Prominent Greekpianist performs withBudapest Camerata
Dimitris Toufexis, a Greek pianist who has earned great recognition abroad, will feature prominently in the Easter concert that the Budapest Camerata Orchestra will give at the Pierce College Theater of the American College of Greece tomorrow. The Romanian orchestra, led by artistic director Vilmos Olah, has performed all over Europe; its repertoire includes classical compositions as well as American contemporary music. Tomorrow, the orchestra will interpret works by Mozart and Vivaldi, conducted by Adrian Sunshine. The maestro is well known in Greece through his collaboration with the Athens State Orchestra. Musical roots Toufexis comes from a musical family. He began his studies at the Athens National Conservatory and completed them at New York’s acclaimed Julliard School. He played successfully at Washington’s Kennedy Center in 1987 and at Carnegie Hall in 1991 and went on to perform in great concert halls all over the world. Today, he is considered a distinguished pianist of the new generation. He has received international distinctions and awards, including the Katherine Tuck Award, the Wurlitzer Prize (which he won four times), the New York Times Award and first place in the Three Rivers International Piano Competition. Toufexis has collaborated with top orchestras, such as the symphony orchestras of New York, Boston, Cairo, Bucharest, Seattle and Warsaw, the Athens State Orchestra and the Thessaloniki State Orchestra and has repeatedly played at the Athens Concert Hall with various ensembles. Every January, he tours more than 20 states in the United States. In 2000, he gave a very successful concert at London’s Wigmore Hall and he later toured Germany with the Dresden Philharmonic. His plans for this year include more than 40 concerts in Europe and America, where he will perform both as a pianist and as a conductor. At the same time, he is working on the activities of the Deree Chamber Orchestra which he has founded, as he is also the permanent artistic director of the American College of Greece. One can get a taste of his particular interpretation of his favorite romantic composers in the album «Romantic Piano Masterpieces,» which was recently released in the States and in Europe. Pierce College, The American College of Greece, 6 Gravias Street, Aghia Paraskevi, tel 210.600.9800/9.
