Violin & Piano Recital

The concertmaster of the Cyprus Symphony Orchestra and the well-known and talented pianist Manolis Neophytou meet again, this time on the stage of Markideio Theatre in Paphos, for one and only concert, on Wednesday, 23rd of September 2020, at 8:30pm. The two virtuosi musicians will perform works by Ludwig van Beethoven, Fritz Kreisler and Eduard Grieg.

The programme will begin with the Sonata no7 in C minor by L.V. Beethoven, one of the most important sonatas in the violinist’s repertoire that was dedicated to Tsar Alexander I of Russia, ‘a word of drama, passion, power and almost symphonic scope’. Then we move to the short works ‘Liebesleid’ (Love's sorrow) and ‘Liebesfreud’ (Love's happiness), by Fritz Kreisler, one of the greatest violinists of all time, who was known for his sweet tone and expressive phrasing. The programme will end with the Sonata no3 in C minor by Eduard Grieg, the most popular of his three sonatas, and also his personal favourite, premiered with Grieg himself at the piano.

The concert is part of the ‘Technopolis 20 Classics’, an exclusive project of classical music concert series, organised by Technopolis 20 and a private sponsor. High-quality classical music concerts are organised, supporting local talented musicians and hosting musicians from abroad. More information for past and future you can find in our website https://www.technopolis20.com/technopolis20-classics.

The production takes all the necessary precautions and follows the instructions announced by the government, in order to ensure your health and safety.

Entrance: €12/ €8 (students)

ONLY with presales. Tickets available at Technopolis 20 art centre. 

A ticket office will NOT OPERATE on the night of the event.

Opening hours: Monday - Saturday, 9am - 1pm

Information: 70002420

Organiser: Technopolis 20

Co-organiser: Municipality of Paphos

Sponsors: 

Deputy Ministry of Tourism

Vouni Panagia Winery

A few words about the musicians

Wolfgang Schröder (violin): Born into a South German family, Wolfgang Schröders earliest studies began with his parents. At a young age Ana Chumachenko became his teacher and played a decisive role in his development as a violinist. At the early age of 17, he won the first prize at the German state competition Jugend musiziert (Youth makes music) and subsequently a scholarship at the International Menuhin Music Academy (IMMA). He has performed together with Yehudi Menuhin and Alberto Lysy, both as soloist and chamber musician in numerous European countries (Barbican Center, London), South America (Teatro Colon, Buenos Aires), and many other. After graduating from IMMA, he continued his studies at the Mozarteum University of Music in Salzburg under Prof. Sandor Vegh, and thereafter at the Mannes School of Music in New York under Prof. Aaron Rosand. Wolfgang Schröder’s solo career has included performances with the Bavarian Chamber Philharmonic, Munich Philharmonic, Stuttgart Philharmonic Orchestra, Czech Symphony Orchestra, Talich Chamber Orchestra, Polish Chamber Philharmonic, Kammerorchester Basel, Rubinstein Phil harmony Lodz, Salzburg Chamber Philharmonic, Camerata Salzburg, Nuremberg Symphony, Cairo Symphony Orchestra, Israel Soloists Ensemble, Athens State Orchestra, Thessaloniki State Orchestra, Thai Philharmonic Orchestra etc. He was also the artistic director of the European Community Chamber Orchestra (ECCO) from 1993-1995 and has performed a number of highly acclaimed concert tours worldwide. He has worked with conductors like Vladimir Ashkenazy, Andrey Boreyko, Daniel Raiskin, to name just a few. As an active chamber musician, in 1992 he founded the Belcanto String Trio and from 1996 to 2005 has regularly performed as violinist of the Trio Parnassus. In September 2001 the Trio Parnassus received the prestigious Echo Classic Award for their complete recording of the Schumann piano trios. As soloist and chamber player Wolfgang Schröder performs in musical centers such as the “Philharmonie” in Berlin, the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, the Vienna “Konzerthaus”, at the “Great Performers Series“ at Lincoln Center New York, at the “Frick Collection” Museum New York at the “Masters Series“ in London`s Wigmore Hall, at the London Barbican Hall, the Megaron Musikis of Athens and at “Teatro Colon” in Buenos Aires.

Wolfgang Schröder’s chamber music partners include artists like among others Wenzel Fuchs, Vladimir Mendelssohn, Benjamin Schmid, Alex Karr, Cyprien Katsaris, Julian Rachlin, Janine Jansen, Daniel Raiskin, Ramon Jaffe, Andreas Frölich, Elisaveta Blumina, Levon Chilingirian Zvi Carmeli, Alex Hülshoff and Gustav Rivinius and Sennu Laine. He also has been regularly invited to major chamber music festivals such as the Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival in Finland, the Open Chamber Musicians Seminar at Prussia Cove (England), the Hopfgarten Festival (Austria), the Moritzburg Festival in Germany, the West Cork Festival in Ireland, the Umea and Bostad Festivals (Sweden), the International Music Festival Middelburg (Holland) , the Euriade Festival in Aachen, Germany, the International Festival of Echternach (Luxemburg) and the Ojika Festival, Japan. Since 1998 he has been artistic director of the Camerata Stuttgart. Appearances with the Camerata Stuttgart include performances in prestigious concert halls like the Concertgebouw of Amsterdam, the Megaron Music Hall of Athens, Liederhalle of Stuttgart and the Dortmund Opera House. Wolfgang Schröder has made recordings for MDG, Divox, Ars Production, Thorofon, Symicon and CPO labels. A CD with the complete Sonatas for Violin by Eugene Ysaye appeared on Hook Records in 2017. Since 2005 he is 1st Concertmaster of the Cyprus Symphony Orchestra.

Manolis Neophytou holds a Bachelor of Music (Honours) Degree in Performance from the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatoire, where he studied with Prof. Irina Plotnikova and Prof. Arkadii Sevidov, with a scholarship from Nicolas Economou Foundation. He also studied in Ecole Normale in Paris with a scholarship from the Albert Russel Foundation. He has obtained his Masters in Piano Performance from the University of London with a scholarship from the State Scholarships Foundation of Greece (I.K.Y.). Manolis represented Cyprus at the Eurovision Classical Contests in Brussels (1992), Warsaw (1994) and Lisbon (1996) after winning the Cyprus National Competitions for young musicians. He has received prizes in several piano competitions: the Fourth Prize at Senegallia International Piano Competition (Italy, 1994), the First Prize at the Inter-Mediterranean Music Festival (Palermo, Italy, 1995) and the Second Prize at the Giorgos Thimis Piano Competition (Megaron Mousikis of Thessaloniki, Greece, 2002). His performance activities include solo recitals and concerts in Greece, Russia, Poland, Italy, France, Ireland, U.K., Korea, South Africa and Cyprus. He is currently teaching piano at the Music Lyceum in Limassol and the European University of Cyprus.