PAPADAKIS GAVE A STUNNING PERFORMANCE OF THIS STRONG, TIGHTLY WOUND THEME AND VARIATIONS, DISPLAYING A GREAT VARIETY OF ATTACK, POETIC LYRICISM, A FEEL FOR JAZZ RHYTHM, AND WRISTS OF CARBON STEEL.
The Boston Globe
Born in Heraklion, Crete, Greece, KONSTANTINOS PAPADAKIS has been described by the press as “one of the greatest hopes of music” as well as a “spontaneous, honest artist”.
Noted both for his versatility and his artistic depth and maturity, Konstantinos performs repertoire that stretches from Scarlatti through the Romantics, continuing through Bartok and Stravinsky to more contemporary composers such as Ligeti and Crumb. Equally at home performing Bach’s English Suites or Ligeti’s Etudes for Piano, he possesses an unusually broad repertoire, including some 70 concertos and over 300 works for solo piano, not to mention numerous chamber works.
Konstantinos has performed in recitals and collaborated with chamber ensembles and orchestras in the world’s major concert halls and famous artistic centers from Russia and Southern Europe to the United States and Canada. He has recorded several works especially written for him by contemporary composers, many of which have been broadcast on radio and television. He has won several prizes and distinctions at international piano competitions, including the prestigious Yannis Vardinoyannis Award, given for the first time to a pianist, as well as the Esther & Albert Kahn Award. Other major appearances include Wigmore Hall, Jordan Hall, the Athens Concert Hall, New York’s Carnegie Hall and St. Petersburg’s Grand Concert Hall, where he performed in world premieres of works by Greek and Russian contemporary composers.
Konstantinos studied at the Hellenic Conservatory of Crete with Vilma Antonakaki; a year later, having already won the first prize at the Panhellenic Competition (including a Special Distinction for his own composition), he debuted as soloist in many performances showing his special musical and pianistic skills. He subsequently received a fellowship at the Hellenic Conservatory of Athens, where he studied with Costis Gaetanos, and he graduated with a First Prize Golden Medal for excellence (a superior distinction awarded for the first time to a pianist). He also attended lessons with Martino Tirimo, Nikolai Petrov, and Vladimir Ashkenazy.
An alumnus of Boston University's School for the Arts, Konstantinos studied with Anthony diBonaventura and received an Artist Diploma in Piano Performance. At his graduation in May of 2000, he was invited to join Boston University's piano faculty where he remained until 2019. From 2006 to May 2011 Konstantinos was the “Samuel Barber Artist-in-Residence” at West Chester University in West Chester, Pennsylvania.
In addition to repeated solo appearances with Boston's Atlantic Symphony Orchestra, Konstantinos holds the prestigious Motoko and Gordon Deane Principal Chair as the Orchestra's pianist. Currently he is on the piano faculties of the New England Conservatory's Pre-College and Continuing Education and Belmont Piano Academy.
He also directs the Summer Piano Academy in Athens, Greece.
ONE OF THE GREATEST HOPES OF MUSIC
The Independent Times
