Cyprus Piano Trio

The three members of the newly-founded Cyprus Piano Trio were all born in different countries but their paths met in Cyprus, which is now their home country. The first official concert of the Cyprus Piano Trio will be given as part of the Pharos Arts Foundation's Cyprus Artists Series on Friday 8 April 2011, at The Shoe Factory/8.30pm. The programme will include the Kakadu Variations '' one of the most controversial works Beethoven composed during his late period, Arno Babadjanian's monumental piano trio, and a work that is rarely performed nowadays, Anton Arensky's Piano Trio in D minor.

The Cyprus Piano Trio consists of:

Wolfgang Schröder (violin)
Born into a South German family, Wolfgang Schröder's earliest studies began with his parents. In 1980, Ana Chumachenko became his teacher and played a decisive role in his development as a violinist.

At the early age of 17, he won the first prize at the German state competition Jugend musiziert (Youth makes music) and subsequently a scholarship at the International Menuhin Music Academy (IMMA). He has performed together with Yehudi Menuhin and Alberto Lysy, both as soloist and chamber musician, throughout the world in venues such as the Barbican Center in London) and Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires.

After graduating from IMMA , he continued his studies at the Mozarteum University of Music in Salzburg under Prof. Sandor Vegh, and thereafter at the Mannes School of Music in New York under Prof. Aaron Rosand. Wolfgang Schröder?s solo career has included performances with the Bavarian Chamber Philharmonic, Munich Philharmonic, Stuttgart Philharmonic Orchestra, Czech Symphony Orchestra, Talich Chamber Orchestra, Polish Chamber Philharmonic, Rubinstein Philharmony Lodz, Salzburg Chamber Philharmonic, Camerata Salzburg, Nuremberg Symphony, Cairo Symphony Orchestra, Israel Soloists Ensemble, Athens State Orchestra, etc. He was also the artistic director of the European Community Chamber Orchestra (ECCO) from 1993-1995 and has performed a number of highly acclaimed concert tours worldwide. He has collaborated with conductors like Vladimir Ashkenazy, Andrey Boreko, Daniel Raiskin, Simon Gaudenz, Marc Kadim, to name just a few.

As soloist and chamber player, Wolfgang Schröder has appeared in prestigious venues such as the Philharmonie in Berlin, the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, the Vienna Konzerthaus, as part of the Great Performers Series at Lincoln Center and the Frick Collection Museum in New York, the Masters Series in London's Wigmore Hall, and the Athens Megaron. Schröder?s chamber music partners have included artists like Wenzel Fuchs, Eduard Brunner, Charles Neidich, Vladimir Mendelssohn, Cyprien Katsaris, Julian Rachlin, Janine Jansen, Daniel Raiskin, Ramon Jaffe, Levon Chilingirian and Gustav Rivinius. He also has been invited to major chamber music festivals such as the Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival in Finland, the Open Chamber Musicians Seminar at Prussia Cove (England), the Moritzburg Festival in Germany, the West Cork Festival in Ireland, the Umea and Bostad Festivals (Sweden), the International Music Festival Middelburg (Holland) , the International Festival of Echternach (Luxemburg) and the Ojika Festival, Japan.

As an active chamber musician, he founded, in 1992, the Belcanto String Trio and from 1996 to 2005 has regularly performed as the violinist of the Trio Parnassus. In September 2001 the Trio Parnassus received the prestigious Echo Classic Award for their complete recording of the Schumann piano trios. Since 1998 he has been artistic director of the Camerata Stuttgart. Appearances with the Camerata Stuttgart include performances in prestigious concert halls like the Concertgebouw of Amsterdam, the Megaron Music Hall of Athens, Liederhalle of Stuttgart and the Dortmund Opera House.

Wolfgang Schröder has recorded for the MDG, Divox, Ars Production, Thorofon, Symicon and CPO labels. Since 2005 he is the First Concertmaster of the Cyprus Symphony Orchestra. He plays on a violin 1857 by Jean Baptist Vuillaume.

Peter Gospodinov (cello)
Peter Gospodinov was born in Bulgaria. At the age of 12 he immigrated with his parents to Cyprus, where he continued his studies with Georgita Boyadjieva and Olga Argyridou. As the principal cellist of the Cyprus Youth Orchestra and a tutti cellist in the former Cyprus State Chamber Orchestra under the baton of Ayis Ioannidis, he studied with Ferenc Gyimes and Antonio Ramus among others. Gospodinov furthered his studies with Yontcho Bayrov and Lilia Schulz at the Konservatorium der Stadt Wien, and graduated Summa Cum Laude. He followed postgraduate studies at the University of Music & Performing Arts in Vienna, having specialised in chamber music.

Peter Gospodinov is winner of the Thomastik-Infeld prize, the Zoltan Kodaly prize and Laureate of the Brahms competition in Austria, and has received the Medal of Honour and the Jury prize at the 6th International Chamber Music Competition in Osaka- Japan. He has given numerous chamber concerts throughout Europe, the Far East and the US. He was member of the prestigious Bruckner Orchester Linz and now he is the Principal Cellist of the Cyprus Symphony Orchestra.

Naoko Kariya (piano)
Naoko Kariya was born in Wakayama- Osaka district in Japan. She took her first piano lessons at the age of six, at the music academy Toho Gakuen in Tokyo. Kariya was the First prize winner at the National Piano Competition and the Bravo Maestro Competition, in Tokyo.

After graduating from Toho Gakuen Tokyo, she was accepted by the Department of Piano Chamber Music and Special Ensembles of the University of Music & Performing Arts in Vienna under the guidance of Avedis Kouyoumdjian, and graduated with Auszeichnung.

Winner of the Thomastik-Infeld Prize, the Zoltan Kodaly prize and finalist of Brahms Competition i Austria, as well as winner of the Medal of Honour and Jury prize winner at the 6th International chamber music competition in Osaka-Japan as a member of the former METRO TRIO- WIEN with Peter Gospodinov.
Many concert activities as a chamber musician throughout Europe and Japan.