Giannis Dimopoulos' recital at the Philippos Nakas Concert Hall includes music written (and transcribed) for piano in four centuries, from the 18th to the 21st. The audition begins with a journey from the Baroque period to the present day, sampling many of the intermediate aesthetics and nuances of the repertoire.
The first part of the recital defines the arc in which the evening moves, presenting the extremes: the rhetoric of gallant figures and, counterdiametrically, contemporary soundscapes.
The beginning is made with the second Partita of J.S. Bach, a collection of dances rich in harmonic and stylistic content, but also a collection of moods, where one succeeds the other organically, if not necessarily.
Next is the fourth of Beda's six harpsichord sonatas. Here the composer turns to a slightly older aesthetic. Despite the simple and light style he chooses, he can gather enormous interest for the listener's ears.
The first part of the program concludes with the four Farewells of Panagiotis Dimopoulos. A wandering between multiple timbres that somewhat contrasts with the style of the previous minutes, but shares the intense lyricism and narrative mood, capable of capturing the audience's attention in no time.
The second part is a reference to the period that established the piano and the piano repertoire. Romanticism gives a line, a common practice for composition and performance, which we see with the two Studies of S. Rachmaninoff. Despite the obvious technical difficulties, the real goal of these "exercises" is to force the performer to search for the various dynamic levels, found both in the area of sound quantity and in the area of its time management.
Then, as highly functional preludes to the improvisation (fantasy) that is to follow, A. Scriabin's short works introduce us to the dreamlike atmosphere we seek, as in the course of performance the tones become murkier and the lines less intense.
Fantasy, work 49 by F. Chopin, with which the recital ends, is a virtuoso work which, however, as with the Studies, does not lack lyricism and emotion. On the contrary, one feels that these two elements push the technique to the extremes for a unique musical result.
PROGRAM
J. S. Bach: Partita no. 2 in C minor BWV 826
J. A. Benda: Harpsichord Sonata No. 4 in F major
Panagiotis Dimopoulos (b. 1977): "Farewells" (2004)
S. Rachmaninoff: Etudes-Tableaux / work 33 no. 1 in F minor, work 33 no. 4 in D minor
A. Scriabin: Of the 24 Preludes work 11 / no. 5 in D major, no. 21 in B flat major, no. 22 in G minor
F. Chopin: Fantasy opus 49 in F minor
Giannis Dimopoulos was born in 2000 in Thessaloniki. He began his piano studies at the age of 5 at the Dimopoulos Conservatory in Kozani. He received his Diploma in July 2021 with an Honours and 1st Prize with Professor N. Kyriosoglou. His teachers were H. Tsinikosmaoglou, K. Drosaki and H. Georgiadou.
At the same time, he completed his studies in Advanced Theory with professors D. Dimopoulos and I. Grampsa and holds degrees in Harmony, Counterpoint, Fugue and Orchestration.
He is currently studying at the Royal Conservatory of Antwerp under Eliane Rodrigues.
He has attended piano seminars actively and as a listener with E. Zilberkant, E. Nakagawa, D. Mallouhos, D. Evnouchidou, D. Toufexis, L. Vassiliadis, H.
Angelopoulos, R. Satterlee and others, has taken part in chamber music concerts, and has performed solo recitals in Greece and abroad. In the spring of 2023 he performed with the Symphony Orchestra of the State Conservatory of Thessaloniki in the context of the Piano Competition of the Thessaloniki Piano Festival.
He is a graduate of the School of Applied Sciences, Department of Physics, of the University of Athens.
WEDNESDAY 28 FEBRUARY 2024
AT 20:30
TICKETS AT 10 € | REDUCED 5 €
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PHILIPPOS NAKAS CONCERT HALL | IPPOKRATOUS 41 ATHENS | TEL.: 2103634000