been awarded the Mykoniou Prize from the Academy of Athens for his artistic achievements.

The pianist has appeared as a soloist with a number of distinguished orchestras such as the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, the State Philharmonic Orchestra of Transylvania and the Athens and Thessaloniki State Orchestras. Gouvelis’ vast repertoire ranges from the Baroque era to the 21st century, and he is especially dedicated to the endorsement of Greek contemporary music, having performed works by more than 60 Greek composers, including a number of premieres.

For their concert in Nicosia on Friday the duo will present a striking programme comprising Debussy’s Cello Sonata in D minor, Grieg’s brilliant Cello Sonata in A minor – considered one of the most dramatic and intense works of 19th century chamber music, as well as Beethoven’s taxing Op.102 Sonatas, Nos. 4 & 5, which are imbued with such intimate colour and transcendental disposition that they are justifiably regarded as the first of the composer’s ‘late period’ works.

Angelos Liakakis and Titos Gouvelis
The Pharos Arts Foundation presents a recital with the celloist and pianist. March 16. The Shoe Factory, Nicosia. €10/15. Tel: 22-663871

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