Curriculum Vitae
Tsitselikis Yannis
Cellist
Yannis Tsitselikis was born in Thessaloniki. He graduated from the State Conservatory of Thessaloniki and got his degree, unanimously with A, in 1990.
His first important cello teacher was Manolis Kazabakas. He completed his studies with scholarships (from the British Council, the Onasis Foundation and the Foundation of State Scholarships) at the Royal College of Music in London with William Pleeth, at the Eastman School of Music in the United States with Steven Doan, and finally at the Indiana University with Janos Starker, where he got his “Master of music” degree in 1998.
Early in life he gave signs of his talent. His carrier started at the age of fourteen, with solo recitals in Athens, Thessaloniki, and other Greek cities, as well as with recordings for the Third Program of the Greek Radio and Television (ERT).
At the age of sixteen he was honoured with the first prize at the contest of the Graduate Association of Thessaloniki Conservatories and gave recitals organized by the Athens and the Thessaloniki State Orchestras. In 1989 he represented Greece in Venice in a concert organized and covered, television-wise, by the Italian Radio Television (RAI).
He has appeared as a soloist with important orchestras in Greece as well as abroad, such as: “Moscow Virtuosi” Chamber Orchestra, under the direction of Vladimir Spivakov, Haydn Philharmonic Orchestra of Vienna, under the direction of Philippe Entremont, Youth Orchestra Rhineland-Palatinate with which he toured many cities in Germany, Odessa Philharmonic Orchestra, under the direction of Hobart Earle,
Camerata of the Friends of Music, State Orchestra of Athens, State Orchestra of Thessaloniki.
He is a member of the World Orchestra for Peace as one of its principal cellists and took part in the orchestra`s tours (2003, 2005 and 2007) in Europe, Russia and China under the direction of Valery Gergiev. In October 2004 he came first at an audition announced by the Maggio Musicale of Florence for the position of cello concertino and participated in its tour to Budapest, Singapore, and India, under the direction of Zubin Mehta.
He gave successful recitals when he performed in: Athens (The Athens Concert Hall), London, Oxford, Houston (U.S.A.) etc. In summer 1999 he toured all over Yugoslavia and gave a recital for the Belgrade Summer Festival, which was covered by the Serbian TV. In 2006 he participated in a concert at the Kunsthistorisches Museum (Museum of History and Art) of Vienna which formed part of the “Coins and Poetry: C. P. Kavafis” exhibition. He was often invited to perform in Athens Festival and Demetria Festival of Thessaloniki.
Since November 2000 he holds the position of solo cellist at the State Orchestra of Athens.
He plays a 1900 Leon Bernadel violoncello and uses a bow by Voirin bequeathed to him by the Late Amaryllis Fleming.
In 1996 he was awarded the “Spyros Montsenigos” Prize by the Athens Academy for his artistic performance so far.
Repertoire
Carl Philippe Emmanuel Bach
Concerto for cello and string orchestra no. 3, in A major.
L. V. Beethoven
Τripelconcerto for piano, violin and cello in C major, op. 56.
Luigi Boccherini. Arrangement: F. Grützmacher.
Concerto for cello and orchestra, no. 1, in B flat major.
Johannes Brahms
Double Concerto. For violin, cello and orchestra, op. 102.
Μax Bruch
Kol Nidrei. For cello and orchestra.
Antonin Dvorak
Concerto for cello and orchestra in b minor, op. 104.
Gabriel Fauré
Elégie. For cello and orchestra, op. 24.
Joseph Haydn
Concerto for cello and orchestra in C major, no. 1.
Concerto for cello and orchestra in D major, no. 2.
Εdouard Lalo
Concerto for cello and orchestra in d minor.
Darius Milhaud
Concerto for cello and orchestra no. 1.
David Popper
Hungarian Rhapsody. For cello and orchestra.
Camille Saint-Saëns
Concerto for cello and orchestra no. 1, op. 33.
Robert Schumann
Concerto for cello and orchestra in a minor, op. 129.
Dimitri Shostakovitch
Concerto for cello and orchestra no. 1, op. 107.
Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky
Pezzo Capricioso.For cello and orchestra, op. 62 .
Rococo Variations. For cello and orchestra, op. 33.