The training of Stephanos Thomopoulos itself is marked by this search for diversity. After studying at the National Conservatory of Thessaloniki in Greece and at the Musikhochschule of Cologne in Germany in the class of Arbo Valdma, Stephanos Thomopoulos worked alongside Jacques Rouvier and Marie-Françoise Bucquet at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris, and Hakon Austbo at the Amsterdam Conservatory. He also benefited from the advice of personalities such as Dimitri Bashkirov, John O’Conor and Leon Fleischer, and perfected his skills for two years with Aldo Ciccolini, whose teaching had a profound influence on him.
Winner of international competitions (Holland Music Sessions, Maria Canals, Hellexpo, Jugend Musiziert) and selected by the Blüthner, Yamaha, Kempff foundations, Stephanos Thomopoulos performs in Europe, China, the United States, Brazil, Japan, Turkey , in Egypt, in Ukraine, and in prestigious places such as the Cité de la Musique, IRCAM, the Salle Gaveau or the Musée d’Orsay in Paris, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Opéra Garnier in Monaco, the Alti Hall in Kyoto, or the Megaron in Athens, the Ancient Theater of Epidaurus and the Cecilia Mireiles Hall in Rio de Janeiro. He is regularly invited to play with the national orchestras of Belgrade, Odessa, Cyprus, the Dutch Chamber Orchestra, the Cairo Opera Orchestra and all the major Greek orchestras, under the baton of conductors such as Pascal Rophé, Philippe Auguin, Vassilis Christopoulos.
He performs at festivals such as Printemps des Arts in Monaco, the Athens and Epidaurus Festival, the Rencontres Musicales de Santander, The new Masters on tour series in Amsterdam, the Dimitria Festival in Thessaloniki… In France, we were able to perform at the Royaumont Festival, the Chopin Festival in Nohant, the Manca Festival, the Dominicans of Haute Alsace, the Piano in Auxerre, the Georges Bizet Festival in Bougival…
Among his favorite partners in chamber music, we can cite the Arditti Quartet, Patrice Fontanarosa, Loïc Schneider, Michel Lethiec and Shani Diluka. He also performs with the Kyklos ensemble and the Bloom Project.
Stephanos Thomopoulos recorded works by Alexander Scriabin for the Mécénat Musical Société Générale, and works by Manos Hadjidakis for the Italian CIMA foundation. The live recording “An Evening in Leipzig” was released in April 2012 in the “Mediencampus” collection. In 2015, the complete works for solo piano by Iannis Xenakis appeared as their world premiere (Timpani Records). His latest album was also released in 2015, with flautist Loïc Schneider in a repertoire of great German classics for flute and piano (Chant de Linos).
His taste for experimental projects and his curiosity about all forms of artistic expression led him to get involved in unusual projects, with Lukas Hemleb in the stage adaptation of Kleist’s Marquise d’O, in the Piandemonium ensemble (12 pianists on 6 pianos), where again at the center of performances on modified pianos designed by Tal Isaac Hadad as part of the FIAC 2011 and 2012 at the Grand Palais in Paris.
Stephanos Thomopoulos is the first pianist in France to have completed a Doctorate in Performing at the CNSM Paris under the direction of Gérard Pesson, where he worked on the work of Iannis Xenakis, a thesis which was defended in December 2013. This work by research leads him to give concerts and participate in conferences around Xenakis in Montreal, New York, Paris, Tourcoing, London, Belgrade, Leipzig and Athens, as well as to participate in the collective work “Performing Xenakis” ( Pendragon Press), alongside figures such as Milan Kundera, Michel Tabachnik and Irvine Arditti.
In 2010, Stephanos Thomopoulos was appointed professor and coordinator of the piano department at the Regional Conservatory of Nice. Furthermore, he is invited to give masterclasses as part of the Printemps des Arts in Monaco, the Académie Musicalta in France, the Music Village in Greece, and the Boya competition in China.
