Dimitris Sgouros | |
---|---|
Born | Athens, Greece | 30 August 1969
Genres | Classical music |
Occupation(s) | Musician |
Instrument(s) | Piano |
Years active | 1977–present |
Website | www.sgouros-pianist.com |
Dimitris Sgouros ( Greek: Δημήτρης Σγούρος; born 30 August 1969) [a] is a Greek classical pianist. [1] Widely acclaimed for his prodigious musical talent as a boy, Sgouros is one of the world's leading concert pianists. [2] [3] Arthur Rubinstein remarked that he had produced "the best playing I have ever heard;". [4]
Dimitris Sgouros is an Aromanian, [5] having declared that "I am Vlach with a capital V", Vlach being the common name for the Aromanians in Greece. [6] Sgouros is the son of Sotirios and Marianthi Sgouros. [7] There was no notable record of musical talent in his family. [4] He began playing the piano when he was six-years old [8] and gave his first public performance a year later. [4] At the age of eight, he entered the Athens Conservatoire, studying under Maria Herogiorgiou-Sigara. [1] [4] Sgouros won several competitions between 1978 and 1983, including the UNICEF competition in Bulgaria (1979), a competition in Ancona, Italy (1980), and two competitions in his home city of Athens. [4] He was also the recipient of the 1982 Leonardo da Vinci International Award. [7] [9]
In 1982, at the age of 12, Sgouros made his Carnegie Hall debut. [10] He performed Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3 with the National Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Mstislav Rostropovich. [1] In mid-1983, before he had turned 13, Sgouros graduated from the conservatory with a professor's diploma, teacher's diploma, first prize, and a gold medal. [4] Sgouros continued his studies at the Royal Academy of Music of London and the University of Maryland, College Park, in the United States of America. [1] He graduated from Royal Academy with the highest marks the institution had ever awarded. [1] Besides his musical talents, Sgouros has undertaken postgraduate studies in mathematics at the University of Oxford. [11]
Performances around the world have included concerts in Australia, [12] [13] Austria, Bulgaria, China, Cyprus, France, Germany, Hong Kong, [14] Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, [15] Romania, Russia, South Africa, Spain, and Turkey. [16] Sgouros has performed for the royal families of Britain, Monaco, [17] [18] and Sweden, and played under the baton of renowned conductors such as Herbert von Karajan, Leonard Bernstein, Emil Tabakov, Kurt Masur, and Yevgeny Svetlanov. [19] He has recorded for various record labels, including Dino Music [20] [21] and EMI. [22] Since March 1988, three Sgouros Festivals have been instituted, in Hamburg, Ljubljana, and Singapore. [23] [24] [25]
Sgouros has featured prominently in the media, having appeared on NBC's The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson [26] and a television concert with Chopin's 1st Piano Concerto. [27] [28] He has also been profiled by Oscar-winning director François Reichenbach in a feature-length documentary film. [29] [30]
a. ^ Sgouros's name sometimes appears as Dimitrios Sgouros.
Dimitris Sgouros | |
---|---|
Born | Athens, Greece | 30 August 1969
Genres | Classical music |
Occupation(s) | Musician |
Instrument(s) | Piano |
Years active | 1977–present |
Website | www.sgouros-pianist.com |
Dimitris Sgouros ( Greek: Δημήτρης Σγούρος; born 30 August 1969) [a] is a Greek classical pianist. [1] Widely acclaimed for his prodigious musical talent as a boy, Sgouros is one of the world's leading concert pianists. [2] [3] Arthur Rubinstein remarked that he had produced "the best playing I have ever heard;". [4]
Dimitris Sgouros is an Aromanian, [5] having declared that "I am Vlach with a capital V", Vlach being the common name for the Aromanians in Greece. [6] Sgouros is the son of Sotirios and Marianthi Sgouros. [7] There was no notable record of musical talent in his family. [4] He began playing the piano when he was six-years old [8] and gave his first public performance a year later. [4] At the age of eight, he entered the Athens Conservatoire, studying under Maria Herogiorgiou-Sigara. [1] [4] Sgouros won several competitions between 1978 and 1983, including the UNICEF competition in Bulgaria (1979), a competition in Ancona, Italy (1980), and two competitions in his home city of Athens. [4] He was also the recipient of the 1982 Leonardo da Vinci International Award. [7] [9]
In 1982, at the age of 12, Sgouros made his Carnegie Hall debut. [10] He performed Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3 with the National Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Mstislav Rostropovich. [1] In mid-1983, before he had turned 13, Sgouros graduated from the conservatory with a professor's diploma, teacher's diploma, first prize, and a gold medal. [4] Sgouros continued his studies at the Royal Academy of Music of London and the University of Maryland, College Park, in the United States of America. [1] He graduated from Royal Academy with the highest marks the institution had ever awarded. [1] Besides his musical talents, Sgouros has undertaken postgraduate studies in mathematics at the University of Oxford. [11]
Performances around the world have included concerts in Australia, [12] [13] Austria, Bulgaria, China, Cyprus, France, Germany, Hong Kong, [14] Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, [15] Romania, Russia, South Africa, Spain, and Turkey. [16] Sgouros has performed for the royal families of Britain, Monaco, [17] [18] and Sweden, and played under the baton of renowned conductors such as Herbert von Karajan, Leonard Bernstein, Emil Tabakov, Kurt Masur, and Yevgeny Svetlanov. [19] He has recorded for various record labels, including Dino Music [20] [21] and EMI. [22] Since March 1988, three Sgouros Festivals have been instituted, in Hamburg, Ljubljana, and Singapore. [23] [24] [25]
Sgouros has featured prominently in the media, having appeared on NBC's The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson [26] and a television concert with Chopin's 1st Piano Concerto. [27] [28] He has also been profiled by Oscar-winning director François Reichenbach in a feature-length documentary film. [29] [30]
a. ^ Sgouros's name sometimes appears as Dimitrios Sgouros.