When and how did you first come into contact with music?
For as long as I can remember, there was a guitar and a harmonium at home, and I experimented with sounds. As a preschooler, I started attending the Municipal Conservatory of Larissa, where, at the age of 6, I also began piano lessons. I think I liked the piano then because I could easily play very loudly. My parents are not musicians, but they encouraged my involvement with music.
Who or what prompted you to pursue music professionally?
I remember that while I started attending the Conservatory with great interest, I somehow lost it along the way. At 12, I also started classical guitar alongside the piano and almost stopped piano lessons for the guitar. Then, around 14, I had to study for my piano exams, which the Conservatory director would attend. The director heard me there and suggested I participate in the Larissa piano competition the following year.
I remember my teacher having reservations, which was understandable since I hadn’t been practicing for years, and a competition requires study and good preparation. Eventually, that year I prepared, participated in the competition, and after that year, I felt I wanted to pursue piano professionally. Now I understand that what had fascinated me then was the time I dedicated to creating something.
Where did you study and which teachers shaped you?
I feel very lucky and grateful for the teachers I had from a young age, because each one contributed decisively to who I am today in their own way. Although all of them were different from each other, what I feel they have in common is their care. I always felt with them that everything they told me was because they cared about me becoming better and surpassing myself. And I always appreciate them first as people and then as musicians.
Certainly, my teacher in Larissa, Stella Zioga-Dede, ultimately made me love the piano by giving me the freedom to experiment, and without her presence, I definitely would not have pursued piano professionally. Then, at 16, I traveled to Thessaloniki for lessons with Domna Evnouchidou. Lessons with her were my personal choice, as I had heard her play a Mozart concerto on YouTube and was captivated by the beauty of her sound. With her, I began to understand how important it is to be faithful to the score and to listen more carefully. At 18, I moved to Thessaloniki, and during that period, I met Alexia Mouza. Meeting her was perhaps my first dream come true, as I had heard her online in the Chopin competition and was shocked by her energy when she played.
We met at one of her seminars in Crete, and after a while, we started lessons. More sporadically at first, and gradually more regularly. With her, I built strong technical foundations, but above all, she initiated me into new musical worlds. Every time she touched the piano during a lesson, it made me want to study more and more, so that I could also create something so beautiful.
I am currently studying in Lithuania, but I continue to consult Alexia frequently. With my teacher in Lithuania, Aleksandra Zvirblytė, we work on how to listen to all the elements in the musical text and how I want to highlight them.
Have you participated in competitions? Was there any one that decisively propelled you into your professional career?
The competition that defined my professional career is definitely “We Hear the Young” at the Kalogeropouleio Foundation of Corinth. It gave me the opportunity to play in recitals, record, meet other musicians, and most importantly, test my limits. It was there, due to the demanding program, that I realized rest is just as important as practice.
Which of your performances to date will remain unforgettable?
I think the concert in the Dimitris Mitropoulos Hall at the Athens Concert Hall, thanks to the “We Hear the Young” competition, will remain unforgettable for me. Initially, I always thought that this moment would come at an older age. In the end, it came earlier, and I remember that when I stepped onto the stage, I felt that all of this couldn’t be real. What stayed with me is that something I had been trying to achieve, I managed, but along with the joy, there was also anxiety.
What musical dream would you like to fulfill?
I would have liked to have had the opportunity to meet Nicholas Angelich and play with him. Unfortunately, he passed away a few years ago, and now that is not possible. I remember hearing him live in Paris playing Chausson – Concerto for Violin, Piano, and String Quartet, and I was deeply moved by the beauty and sweetness of his sound. I still listen to his recordings and regret that he left us young, but I feel lucky to have heard him in person.
How would you suggest we approach young people to get them involved in classical music?
What I would suggest to all of us, regardless of age, is not to lose our curiosity as we grow older and to allow ourselves to try new things without rejecting them beforehand. On the other hand, as musicians, we have a duty to understand that there is a tendency to demand that the audience not actively participate in a concert and to restrict them with rules. For example, many times I have been at concerts where the audience applauds between movements of a work, and many signal them to stop. However, for me, a concert has a vitality that should not be restricted and put into boxes.
What difficulties does a young musician face in Greece and the world today?
I believe that a young musician faces challenges because they encounter new experiences that they haven’t yet found a way to manage. Observing myself, lessons mainly come from mistakes. This can sometimes have a psychological cost, but personally, I prefer to see through negative experiences what I can change in the future to become better.
Besides music, what are your favorite activities?
It’s difficult for me to find free time outside of music. During periods when I’m more relaxed, I write short stories, I enjoy cooking for my friends, and watching series. I would like to have more time and be able to see my friends and family in Greece more often.
What are your goals for the future?
My goal is always to become better for myself. In this context, I would like to continue learning new repertoire and discovering new things. I would also certainly like to create more time for activities outside of music. I feel that enjoying activities outside of music helps me perform better in concerts and fills me with images and emotions that I then reproduce in my music.
BIOGRAPHY
Evangelos Papamanolis was born in Larissa in 2000. He began his first piano lessons at the age of six at the Municipal Conservatory of Larissa, with Stella Zioga-Dede as his teacher. At the age of sixteen, he continued his studies with Domna Evnouchidou. From 2020 and for three years, he studied with Alexia Mouza.
He continues his piano studies at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre with professors P. Geniušas and A. Žvirblytė. He has also attended masterclasses with E. Perkumaitė, H. Eijsackers, L. Liatsou, D. Toufexis, and I. Siopoudi.
He has performed in concerts at the Athens and Thessaloniki Concert Halls, in Larissa, Corfu, Nafplio, Germany (Konzerthaus Berlin), and Lithuania (Juoso Karoso Salė, Didžioji Salė, Vilniaus Paveikslų Galerija, Vilniaus rotušė).
In 2024, he was distinguished in the “We Hear the Young” competition and performed solo recitals in cities across the Peloponnese. In the same year, he collaborated with Spyros Mouriki on a recording for the Third Programme’s show “The Lady with the Strychnine.”
