A rarity among his generation, Kapelis plays expressively and evocatively. INTERNATIONAL PRESS SERVICE (IPS), New York
There is in his playing a precision of rhythm, a dedication to clarity, and a clear attentiveness to form. One can almost see him listening to the composer’s voice. PIEDMONT POST, San Francisco
Kapelis threw himself into the wild raptures of Claude Debusy’s “The Joyous Island” and expertly limned the classical poise of his “Dancers of Delphi.” THE WASHINGTON POST
It was moving to listen to Greek pianist Alexandros Kapelis, a fully structured musician, with strength and sensitivity, but also with ethos, revealed not only by the quality of his sound, but also by his bearing and body language. Last night, he stood worthily on stage next to the great Martha Argerich in Bach’s Concerto [BWV 1065]. KATHIMERINI. Athens, Greece
BIOGRAPHY
“A virtuoso of the keyboard without any concession to the public nor to decadent sentimentality” (Diari de Balears, Spain), “an artist of unquestionable artistic maturity” (Estia, Greece), and “possessing an undeniable temperamental vein” (El Porvenir, Mexico), Alexandros Kapelis was born in Lima, Peru, of a Greek father and a Peruvian mother. He spent time in both Peru and Greece during his formative years and grew up with the advantages of a dual heritage. At the age of twenty he moved to New York, where early in his career he was recognized by the International Press Service (IPS) as “one of the most promising young classical musicians of any nationality working in New York today.” Later on he met Martha Argerich and lived in Brussels for three years next to the great pianist, where they forged a friendship and mentoring relationship. Today, Alexandros Kapelis has performed in venues that include Lincoln Center and the United Nations in New York, the Kennedy Center in Washington, the Herbst Theatre in San Francisco, the Chicago Cultural Center, Cadogan Hall in London, the Salle Cortot and UNESCO in Paris, the Musei Capitolini in Rome, and the Athens Megaron. He has appeared in the United Kingdom, France, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, Spain, Greece, Cyprus, Malta and the Middle East, as well as the United States, Mexico, South America, and a recent debut tour of Japan.
As a soloist, Kapelis’ highlights include appearances with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in London, the Prague Symphony Orchestra, the Camerata Italica, as well as the foremost orchestras in his native Greece. In addition, he has performed concertos and chamber music with ensembles of musicians from the Philharmonia Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic. It is during his years in New York that Kapelis enjoyed an eight-year collaboration with a chamber group of musicians from the New York Philharmonic, The Philharmonic Chamber Soloists, in a partnership that took him from New York’s Lincoln Center to several tours in Europe. A prolific chamber music player, his more recent collaborations include performances with violinist Renaud Capuçon, violist Yuri Bashmet, cellist Mischa Maisky, clarinetist Stanley Drucker, trumpeter Sergei Nakariakov, and pianist Martha Argerich. As a recitalist, Kapelis’ solo repertoire encompasses all periods and often combines standard with more obscure works. Most recently, he has premiered an unprecedented recital surveying Greek myth as a source of inspiration and is currently presenting this program on a world tour.
Kapelis began playing the piano at the age of five and studied with Rosa Basurco in Peru, Dimitri Toufexis at the American College of Greece, Diane Walsh and Julius Levine at the Mannes College of Music in New York, and Noretta Conci in London. He also studied orchestral conducting and attended the masterclasses of Bruno Aprea (Rome) and Gianluigi Gelmetti (Accademia Chigiana, Siena). He conducted Handel’s opera Giulio Cesare at the Ernen Festival in Switzerland, and currently enjoys conducting Bach and Mozart piano concertos from the keyboard. He has participated in various international Festivals, notably the Martha Argerich Project in Lugano. He has consistently been praised by the press for his “full range of technique in rendering the total palette of keyboard colors” (Piedmont Post, USA) as well as for his “scintillating performances” (Washington Post, USA). Alexandros Kapelis is a Steinway Artist; he spends his time between Brussels and Tuscany.
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