Dimitris Sgouros (; born 30 August 1969) is a Greek classical pianist.
(''c.'' 2008). Retrieved 21 May 2010. Sgouros is a former child prodigy and is considered a leading concert pianist.

Arthur Rubinstein Arthur Rubinstein Order of the British Empire, KBE OMRI (; 28 January 1887 – 20 December 1982) was a Polish Americans, Polish-American pianist.

said his performance was "the best playing I have ever heard".Crankshaw, G. (1983)
Angel Debut Recording: Dimitris Sgouros – Brahms/Schumann
(notes from record jacket). Retrieved 21 May 2010.

Biography

Dimitris Sgouros is an Aromanian, who said "I am Vlach with a capital V",

Vlach Vlach ( ), also Wallachian and many other variants, is a term and exonym used from the Middle Ages until the Modern Era to designate speakers of Eastern Romance languages living in Southeast Europe—south of the Danube (the Balkan peninsula) ...

being the common name for the Aromanians in Greece. Sgouros is the son of Sotirios and Marianthi Sgouros.World Who's Who: Dimitris Sgouros
(2010). Retrieved 22 May 2010. There was no notable record of musical talent in his family. He began playing the piano when he was six-years old and gave his first public performance a year later. At the age of eight, he entered the Athens Conservatoire, studying under Maria Herogiorgiou-Sigara. Sgouros won several competitions between 1978 and 1983, including the

UNICEF UNICEF ( ), originally the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, officially United Nations Children's Fund since 1953, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Development a ...

competition in Bulgaria (1979), a competition in

Ancona Ancona (, also ; ) is a city and a seaport in the Marche region of central Italy, with a population of around 101,997 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona, homonymous province and of the region. The city is located northeast of Ro ...

, Italy (1980), and two competitions in his home city of Athens. He was also the recipient of the 1982 Leonardo da Vinci International Award.Rotary Club Firenze: History of the Leonardo da Vinci Award
(2009). Retrieved 28 December 2010. In 1982, at the age of 12, Sgouros made his

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...

debut. He performed Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3 with the

National Symphony Orchestra The National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) is an American symphony orchestra based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1930 by cellist Hans Kindler, its principal performing venue is the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The NSO regularly ...

, conducted by

Mstislav Rostropovich Mstislav Leopoldovich Rostropovich (27 March 192727 April 2007) was a Russian Cello, cellist and conducting, conductor. In addition to his interpretations and technique, he was well known for both inspiring and commissioning new works, which enl ...

. 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. Sgouros continued his studies at the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is one of the oldest music schools in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the firs ...

of London and the

University of Maryland, College Park The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD i ...

, in the United States of America. He graduated from Royal Academy with the highest marks the institution had ever awarded. Besides his musical talents, Sgouros has undertaken postgraduate studies in mathematics at the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

.Dimitris Sgouros: A photographic portrait
(''c.'' 2009). Retrieved 22 May 2010. Performances around the world have included concerts in Australia, Austria, Bulgaria, China, Cyprus, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Romania, Russia, South Africa, Spain, and Turkey. Sgouros has performed for the royal families of Britain, Monaco, and Sweden, and played under the baton of renowned conductors such as

Herbert von Karajan Herbert von Karajan (; born ''Heribert Adolf Ernst Karajan''; 5 April 1908 – 16 July 1989) was an Austrian conductor. He was principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic for 34 years. During the Nazi era, he debuted at the Salzburg Festival, ...

Leonard Bernstein Leonard Bernstein ( ; born Louis Bernstein; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was th ...

, Emil Tabakov,

Kurt Masur Kurt Masur (; 18 July 192719 December 2015) was a German Conducting, conductor. Called "one of the last old-style maestros", he directed many of the principal orchestras of his era. He had a long career as the Kapellmeister of the Leipzig Gewand ...

, and

Yevgeny Svetlanov Yevgeny Fyodorovich Svetlanov (; 6 September 1928 – 3 May 2002) was a Soviet and Russian conductor, composer, and pianist. Life and work Svetlanov was born in Moscow and studied conducting with Alexander Gauk at the Moscow Conservatory Th ...

. He has recorded for various record labels, including Dino Music and

EMI EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...

. Since March 1988, three Sgouros Festivals have been instituted, in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

Ljubljana {{Infobox settlement , name = Ljubljana , official_name = , settlement_type = Capital city , image_skyline = {{multiple image , border = infobox , perrow = 1/2/2/1 , total_widt ...

, and Singapore. Sgouros has featured prominently in the media, having appeared on NBC's ''

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' is an American television talk show broadcast by NBC. The show was the third installment of ''The Tonight Show''. Hosted by Johnny Carson, it aired from October 1, 1962 to May 22, 1992, replacing ''T ...

''TV guides from Ocala Star-Banner & Chicago Tribune
(1982). and a television concert with Chopin's 1st Piano Concerto.The Miami News TV guide
(1986).– TV Special – Listings
The New York Times Retrieved 3 January 2011. He has also been profiled by Oscar-winning director François Reichenbach in a feature-length documentary film.Google Books citation – Musik in den Medien
Retrieved on 3 January 2011.– Music News
Los Angeles Times (1984). Retrieved 3 January 2011.

Notes

a. Sgouros's name sometimes appears as Dimitrios Sgouros.

References

Citations

Bibliography

*Tarallo, Alfredo (1993). "Sgouros, Poet of the Piano." ''Il Mattino''. 26 July. * 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''. 12 January.
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''. 20 October. *Guenther, Roy (1985). "Dimitris Sgouros: Flash Without Feeling." ''Washington Post''. 17 July. *Rosenberg, Donald (1984). "A Gifted Pianist Who Is Not Yet 15." ''Philadelphia Inquirer''. 27 July. *Finn, Robert (1984). "Young Greek Pianist Does Amazingly Well on Mozart." ''Cleveland Plain Dealer''. 15 July. *Mclellan, Joseph (1984). "Dimitris Sgouros: Coming of Age." ''Washington Post''. 9 July. *Mclellan, Joseph (1982). "Dimitris Sgouros' Promising Piano." ''Washington Post''. 19 July. *Mclellan, Joseph (1982). "Pianist's Return." ''Washington Post''. 23 April. *Mclellan, Joseph (1982). "Bravo Sgouros." ''Washington Post''. 16 April. *Thomas, R. M. (1982). "Boy Vs. Rachmaninoff." ''The New York Times''. 15 April.

External links