- Dimitris Sgouros
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Dimitris Sgouros Born 30 August 1969
Athens, GreeceGenres Classical music Occupations Musician Instruments 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] He began playing the piano at a young age, and received formal training in Athens, London, and New York. Widely acclaimed for his prodigious musical talent as a boy, Sgouros is one of the world's leading concert pianists. Arthur Rubinstein remarked that he had produced "the best playing I have ever heard."[2]
Contents
Biography
Sgouros was born on 30 August 1969 in Athens, Greece,[1][2][3] the son of Sotirios and Marianthi Sgouros.[3] There was no notable record of musical talent in his family.[2] He began playing the piano at a young age and gave his first public performance at the age of seven.[2] At the age of eight, he entered the Athens Conservatoire, studying under Maria Herogiorgiou-Sigara.[1][2] 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.[2] He was also the recipient of the 1982 Leonardo da Vinci International Award.[3][4]
In 1982, at the age of 12, Sgouros made his Carnegie Hall debut. 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, a Teacher's Diploma, a First Prize, and a Gold Medal.[2] Sgouros continued his studies at the Royal Academy of Arts 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.[5]
Performances around the world have included concerts in Australia,[6][7] Austria, Bulgaria, China, Cyprus, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, New Zealand,[8] Romania, Russia, South Africa, Spain, and Turkey.[9] Sgouros has performed for the royal families of Britain, Monaco,[10][11] and Sweden, and played under the baton of renowned conductors such as Herbert von Karajan, Leonard Bernstein, Emil Tabakov, Kurt Masur, and Yevgeny Svetlanov.[12] He has recorded for various record labels, including Dino Music[13][14] and EMI.[15] Since March 1988, three Sgouros Festivals have been instituted, in Hamburg, Ljubljana, and Singapore.[16][17][18]
Sgouros has featured prominently in the media, having appeared on NBC's The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson[19] and a television concert with Chopin's 1st Piano Concerto.[20][21] He has also been profiled by Oscar-winning director François Reichenbach in a feature length documentary film.[22][23]
See also
Notes
a. ^ Sgouros's name sometimes appears as Dimitrios Sgouros.
References
Citations
- ^ a b c d e f Classical Pianist Dimitris Sgouros: Biography (c. 2008). Retrieved on 21 May 2010.
- ^ a b c d e f g Crankshaw, G. (1983): Angel Debut Recording: Dimitris Sgouros – Brahms/Schumann (notes from record jacket). Retrieved on 21 May 2010.
- ^ a b c World Who's Who: Dimitris Sgouros (2010). Retrieved on 22 May 2010.
- ^ Rotary Club Firenze: History of the Leonardo da Vinci Award (2009). Retrieved on 28 December 2010.
- ^ Dimitris Sgouros: A photographic portrait (c. 2009). Retrieved on 22 May 2010.
- ^ Newspaper articles on Dimitris Sgouros from Fairfax archive (mainly Sydney).
- ^ Dimitris Sgouros Australian tours – Concert programmes & nationwide reviews
- ^ Dimitris Sgouros newspaper citations, Auckland Council Libraries
- ^ Sgouros concert in Ankara - article from NTV MS-NBC (in Turkish)
- ^ Hebdo Magazine feature on Sgouros (November 1984) (French)
- ^ Prince's Palace of Monaco – Summer Concerts
- ^ ABC Classic FM broadcast schedule - Sgouros & USSR Sym Orch/Svetlanov perform Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No 1
- ^ ABC Classic FM broadcast schedule - Dino Music album with Sgouros
- ^ Dimitris Sgouros album on Dino Music - track listing
- ^ 2011 EMI Classics release with Dimitris Sgouros - 'Essential Liszt'
- ^ Concert poster - Sgouros with the USSR Festival Orchestra in Singapore, 1990
- ^ Concert advertisement - The Straits Times, October 21, 1990
- ^ Concert notice - Sgouros at Victoria Concert Hall - The Straits Times, October 22, 1991
- ^ TV guides from Ocala Star-Banner & Chicago Tribune (1982).
- ^ The Miami News TV guide (1986).
- ^ The New York Times - TV Special - Listings. Retrieved on 3 January 2011.
- ^ Google Books citation - Musik in den Medien Retrieved on 3 January 2011.
- ^ Los Angeles Times - Music News (1984). Retrieved on 3 January 2011.
Bibliography
- Tarallo, Alfredo (1993). "Sgouros, Poet of the Piano." Il Mattino. July 26.
- Klement, Udo (1991). "Fascinating Sgouros: Gewandhaus Orchestra with pianist Dimitris Sgouros." Leipziger Volkszeitung
- Ardoin, John (1989). "Pianist Sgouros is an Old Master at 19." Dallas Morning News. January 12.
- Crutchfield, Will (1988). "Review/Concert; Young American Choruses." New York Times. April 21.
- Ardoin, John (1987). "Sgouros Proves Electrifying - Pianist Plays Brilliantly with FW Symphony." Dallas Morning News. October 20.
- Guenther, Roy (1985). "Dimitris Sgouros: Flash Without Feeling." Washington Post. July 17.
- Rosenberg, Donald (1984). "A Gifted Pianist Who Is Not Yet 15." Philadelphia Inquirer. July 27.
- Finn, Robert (1984). "Young Greek Pianist Does Amazingly Well on Mozart." Cleveland Plain Dealer. July 15.
- Mclellan, Joseph (1984). "Dimitris Sgouros: Coming of Age." Washington Post. July 9.
- Mclellan, Joseph (1982). "Dimitris Sgouros' Promising Piano." Washington Post. July 19.
- Mclellan, Joseph (1982). "Pianist's Return." Washington Post. April 23.
- Mclellan, Joseph (1982). "Bravo Sgouros." Washington Post. April 16.
- Thomas, R. M. (1982). "Boy Vs. Rachmaninoff." New York Times. April 15.
External links
Categories:- Living people
- 1969 births
- Greek classical pianists
- People from Athens
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