Presented by the Beethoven Piano Society of Europe
The young pianist Grigoris Ioannou (b 1995) has given numerous solo recitals and concerts in Greece, France, England, Belgium, Italy, Russia and Hungary. He has performed in concert venues such as the Amaryllis Fleming Concert Hall, St. Mary Abbots Church, St. Stephen’s Church and St. John’s Waterloo Church in London, Cesar Franck Auditorium in Paris, Kasteel d'Ursel in Antwerp, A. Scriabin House-Museum and Suvalov Hall in Moscow, Solti Hall at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest the 'Megaron' in Athens (Athens Concert Hall) as well as the 'Megaron' in Thessaloniki (Thessaloniki Concert Hall) – the 2 most prestigious venues in Greece . Among the highlights of Grigoris' career so far has been a critically acclaimed performance of Mozart’s Piano Concerto No 20, K 466 with the Athens State Orchestra, for which he received glowing reviews from the Athens press for his musicality, technical facility and sense of style. Grigoris has been invited to perform with the Sinfonietta Orchestra of Athens on multiple occasions, performing piano concertos by Mozart and Bach. He has also performed with the Thessaloniki State Conservatory Symphony Orchestra.
Grigoris graduated with a BMus(Hons) in July 2017 from the Royal College of Music, London, where he studied with professors Ian Jones and Peter Jablonski. His studies were supported by scholarships from the ABRSM and the Henry Wood Accommodation Trust. He has graduated with distinction from the Schola Cantorum of Paris (Diplome Superieur) and the Hellenic Conservatory (Piano Soloist Diploma with the conservatory's highest honours and an honorary Gold Medal) with Prof. Agathe Leimoni. He is also a graduate of the Ilion Music School where he studied piano with Prof. Irene Laliotou.
In addition to a number of national piano competition successes during his teenage years, Grigoris has won the 2nd Prize in the 'Francesco Moscato' International Piano Competition 2015 in Airola, Italy and was recently the 1st Prize Winner in the 3rd Thessaloniki Piano Festival Competition (April 2017). In 2015 he was selected as a finalist for the London Liszt Society International Piano Competition. He has also recorded solo piano works for the Greek National Radio Channel on two occasions, has appeared on National Television as part of a collaborative project and has been repeatedly interviewed by the Greek media.