Artist description Dimitris Sgouros, world-renowned Greek classical pianist. Described by the legendary Artur Rubinstein as the "best pianist I have ever heard.."

Music Style Classical

Similar Artists Horowitz, Liszt

Artist History Pianist Dimitris Sgouros is one of today's most sought-after classical artists. As orchestral soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician, he has garnered an enviable reputation as a performer whose commanding virtuosity and impassioned music-making are bringing new life to the concert stage. His musical career has taken him to many of the world's most prestigious venues: London's Royal Festival Hall, Barbican Centre; New York's Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center; Salle Pleyelle de Paris; Berlin's Philharmonic Hall; Rome's Campidoglio; Vienna's Musikverein and Konzerthaus; Amsterdam's Concertgebouw; Tokyo's Suntory Hall; Athens' Odeon of Herodes Atticus. He has collaborated with some of the world's best-known conductors and orchestras, including the Berlin Philharmonic, London Philharmonic, London Symphony, BBC Symphony, English Chamber Orchestra, Oxford Symphony, Vienna Symphony, NHK Radio Symphony Orchestra, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, St Petersburg Philharmonic, Salzburger Kammerphilharmonie, National Symphony Orchestra of Washington, Dallas & Fort Worth Symphonies, Manhattan Philharmonic and American Symphony of New York, Cleveland Symphony, Icelandic Symphony, Melbourne Symphony and many others. Frequent international tours have led him to the U.S.A., Russia, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Singapore, Korea, South Africa, and to virtually every European country. Dimitris Sgouros is a perennial favourite of festival audiences, appearing at Newport (Rhode Island), Maryland, Lucerne, Prague Spring, Budapest Spring, Menton, Radio France. He is a frequent chamber music collaborator with some of today's most distinguished artists, including violinists Shlomo Mintz, Salvatore Accardo; the cellist Mischa Maisky; and ensembles such as the Borodin Quartet, Kodaly Quartet, and Zagreb Soloists. Highlights of the coming season include concerts in Vienna, Budapest, Ankara, Cyprus, Athens and Salonica. Dimitris Sgouros also maintains an active teaching schedule and has given seminars and masterclasses at Athens University, the Toho Gakuen School of Music in Japan, the Southern Methodist University of Dallas, the New Conservatory in Thessaloniki, Greece, as well as the Bosville Conservatory in Switzerland. Since 1987 he has been funding the Sgouros Scholarship Award in the New Salonica Odeon. Several events have been established in his honour, including Sgouros Festivals in Ljubljana, Hamburg and Singapore. He has been honoured by the Mayor of Los Angeles (for his participation in the opening ceremony of the 1984 Olympic Games), as well as the Academy of Athens, and is a recipient of the Leonardo da Vinci Award, along with many other prestigious Greek and international honours. Dimitris Sgouros has been the subject of numerous feature stories around the globe in publications such as The New York Times, Time Magazine, Reader's Digest, Andy Warhol's Interview, and London's Daily Mirror. He has also appeared on radio and television programs in many countries including the U.K., U.S.A., Japan, Australia, France, Germany, Slovenia, Romania, The Netherlands. His recordings for EMI have been greeted with critical acclaim and include Rachmaninoff's 3rd Piano Concerto with the Berlin Philharmonic, Tchaikovsky's 1st Piano Concerto with the London Philharmonic, and two solo albums of Brahms, Schumann, and Liszt. Harold C. Schonberg, former chief music critic of The New York Times, hailed his Cappricio recording of the Brahms Piano Concertos with the Sofia Philharmonic as a tour de force, lauding Sgouros for his "technical command, rich piano sound, strong rhythm, power, and musical authority", and concluding "... They don't come much better than this." Dimitris Sgouros belongs to that select number of musicians who have successfully made the transition from child prodigy to mature artist. Poignancy, vitality, commanding virtuosity tempered with sensitivity, allied to an inspired and deeply probing musical intuition - these are the hallmarks of his constantly evolving pianistic style. Sgouros himself insists on the highest attainable standards, acknowledging that his musicianship involves a never-ending process of learning and reappraisal. His unwavering pursuit of artistic integrity and excellence has earned him a special place in the pantheon of contemporary pianists.

Instruments Piano

Press Reviews "The best pianist I have ever heard..." - Artur Rubinstein "This boy is playing piano like the God..." - Martha Argerich "A genius of Sgouros' scope is born only once in a century..." - Claudio Abbado

Location Athens, Piraeus - Greece

Copyright notice. All material on MP3.com is protected by copyright law and by international treaties. You may download this material and make reasonable number of copies of this material only for your own personal use. You may not otherwise reproduce, distribute, publicly perform, publicly display, or create derivative works of this material, unless authorized by the appropriate copyright owner(s).