Theodosia Ntokou
Birth placeRhodes, Greece
GenreClassical Music
OccupationClassical pianist
InstrumentPiano
LabelWarner Classics
Websitetheodosia-ntokou.com

Theodosia Ntokou (Greek: Θεοδοσία Ντόκου, Rhodes Greece) is a Greek classical pianist.

Biography

Theodosia Ntokou was born on the island of Rhodes to a family of music lovers. Her mother, Mary Vergoti is a school teacher, her father, Panagiotis, is the commander of the harbor of Rhodes and her younger brother George is a medical doctor.

She began to study piano at the age of twelve at the conservatory in Rhodes. After the director of the conservatory spotted her talent, Ntokou and her mother would travel 32 hours from Rhodes to Athens and back by ship for weekly one-hour lessons at the National Conservatory. Ntokou moved to Athens when she turned 16.

There, she studied for five years at the National Conservatory with Aris Garufalis, and graduated with honors.

Ntokou then continued her studies with Hungarian pianist Laszlo Simon at the Universität der Künste in Berlin and simultaneously received her Postgraduate Degree from the Franz Liszt Academy of Budapest. She then moved to the United States, where she completed her master's degree with Russian pianist Oxana Yablonskaya and went on to earn an assistantship at the University of Hartford-The Hartt School in Connecticut.

Ntokou [1] has performed in many festivals across Europe such as the prestigious Progetto Martha Argerich,[2] the Ravello Festival,[3][4] the Athens & Epidaurus Festival,[5][6][7] the Martha Argerich Festival, the Crans-Montana "Les Sommets du Classique", the Armonie d'Arte Festival,[8] the Busko Zdrój Festival in Poland, the Rolandseck Festival in Germany,[9] the Sagra Musicale Malatestiana,[10] the Festival Pianistico Brescia e Bergamo[11][12][13] and the Carloforte Music Festival[14][15][16] in Italy and has collaborated with many orchestras such as the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra,[17] the Amsterdam Sinfonietta, the Berliner Symphoniker, the Athens State Orchestra[18][19][20][21] and the Berliner Camerata, the Youth Orchestra of Bahia among others.

Theodosia has been performing extensively in many prestigious halls through Asia, Europe[22] and the United States.

An important step in her life was her meeting in 2009 with the legendary pianist Martha Argerich,[23] who after an audition, became her mentor, inspiration and has led her to new paths in her career. Since then, Theodosia [24] has been under her guidance.[25]

The China Music Series

Ntokou[26] has made reality one of her wishes, as in November 2021, she will realize her new annual Classical Music Festival called China Music Series (Chinese: 中国南方音乐周) and will take place at the Guangzhou Opera House.

As a Founder and Artistic Director of the Series in 2020,[27] Theodosia welcomed artists who performed at the festival such as Martha Argerich, Maxim Vengerov, Steven Isserlis, Daniel Hope and Guy Braunstein.

Prizes and awards

Ntokou has received the following prizes and awards:

  • 2006: Young Artists International Piano Competition - Winner
  • 2007: Bradshaw & Buono International Piano Competition [28] Winner
  • 2008: Evelyn Bonnar Scholarship Award
  • 2021: Opus Klassik Awards / Best Chamber Music Award - Nomination

Discography

Reviews

In a review of Argerich's and Ntokou's new Beethoven album, Norman Lebrecht from Slipped Disc wrote:

Is nothing like you've ever heard...The most musical account since...Bruno Walter, maybe[35]

and the LA Times mentioned:

Refreshes as though the Pastorale were bathed in a crystalline mountain stream[36]

The BBC Music Magazine has praised Theodosia as:

Dramatically poised, classically aware, emotionally supple, and refreshing[37]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Theodosia Ntokou | Warner Classics". www.warnerclassics.com. Retrieved 2020-12-19.
  2. ^ "Martha Argerich Project". LuganoMusica. Retrieved 2020-05-24.
  3. ^ Salerno, Redazione Gazzetta di (2020-08-24). "Martha Argerich incanta la platea del Ravello Festival." (in it-IT). Gazzetta di Salerno. Retrieved 2020-12-19.
  4. ^ "Successo al Ravello Festival per Martha Argerich a Villa Rufolo" (in Italian). la Repubblica. 2020-08-24. Retrieved 2020-12-19.
  5. ^ Administrator, ο. "Η Θεοδοσία Ντόκου για πρώτη φορά στο Ηρώδειο με τη Μάρτα Άργκεριχ και την ΚΟΑ - Musicpaper.gr" (in el-gr). www.musicpaper.gr. Retrieved 2020-05-24.
  6. ^ "Η Μάρτα Άργκεριχ, μία από τις σημαντικότερες πιανίστριες του κόσμου για μία βραδιά στο Ηρώδειο" (in Greek). LiFO. Retrieved 2020-05-24.
  7. ^ Θάνος. "Martha Argerich - Theodosia Ntokou / Honoured guest: Dora Bakopoulou". Athens & Epidaurus Festival. Retrieved 2020-05-24.
  8. ^ "MARTHA ARGERICH project" (in it-IT). Armonie D'Arte Festival. Retrieved 2020-12-19.
  9. ^ Hartmann, Bernhard. "Gedenkkonzert im Maritim: Leben beim Fürsten" (in German). GA BONN. Retrieved 2020-05-24.
  10. ^ "Martha Argerich incanta il Teatro Grande" (in Italian). Giornale di brescia. 2018-04-22. Retrieved 2020-05-24.
  11. ^ "Festival pianistico di Brescia, a 77 anni Marta Argerich stupisce ancora" (in italian). Rainews. Retrieved 2020-05-24.
  12. ^ S.p.A, Società Editrice Athesis. "Grande leggenda, astro nascente Argerich-Ntokou, incroci magici" (in Italian). Bresciaoggi.it. Retrieved 2020-05-24.
  13. ^ "Festival pianistico, a sorpresa concerto di Martha Argerich a Brescia - Bergamo News" (in Italian). BergamoNews. 2018-03-15. Retrieved 2020-05-24.
  14. ^ "La musica classica sbarca a Carloforte: talenti internazionali sino al 9 agosto" (in it-IT). Sardiniapost.it. 2019-07-26. Retrieved 2020-05-24.
  15. ^ Franchini, Alessandra (2018-07-24). "Da Tifu a Ntokou, le giovani star della classica al Carloforte Music Festival" (in Italian). Corriere della Sera. Retrieved 2020-05-24.
  16. ^ "Al Carloforte Music Festival la pianista greca Theodosia Ntoku e i Berliner Camerata" (in it-IT). Mediterranea. 2017-08-30. Retrieved 2020-05-24.
  17. ^ "RPO 19/20: Boulanger 360°". Cadogan Hall. Retrieved 2020-05-24.
  18. ^ "Αφιέρωμα στον Σέξπιρ και τη ρωσική/σοβιετική μουσική" (in el-GR). Η Εφημερίδα των Συντακτών. Retrieved 2020-05-24.
  19. ^ "Εξοχη Θεοδοσία Ντόκου με την Κρατική, Του Νίκου Α. Δοντά | Kathimerini". www.kathimerini.gr. Retrieved 2020-05-24.
  20. ^ ""Ονειρό μου είναι να παίζω κάθε δεύτερη μέρα", Του Νίκου Α. Δοντά | Kathimerini". www.kathimerini.gr. Retrieved 2020-05-24.
  21. ^ Ερη, Βαρδάκη (2016-11-01). "12 ερωτήσεις στην Θεοδοσία Ντόκου" (in Greek). Ειδήσεις - νέα - Το Βήμα Online. Retrieved 2020-05-24.
  22. ^ "Künstler" (in German). www.symphonikerhamburg.de. 2020-04-30. Retrieved 2020-05-24.
  23. ^ "Martha Argerich: Celebrating the Great Pianist at 80". Gramophone. Retrieved 2021-07-03.
  24. ^ "Talento innovativo. Intervista a Theodosia Ntokou | Cultura, ATLANTE | Treccani, il portale del sapere" (in it-IT). www.treccani.it. Retrieved 2021-07-03.
  25. ^ "Martha Argerich and Theodosia Ntokou". www.koa.gr. Retrieved 2020-05-24.
  26. ^ "Theodosia Ntokou". Spotify. Retrieved 2020-11-26.
  27. ^ "China Music Series - China Music Series". www.chinamusicseries.com. Retrieved 2020-05-24.
  28. ^ "Bradshaw and Buono International Piano Competition". Alexander & Buono International. Retrieved 2020-05-24.
  29. ^ "Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) - Concerto for piano and orchestra No. 3". www.acteprealable.com
  30. ^ "Martha Argerich (new album) - Beethoven: Symphony No. 6, "Pastoral" & Piano Sonata No. 17, "Tempest": lyrics and songs | Deezer", retrieved 2020-12-19
  31. ^ "Home page | Warner Classics". www.warnerclassics.com. Retrieved 2020-11-26.
  32. ^ "Martha Argerich / マルタ・アルゲリッチ | Warner Music Japan" (in Japanese). ワーナーミュージック・ジャパン | Warner Music Japan. Retrieved 2020-11-26.
  33. ^ "Beethoven: Symphony No. 6 (arr. for 2 pianos) & Piano Sonata No. 17 ' Tempest'". Presto Classical. Retrieved 2020-11-26.
  34. ^ "Beethoven | Warner Classics" (in Portuguese). www.warnerclassics.com. Retrieved 2020-11-26.
  35. ^ "The Slipped Disc daily comfort zone (285): This disc just won't leave my deck". Slipped Disc. 2021-01-13. Retrieved 2021-07-03.
  36. ^ "It's Beethoven's 250th birthday. Our critic's guide to the best new recordings". Los Angeles Times. 2020-12-14. Retrieved 2021-07-03.
  37. ^ "Beethoven: Symphony No. 6 (arr. piano four hands), etc". Classical Music. Retrieved 2021-07-03.