Pianist Alexandros Kapelis has appeared in recital and as soloist in England, France, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Malta, Greece, Cyprus and the Middle East, as well as the United States, Mexico, and South America. He has been described by the press as “a virtuoso of the keyboard without any concession to the public nor to decadent sentimentality” (Diari de Balears, Spain), “an artist of indisputable artistic maturity” (Estia, Greece), and “possessing an undeniable temperamental vein” (El Porvenir, Mexico). Recognized early in his career by the International Press Service (IPS) as “one of the most promising young classical musicians of any nationality working in New York today,” he has gone on to perform in prominent venues that include Lincoln Center and the United Nations in New York, the Kennedy Center in Washington, the Chicago Art Institute and the Chicago Cultural Center, Cadogan Hall and Stationer’s Hall in London, the Salle Cortot in Paris, the Musei Capitolini in Rome, and the Athens Megaron. As soloist, Mr. Kapelis has appeared with the Prague Symphony Orchestra, the Camerata Italica, Puellarum Pragensis (Czech), the Monterrey Symphony (Mexico), the Filarmónica de Lima (Peru), and the Orchestra ton Chromaton (Greece), in addition to ensembles from the Philharmonia Orchestra, the Berlin Philharmonic and the acclaimed chamber ensemble of the New York Philharmonic, the Philharmonic Chamber Soloists, with whom he toured Europe last May. Other engagements from last season include his debut with the Royal Philharmonic in London, a sold out recital tour of France, American debuts at the Kennedy Center and San Francisco’s War Memorial, as well as a special New York appearance at the Dahesh Museum of Art, in conjunction with the museum’s exhibit on the legacy of Homer. On this last occasion, Mr. Kapelis premiered an unprecedented recital program surveying Greek history and mythology as a source of inspiration in the solo piano repertoire. Under the auspices of the Greek government, Mr. Kapelis is presenting this program on a world tour representing Greek culture. Born of a Greek father and Peruvian mother, Mr. Kapelis grew up with the advantages of a dual heritage and spent time in both countries during his formative years. He began playing the piano at the age of five and has studied with prominent musicians, including 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. Mr. Kapelis also studied orchestral conducting with Bruno Aprea at the Accademia Internazionale delle Arti in Rome, and has attended the masterclasses of Gianluigi Gelmetti at the Accademia Chigiana, in Siena. He conducted Handel’s opera Giulio Cesare at the Ernen Musikdorf Festival in Switzerland and has gone on to conduct Bach and Mozart piano concertos from the keyboard. Alexandros Kapelis resides in New York City and Brussels; he is a Steinway Artist.
 
ALEXANDROS  KAPELIS
biography