Photo by Herbert Labenski
Agapi Triantafyllidi was born in Preveza in 1988. Raised in a purely musical and artistic environment she received her first piano lessons at the age of four.
Her first official public appearance in Athens was in a Panhellenic Music Competition where she won First Prize.
Many glowing reviews appeared in the press about her performance characteristically referring to the ‘magic fingers of this nine year old girl’, a phrase which proved prophetic when one looks at her remarkable achievements and her continuous progress.
She attended the Conservatory Protoporia under the piano teacher Alla Chalapsi and was awarded the Vladimir Krainev and Vladimir Spivakov scholarships. This marked the beginning of an intensely productive period in her life.
Her outstanding solo performance at the Kremlin, her joint performance with the Symphonic Band of the Moscow College of wind instruments conducted by Rem Gekht at the Greek National Opera and the National Symphonic Orchestra of E.R.T. under the conductor Andreas Pylarinos when she was only 14 years old established her reputation in the Athens and Moscow music circles. The great pianist and master Vladimir Krainev praised her talent and wrote that she possessed rare interpretive skills and a solid music education.
She received the National Piano Diploma from the Hellenic Ministry of Culture with honours (the highest distinction) and was awarded a state scholarship from I.K.Y which was her ticket to the Hochschule fur Musik und Tanz in Cologne where she continued her Diplom-Piano performance studies under Professor Pavel Gililov. By working next to the intenationally acclaimed pianist she honed her skills and developed a highly aesthetical intrerpretive style suggestive of a spiritual link between the creator and the performer. Her playing emanates the quality of great piano schools which makes her performances something one really looks forward to, true gems.
She won 2nd Prize at the J.N.Hummel International Piano Competition, 3rd Prize at the Karlrobert-Kreiten Competition in Cologne, 3rd Prize at the International ‘Chopin’ Competition in Hannover, 1st Prize at the International Competition of the Festival of Classical Music in Rhodes, Grand Prix at the International Competition of the Festival of Classical Music in Mytilini, 3rd Prize at the Panhellenic Festival in Andros and 3rd Prize/Laureate at the International ‘Chopin’ Competition in Moscow.
She has collaborated successfully with the following orchestras: Slovak Philharmonic, Orchester ’91 from Hamburg, the Municipality of San Martin, San Juan University in Argentina, Südwestfalen in Germany and the Athens State Orchestra conducted by Mariano Chiacchiarini, Rastislav Stur, Daniel Kirchmann, Charis Iliadis and Nikos Christodoulou.
She has appeared at the Kölner Philarmonie, Konzerthaus Detmond, Beethovenhalle Bonn, Bundesverwaltungsgericht Leipzig, at the Kremlin, the Auditorio Victoria in San Juan, Teatro Poliziano in Montepulciano, the Athens Concert Hall, the Greek National Opera and the Parnassos Athens Hall. She has participated in the festivals of Lucerne and Amsterdam, Beethovenfest, the International Mendelssohn Academy, the Eppan Piano Academy and the Montepulciano Academy.
She has accepted job proposals and collaborated with the following artists: Renato Ripo (cello), Koryun Asatrvan (saxophone), Nil Kocamangil (cello), Vasilios Manis (baritone), Fedor Roudin (violin) and Timothy Braun (violin).
Agapi Triantafyllidi is a member of the Yehudi-Menuhin Live Music Now organization through which she presents concerts for charitable purposes and offers her services to the Family Support Centre of the Holy Archdiocese of Athens.
In the course of her career she has met and been influenced by piano virtuosos such as Dmitri Bashkirov, Daejin Kim, Igor Lazko, Vassili Lobanov, Ivo Pogorelich, Vladimir Ovchinnikov, Alexander Lonquich and Alan Weiss.
She has recorded for WDR and the Hellenic Radio and Television. She is the founder of EROS Ensemble and DUO Aura while thanks to the scholarship granted by the Onassis Public Benefit Foundation she is currently attending Master of Music Classes under Professor Jacob Leuschner.