Search - Dino Mastroyiannis :: Zorba's Dance: Greek Music for Solo Piano

After nearly twenty years as a concert pianist, I have to admit that, wherever I was, always some kind of nostalgia was leading me back to my country, Greece. So, during the last five years, through many emotions and memories, I have been collecting - very carefully and one by one - the Greek pianistic gems, with which I have created this musical necklace . Through these recordings, I hope to show that this music will speak not only to the heart of the Greek people, but also to listeners around the world - far away from Greece. In this collection, I have included a piece by John Psathas, certainly much more contemporary than the rest of the works featured. I have done so because, according to my opinion, if composers like living legend Mikis Theodorakis represent the glorious past and present of Greek music, John Psathas represents its bright future. Eminent Greek concert pianist DINO MASTROYIANNIS has pursued a career of remarkable diversity. Regarded for his rich and multi-faceted technique , perfect feeling for rhythm and rare expressiveness , he has appeared in such prestigious concert halls as Bridgewater Hall in Manchester, England; Glinka Hall of the St. Petersburg Philharmonic; Ateneul Român in Bucharest; and the Rudolfinum in Prague, to name a few. He has performed in many international festivals and in historic places, including the Bertramka Mozart museum in Prague, the ancient Odeon Theatre of Herodes Atticus as part of the Athens International Festival, and in April 2010 at the Montenegrin National Theater as part of the 9th International A Tempo Festival, of which the newspaper Dan wrote: impressive how a simple piece in the hands of a virtuoso could become truly a work of art which persons of all ages find interesting. Mr. Mastroyiannis first undertook piano study under Ely Adam, himself directly of the Cortot school . He is a graduate of the Music Conservatory of Athens, where he studied under Aliki Vatikioti, receiving a Soloist Diploma with the highest possible distinction and the coveted First Prize. He continued his studies under internationally acclaimed Bulgarian pedagogues Konstantin and Julia Ganevi, former students of Heinrich Neuhaus, and in both solo and chamber music performance in Austria, Germany and at the Sion Music Academy in Switzerland. Mr. Mastroyiannis completed his studies in piano performance as a private student of the greatest virtuoso, Brazilian pianist Roberto Szidon, student of Claudio Arrau and Artur Rubinstein. Dino Mastroyiannis enjoys a special collaboration and friendship with legendary living Greek composer Mikis Theodorakis. Among many of Theodorakis works for piano and orchestra he has performed to critical acclaim, Mastroyiannis achieved tremendous success with the world premiere of Theodorakis Helikon Piano Concerto lost for 44 years - given first in Finland in 2005 with the Mikkeli City Orchestra under Dominique Fanal, and subsequently with orchestras in several other countries. As a recording artist, Mr. Mastroyiannis has worked many times with radio and television entities across Europe, and has released a CD of Saint-Saëns Piano Concerto No.4 with the Catanzaro Symphony Orchestra conducted by Giovanni Froio.