SOLO & CHAMBER MUSIC MASTERPIECES - Anna Avramidou, Andrei Ionita and Igor Andreev
Markideion Municipal Theatre
21 September - 6pm
Entrance: €25 / €10 (under 18)
Tickets available online: www.technopolis20.com
Information: 70002420
Technopolis 20 is delighted to present the second concert of the Technopolis 20 Classics series for the season, featuring three outstanding musicians: celebrated cellist Andrei Ioniță, acclaimed pianist Igor Andreev, and the exceptionally talented young Cypriot pianist Anna Avramidou. The concert will take place on Sunday, 21st of September 2025, at 6pm, at Markideio Theatre.
This special evening promises an unforgettable musical journey, showcasing a rich repertoire of solo and chamber music masterpieces performed by internationally renowned artists and a rising star of the new generation.
At just 17 years old, Anna Avramidou has already established herself as one of Cyprus’s most promising young pianists. She has won numerous international awards, performed as a soloist with orchestras across Europe, and is currently pursuing her studies at the prestigious Purcell School for Young Musicians in London. Her recent accolades include winning the Grand Prix at the 6th International Franz Liszt Piano Competition for Young Pianists in Weimar.
Andrei Ioniță is widely considered one of the leading cellists of his generation. Winner of the Gold Medal at the 2015 XV International Tchaikovsky Competition, he has captivated audiences around the world with his deeply expressive performances and remarkable technical finesse. He has appeared with major orchestras and at prestigious festivals, collaborating with distinguished musicians such as Martha Argerich and Christian Tetzlaff.
Igor Andreev is an award-winning pianist, recognised for his versatility as a soloist, chamber musician, and accompanist. His performances, spanning major venues across Europe and beyond, are praised for their passion, precision, and historical sensitivity. In addition to his concert career, Igor is actively involved in music education and artistic projects, further enriching the cultural landscape.
The programme will open with a solo performance by Anna Avramidou, who will present Frederic Chopin’s Piano Sonata No. 2 in B-flat minor, Op. 35, a work renowned for its dramatic contrasts and the iconic “Funeral March” movement. The evening will continue with Ludwig van Beethoven’s Sonata for Cello and Piano in G major, Op. 5 No. 2, performed by Andrei Ioniță and Igor Andreev, showcasing a rich dialogue between cello and piano. To conclude the concert, Igor Andreev and Anna Avramidou will join forces for a lively selection from Johannes Brahms’ Hungarian Dances for Piano Four Hands, offering a spirited and colourful finale.
Join us for this inspiring concert at Technopolis 20 and experience an evening of extraordinary musicianship, bringing together experience, brilliance, and youthful energy in an intimate setting.
Supporter: Paphos Municipality
Sponsor: Foto Larko
Hospitality Sponsor: Coral Beach Hotel
Sponsor: Foto Larko
Hospitality Sponsor: Coral Beach Hotel
A few words about the musicians
ANNA AVRAMIDOU, PIANO
Anna Avramidou was born in January 2008 in Cyprus to parents of the Greek Diaspora. She began piano lessons at the age of five at the Musica Mundana under the guidance of Mrs. Mariola Charitidou. At the age of ten, she obtained her ABRSM Grade 8 with distinction. From an early age, Anna has been recognized in international competitions in Cyprus, Greece, Germany, Mexico, and Russia.
At the age of eight, she won first prize at the 21st International Piano Competition “Evangelia Tziarri.” In the same year, she received two additional awards in the Panhellenic Competition “Maria Chairoyiorgou-Sigara” and the competition “O Filon” of the Piraeus Cultural Center. She later won first prize in the 2nd Pancyprian Music Competition “Solon Michaelides” in 2017, the 11th Pancyprian Young Pianists Competition “Avantgarde” in 2018, and the 1st Panhellenic Competition “Solon Michaelides” in 2019.
She gave her first solo piano recital at the age of nine. In 2018, she made her debut with the Cyprus Youth Symphony Orchestra and the Vienna Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. In March 2020, she performed for the first time with the Cyprus Symphony Orchestra. After a period of absence due to the pandemic, she gave a solo recital at the Cyprus Wine Museum in Limassol. Beyond her success in competitions, Anna has participated in international festivals and attended piano masterclasses with renowned pianists and professors, including Marios Papadopoulos, Vladimir Ovchinnikov, Ludmila Berlinskaya, Thomas Duis, Ekaterina Mechetina, Mira Marchenko, Jacob Katsnelson, Christoph Declara, Fedele Antonicelli, Roberto Domingos, Ioan Dracos Dimitriu, Boris Petrushansky, and Mikhail Voskresensky.
In August 2021, she participated in the winners’ concert of the International Competition “Euplayy” at the Brunnenhof Residenz in Munich, Germany, where she won first prize. Shortly after, in November 2021, she gave a solo recital as part of the 2nd Nicosia International Festival at the Nicosia Municipal Theater. In December 2021, she performed at the inauguration of Eleftheria Square in Nicosia in the presence of the President of the Republic of Cyprus. In November 2022, she appeared as a soloist with the Commandaria Orchestra at the Pattihio Theater in Limassol and the Pallas Theater in Nicosia. In December 2023, she performed with the Cyprus Youth Symphony Orchestra and the Nicosia Youth Ballet in The Nutcracker at the Nicosia Municipal Theater. She also participated in the Christmas Gala with the Limassol Municipality Symphony Orchestra at the Pattihio Municipal Theater.
Since September 2022, Anna has been studying at the Purcell School for Young Musicians in London under the guidance of Ms. Tessa Nicholson. During this time, she has participated in numerous concerts in the United Kingdom, including performances at the Leeds International Concert Season, the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, the Hinchingbrooke Performing Arts Centre, St Mary’s Watford, the Clarendon Muse Concert Hall, and Pushkin House. She was awarded a Leverhulme Trust of London scholarship for the 2022–2023 academic year.
In November 2023, she competed in the 6th International Franz Liszt Piano Competition for Young Pianists in Weimar, Germany. Not only did she win first prize in Category II, but she was also awarded the Grand Prix for her outstanding performance throughout the competition. Additionally, she received the Liszt Prize, the Classical Sonata Prize, the EMCY Prize, and the Junior Jury Prize. She was the youngest finalist in her category, and the jury noted that her performance elevated the overall level of the competition. In recognition of her achievement, the High Commission of Cyprus in the United Kingdom organized a piano recital in her honor on February 28, 2024, at the House of Cyprus in London. In June 2024, she performed as a soloist in a collaborative concert between the Cyprus Symphony Orchestra and the Cyprus Youth Symphony Orchestra, interpreting Rhapsody in Blue by George Gershwin. Subsequently, in July, she performed at the Barletta Piano Festival in Italy and in August in Weimar, Germany. In September of the same year, she performed Piano Concerto No. 1 by Tchaikovsky with the Thessaloniki State Orchestra. It is also noteworthy that for the third consecutive year, she is a scholar of the A.G.Leventis Foundation.
ANDREI IONIŢĂ, CELLO
“…a fully individual musical personality…with a sparking technique and the priceless ability to respond to what is going on around him while he is displaying it.”
– The Guardian
The Gold Medal-winner at the 2015 XV International Tchaikovsky Competition, Andrei Ioniță is one of the most admired cellists of his generation, called “one of the most exciting cellists to have emerged for a decade,” by The Times of London. A versatile musician focused on giving gripping, deeply felt performances, Andrei has been recognized for his passionate musicianship and technical finesse. His debut album on Orchid Classics combined a Brett Dean world-premiere with Bach and Kodály, prompting Gramophone to declare him “a cellist of superb skill, musical imagination and a commitment to music of our time.”
“…a fully individual musical personality…with a sparking technique and the priceless ability to respond to what is going on around him while he is displaying it.”
– The Guardian
The Gold Medal-winner at the 2015 XV International Tchaikovsky Competition, Andrei Ioniță is one of the most admired cellists of his generation, called “one of the most exciting cellists to have emerged for a decade,” by The Times of London. A versatile musician focused on giving gripping, deeply felt performances, Andrei has been recognized for his passionate musicianship and technical finesse. His debut album on Orchid Classics combined a Brett Dean world-premiere with Bach and Kodály, prompting Gramophone to declare him “a cellist of superb skill, musical imagination and a commitment to music of our time.”
Andrei made his U.S. debut in 2017 with recitals in Chicago and Washington, D.C., and gave his New York debut recital in Carnegie Hall’s Zankel Hall. Previous season highlights include performances with the Chicago Symphony, Gewandhaus Orchestra, Detroit Symphony, Münchner Philharmoniker, Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, BBC Philharmonic, Danish National Symphony, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, San Diego Symphony, Yomiuri Nippon Symphony, and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales. He has worked with famous conductors including Herbert Blomstedt, Cristian Macelaru, Sylvain Cambreling, Kent Nagano, Omer Meir Wellber, John Storgårds, Joanna Mallwitz, and Ruth Reinhardt. He has given recitals at Konzerthaus Berlin, Elbphilharmonie, Zurich Tonhalle, LAC Lugano, and L’Auditori in Barcelona, as well as at the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Schleswig-Holstein, Verbier, and Martha Argerich Festivals. Andrei Ioniță’s exceptional talent makes him a versatile and sought-after performer of chamber music. In his concerts, he joins forces with Martha Argerich, Christian Tetzlaff, Sergei Babayan, and Steven Isserlis, among others.
Highlights of Andrei’s 2024-25 season include performances with the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra conducted by Geoffrey Robson, the St. Louis Symphony under the direction of Ruth Reinhart, and a collaborative trio performance with William Hagen and Anton Nel with Chamber Music in Oklahoma.
Prior to winning the Tchaikovsky Competition, Andrei won First Prize at the Khachaturian International Competition in June 2013, and Second Prize and the Special Prize for his interpretation of a commissioned composition at the International ARD Music Competition. In 2014, he received Second Prize at the Grand Prix Emanuel Feuermann in Berlin. He was a BBC New Generation Artist from 2016-18 and was the Symphoniker Hamburg’s artist-in-residence for the 2019-20 season.
Born in Bucharest, Romania in 1994, Andrei Ioniță first became a student of Ani-Marie Paladi and later of Prof. Jens Peter Maintz at the University of the Arts (UdK) in Berlin. Andrei performs on a cello made by Filippo Fasser from Brescia.
Prior to winning the Tchaikovsky Competition, Andrei won First Prize at the Khachaturian International Competition in June 2013, and Second Prize and the Special Prize for his interpretation of a commissioned composition at the International ARD Music Competition. In 2014, he received Second Prize at the Grand Prix Emanuel Feuermann in Berlin. He was a BBC New Generation Artist from 2016-18 and was the Symphoniker Hamburg’s artist-in-residence for the 2019-20 season.
Born in Bucharest, Romania in 1994, Andrei Ioniță first became a student of Ani-Marie Paladi and later of Prof. Jens Peter Maintz at the University of the Arts (UdK) in Berlin. Andrei performs on a cello made by Filippo Fasser from Brescia.
IGOR ANDREEV, PIANO
Igor Andreev was born in Kaliningrad (former Soviet Union) and discovered his passion for the piano at the age of 5. After first musical impulses in Kaliningrad received from Vladimir Slobodyan, Igor was promoted at a young age at the Conservatory in St. Petersburg by Prof. Vladimir Suslov. He continued his studies at the University of the Arts in Berne in the class of Prof. Tomasz Herbut, where he devoted himself to the chamber music at the same time.
Igor Andreev was born in Kaliningrad (former Soviet Union) and discovered his passion for the piano at the age of 5. After first musical impulses in Kaliningrad received from Vladimir Slobodyan, Igor was promoted at a young age at the Conservatory in St. Petersburg by Prof. Vladimir Suslov. He continued his studies at the University of the Arts in Berne in the class of Prof. Tomasz Herbut, where he devoted himself to the chamber music at the same time.
In 2017, Igor completed his Master Specialized studies at the Bern University of the Arts and received the Tschumi Prize for the best graduate. Since then, he was developing artistically with Konstantin Lifschitz in Lucerne, where Igor is currently working as his assistant, and with Vovka Ashkenazy in Lugano.
As a soloist and chamber musician Igor performs in concert halls throughout the world. He gives concerts as a soloist with symphony orchestras such as Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, L'Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi, L'Orchestra di Padova e del Veneto, Freiburg Philharmonic Orchestra, Polish Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra Sopot, Sinfonie Orchester Biel Solothurn, Zakhar Bron Festival Orchester, Janáček Philharmonic Ostrava, Kaliningrad State Symphonic Orchestra, Kaunas Chamber Orchestra and others.
Igor was a participant of programs of the Rotary club and Lions club of Germany and different projects of Gartow-Foundation. He was supported by the Foundation "Russian Performing Arts", a Federal scholarship of the Swiss Confederation, a scholarship from the Hirschmann Foundation and the Fondation Clavarte. He was also awarded the promotion prize of the Kiefer Hablitzel Foundation and the Rotary Excellence Prize (Lugano).
The list of Igor's successes includes main prizes in the international piano competitions like Liszt Competition in Weimar (2005), Competition of the Rotary clubs in Spain (2009), “3rd Classics in the Streets” Competition in Bad Ragaz (2012), “6. Concours International de Piano de Lyon” (2014), “69. Concours de Genève“ (2014), “9. Hamamatsu International Piano Competition” (2015), “13. UNISA International Piano Competition” (2016), “1. Manhattan International Music Competition" (2016), “4. Baltic International Piano Competition”, “Prix du Piano Bern” (2018), “2. Brescia Classica International Piano Competition” (2018), “4. City Acquaviva delle Fonti” International Piano Competition (2018), “8. Verona International Piano Competition” (2018) and “25. Rina Sala Gallo International Piano Competition” (2018).
In addition to the solo repertoire Igor Andreev pays much attention to chamber music. He is a prize winner of the Sviridov International Competition in St. Petersburg (2005), Shostakovich International Competition in Moscow (2010) and the “Three centuries of classical romances” international competition in St. Petersburg (2012). He expands these multifaceted activities by collaborating with professors like Antonio Meneses, Gertrud Weinmeister and Tianwa Yang as an accompanist at the Bern University of the Arts where he works since 2015. From the autumn semester 2021, Igor is also appointed as an assistant in the piano class of Prof. Tomasz Herbut and as a head of accompaniment and correpetition section of the music department.
In addition to the solo repertoire Igor Andreev pays much attention to chamber music. He is a prize winner of the Sviridov International Competition in St. Petersburg (2005), Shostakovich International Competition in Moscow (2010) and the “Three centuries of classical romances” international competition in St. Petersburg (2012). He expands these multifaceted activities by collaborating with professors like Antonio Meneses, Gertrud Weinmeister and Tianwa Yang as an accompanist at the Bern University of the Arts where he works since 2015. From the autumn semester 2021, Igor is also appointed as an assistant in the piano class of Prof. Tomasz Herbut and as a head of accompaniment and correpetition section of the music department.
Moreover, Igor is constantly interested in historical performance practice and devotes a large part of his art to pianoforte. So, he regularly appears on pianoforte with Gertrud Weinmeister, former solo violist of the Concentus Musicus Vienna under Nikolaus Harnoncourt, for example at the professor’s concert at the Bern Conservatory in 2017 or at the Millstätter Music Weeks 2019 in Austria.
Due to his intense work and aspiration to historically informed interpretation, Igor was invited to prepare the long-awaited Urtext edition and completion of Michail Glinka's sonata for viola/ violin and piano commissioned by "Partitura" publishing house. Published in February 2021, the work was awarded a grant from the Culture Commission of the City of Bern.
Due to his intense work and aspiration to historically informed interpretation, Igor was invited to prepare the long-awaited Urtext edition and completion of Michail Glinka's sonata for viola/ violin and piano commissioned by "Partitura" publishing house. Published in February 2021, the work was awarded a grant from the Culture Commission of the City of Bern.
In 2022, together with Thomas Gerber, Igor successfully released his debut CD on NEOS with the world premiere recordings of works for two pianos by Joachim Raff (for his 200th birthday) and Paul Juon (for his 150th birthday). In 2023, another CD was released with premiere recordings of vocal works by Walter Furrer (1902-1978) together with Julia Frischknecht, soprano.
Igor also enjoys working as an event organizer. “He makes Bern a piano city” is how Der Bund and Die Berner Zeitung describe him. In 2019, Igor founded and directed the world's only piano trio festival Piano Trio Fest, in 2022 the Ensemble Sinfonietta Bern and from 2023 a piano series for young pianists at the Zentrum Paul Klee Bern, the Young Piano Series.
