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Ellada Pavlou © Lilia Kirilova & Christos Fountos © Broadway Studios
24.11.2025 | 19:30 | Ehrbar Saal

Duo Fountos - Pavlou

Masterpieces for two pianos

Ellada Pavlou piano
Christos Fountos piano

Programme

Igor Sravinsky

Sonata for two pianos (1944)

Francis Poulenc

Sonata for two pianos, FP156 (1953)

Morton Feldman

Two Pianos (1957)

- INTERMISSION -

Dimitri Shostakovich

Concertino in A minor, Op.94 (1953)

Benjamin Britten

Mazurka Elegiaca, Op.23/2 (1941)

Kenneth Leighton

Prelude Hymn and Toccata (1987)

The Vienna-based Greek pianist Ellada Pavlou and the London-based Cypriot pianist Christos Fountos come together to bring the Viennese audience some of the most important works for two pianos from the 20th century. Twenty fingers on two identical instruments in conflict and in agreement - just like people for whom what really matters exists beyond arguments and unites them.
In this concert, Stravinsky's lighter lyrical side comes to the fore, Poulenc's darker profound inspiration of almost orchestral, sensual grandeur, one experiences the sudden contrast between serious and humorous - angry in Shostakovich and elegiac in Britten, who masterfully adapts the Polish Mazurka in the style of Chopin into his own harmonic language. The most fascinating pieces on the programme are probably those that are performed less frequently: Feldman's Two Pianos from 1957 and Kenneth Leighton's Prelude, Hymn and Toccatawhich was composed thirty years later and with which the pianists conclude the concert. An exuberant union in which the two become one in complete harmony.

Ellada Pavlou ...

... was born in Xanthi, Greece, in 1995. She began piano lessons at the age of five under the guidance of Giannoula Papazoglou. In 2019, she graduated from the Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in London with a BMus in Performance with Gabrielle Baldocci. At the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, she completed her Master's degree (MMus in Performance) in 2021 and her Artist's Diploma with Honours in 2022, studying under Murray McLachlan with scholarships from the Niarchos Foundation and the RNCM. During her studies Ellada had lessons with Nikolai Demidenko, Peter Donohoe, Barry Douglas, Stephen Hough, Hamish Milne, Pascal Roge, Martino Tirimo and others.

Ellada is based in Vienna. Ellada is an active soloist and a dedicated chamber musician. She recently gave concerts at the Maison Heinrich Heine (Fondation de l'Allemagne) in Paris and at the MdW in Vienna with the Austrian flautist Vanessa Gasser - including works by Schubert, Poulenc and Reinecke. She performs regularly with soprano Eleni Charalambous, most recently in Rome, Vienna and Lower Austria. Together with Christos Fountos, she formed a piano duo that performs repertoire for piano four hands and two pianos internationally. Her interest in new music has led her to collaborate with the composer Athanasia Kontou (Greece), who premiered and recorded her work "After the Sundown", with the composer Philipp-Manuel Gutmann (Austria), whose work "Memento" she premiered in Paris, and with the composer Thomas Aitken (Scotland) for his work "Spatter" for 2 pianos - 4 pianists. She recently gave a solo concert at the Alte Schmiede in Vienna with an exclusively contemporary programme that included works by Panos Demopoulos and Takemitsu. Ellada's solo performance experience includes concerts at the Ehrbar Saal, the Altes Rathaus and the Bechstein Centre in Vienna, the Amphithéâtre Richelieu of the Sorbonne University and the Hellenic Fondation in Paris, Pushkin House and the Royal Academy of Arts in London, the Teatro di Marcello in Rome, the Monteverdi Conservatory in Bolzano, the Paderewski Music School in Tarnòw, the Athens Concert Hall and the Bridgewater Hall and Chetham's School of Music in Manchester. Ellada's recent performances include her solo debut in Vienna, chamber music concerts with a clarinet duo in the UK and vocal and piano recitals with soprano Eleni Charalambous in Austria and Italy. She has recently completed the recording of her CD with cellist Hannah Vogel, featuring works by Henriette Bosmans. Upcoming concerts include a tour with pianist Christos Fountos in Austria and solo concerts in Spain, Italy and Austria.
You can find more information about Ellada Pavlou here here.

Christos Fountos ...

... was born in 1997 in Nicosia, Cyprus. He began piano lessons at the age of 5 under the guidance of Prof Miroslav Gospodinoff. At the age of 16 he received his piano diploma (Ptychion) from the National Conservatory of Cyprus with highest honours and just one year later he played Shostakovich's Piano Concerto No. 2 as a soloist in his debut with the Cyprus Symphony Orchestra. At the age of 18, Christos began his studies with Philip Fowke at the Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in London for his Bachelor in Performance. He graduated in 2019 with top marks and prizes and was nominated for the Gold Medal. He completed his Master's degree (MMus in Performance) in 2021 and his Artistic Diploma in 2022 with a full scholarship with Martino Tirimo and Sergio de Simone at the same institution, where he currently holds a Carne Junior Fellowship in Chamber Music. Christos performs regularly in various contexts: solo piano repertoire including new music, chamber music and vocal repertoire as an accompanist. On three occasions he has been one of the accompanists for Maestro Romualdo Savastano's summer vocal masterclasses and concerts in Italy and Spain, and as a member of staff at Trinity Laban Conservatoire in London he occasionally takes on the role of accompanist for lessons, examinations and masterclasses, which often involves teaching commitments. As a soloist he has recently worked with the Croydon Symphony Orchestra, Havant Symphony Orchestra, Guilford Symphony Orchestra, Epsom Symphony Orchestra, Sevenoaks Symphony Orchestra and three times with the Sampson Orchestra of Cambridge in Rachmaninov-Prokofiev-Beethoven 3rd Piano Concertos, Rachmaninov's 1st and Shostakovich's 2nd. Christos regularly takes part in competitions, most recently in the 4th Vienna Music Competition, where his trio, the "Waldstein Trio", won the 1st Grand Prize for chamber music, which led to a performance in the Brahms Hall of the Musikverein in April. The trio achieved significant success just a few months after its formation, winning 2nd prize at the 2022 Cavatina Chamber Music Competition at Wigmore Hall. Christos' recent performances include the Brahms Piano Quartets Nos. 1 and 3, Messiaen's Quartet, Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2 in England, cello-piano recitals with cellist Raphael Wallfisch in London and a series of vocal-piano recitals with soprano Eleni Charalambous in Cyprus.

Organised by Ellada Angelina Pavlou. Tickets can be purchased in advance and at the box office at the following prices: € 38,- (category 1), € 28,- (category 2) & € 19,- (category 3).

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