Ludwig van Beethoven: ''Variations Eroica'', Op. 35
Frédéric Chopin: Ballad No. 4 in F minor, Op. 52
Franz Liszt: Venezia e Napoli, from Years of Pilgrimage, Second Year: Italy, S. 161
Franz Liszt: Valse from the opera Faust, S. 407
Franz Liszt: Rigoletto Paraphrase de Concert, S. 434
Arthur Rubinstein exclaimed: “I thank God for keeping me alive so that I would be able to hear with my own ears Sgouros play. He is the best pianist I have ever heard, including myself”. He then took off his gold watch and put it on Dimitris Sgouros' wrist as if passing on the torch. Two months later he was dead.
It is with great pleasure and honour that the Thessaloniki Concert Hall welcomes Dimitris Sgouros to celebrate together with the audience of this city the presence of this reknowned soloist for 35 years in the world scene.
A young boy when he received such high praise from Rubinstein, Sgouros has since amazed audiences throughout the world with his prodigious talent. Highly acclaimed in the world of classical music, Sgouros has performed in major concert halls throughout the world. Born in Athens, Greece in 1969, Dimitris Sgouros began his career as an 8 year old prodigy at the Athens Conservatory, where by the time he completed his studies he had received every award given. He then continued his studies at the University of Maryland and the Royal Music of Academy of London, from which he graduated with the highest mark ever granted by the Academy. In 1982 at the age of 12, Sgouros made his Carnegie Hall debut with the National Symphony Orchestra of Washington D.C., under the direction of Mstislav Rostropovich. He made his Berlin Philharmonic debut that same year with Herbert von Karajan.
In addition to being a world-renowned pianist, Sgouros is adept at combining education and art. He has been invited to give lectures all around the world and he has been honourde with numerous awards. In 1988 a Festival was founded in his name in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Since that time, Sgouros Festivals have been organized in cities as far apart as Hamburg and Singapore.
Dimitris Sgouros has been called a “musical phenomenon” and “the Greek Myth” has even been compared to Mozart. Yevgeni Svetlanov, the great Russian conductor said: “Every one of us, would like to have a Sgouros near him”.