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The Greek pianist, Dimitri Papadimitriou, began his piano studies at the young age of four with Russian pianist Alla Halapsis who was a piano professor at the local music conservatory and went on to make his orchestra debut at the age of nine with a performance of W.A. Mozart’s Piano Concerto in A major K.488 with the Conservatory's Chamber Orchestra. His teacher later brought Dimitri to the esteemed Athenaeum Conservatory in order to complete his studies with her there. During his youth, he quickly gained much recognition and was awarded first prize in the 'Classical Heritage' chamber music competition of Moscow; as a result of this prize, he performed at the winner’s gala concert at the main auditorium of the infamous Tchaikovsky Conservatory. He also participated in numerous festivals, received yearly scholarships from Greek foundations and at age 19 graduated from the Athenaeum Conservatory with 'Excellence by unanimous consent, First Prize and Gold Medal'
Prior to moving to the USA, Dimitri Papadimitriou made his debut with the Greek Radio Symphony Orchestra (GRSO) performing Sergei Rachmaninov's Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini at the National Opera House in Athens. After a phenomenal success, the following year he was invited back to play L.v. Beethoven's C minor Piano Concerto at the prestigious Athens Megaron. Since then he has been a regular soloist of the GRSO, with the most recent collaboration being his radio debut with Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No.1.
During his graduate studies at Indiana University with Emile Naoumoff and Menahem Pressler, Dimitri Papadimitriou participated in a plethora of festivals throughout Europe and the USA, including the Aspen Music Festival, the International Keyboard Festival of New York, Mozarteum Summer Academy of Salzburg and many more. In 2007 he was one of the eight pianists selected to participate in the exclusive Holland Music Sessions to study with Arie Vardi. All of these encounters and landmarks throughout his career have enabled him to interact with highly acclaimed teachers, such as Dmitri Bashkirov, John O’Conor, Yoheved Kaplinsky, Sergei Babayan, Boris Berman and Jerome Rose, all of whom have praised Dimitri for his artistry and musicianship.
When Dimitri moved to Ireland to pursue his doctoral studies with John O’Conor in 2009, Dimitri Papadimitriou was awarded a teaching assistantship which enabled him to build his own studio at the Royal Irish Academy of Music. During that period, he was selected to perform with the RIAM Symphony Orchestra at the National Concert Hall of Ireland for a celebratory concert of Frédéric Chopin’s 200th anniversary and made his debut with the Athens State Orchestra at the Athens Megaron, after winning the Young Soloists Concerto Competition.
Praised for his artistry, commitment and passion for music, Dimitri Papadimitriou has just been awarded the title ‘Doctor of Music Performance’ from the Royal Irish Academy of Music after successfully completing the degree requirements and submitting his thesis entitled ‘An exploration of the key characteristics in L.v. Beethoven’s pianos sonatas and selected instrumental repertoire’.
In addition to his academic and teaching endeavours, Dimitri Papadimitriou has been enjoying a flourishing career as a concert artist. Recent engagements include an all Franz Liszt Recital at the National Concert Hall, solo recitals for music festivals around Ireland such as the RDS Rising Stars, Clifden Arts Festival, Music in Kilkenny, Dublin Master Classes, the prestigious New Ross Piano Festival, and many more. Having a strong interest in chamber music, he has also collaborated with many instrumentalists and chamber groups in concerts throughout Europe and the USA, including the Aspen Music Festival.
Dimitri Papadimitriou is currently based in Pittsburgh, pursuing post-graduate studies under full scholarship at Carnegie Mellon University with Sergey Schepkin. |
