Member Since: 16/08/2006
Band Website: http://www.natalie-peter.com
Band Members: Natalie Tsaldarakis and Panayotis Archontides pianists.
Influences: As classically trained musicians, their immediate influences are these of their masters and of the pianists whose playing first touched them. Panayotis has trained with Elizabeth Powell, Head of the Piano Department at NSW Conservatorium (now part of the University of Sidney) and a pupil of Claudio Arrau, and with Dimitri Toufexis, a concert pianist and pupil of Jacob Leteiner at the Julliard School of Music. Trinity College of Music (TCM) scholar 2007 and recipient of the coveted Worshipful Company of Musicians Silver Medal 2007 for excellence in performance, and the Mehroo and Jeejeebhoy Prize again for excellence in performance, he trained with Venezuelan pianist Elena Riu at TCM, along with mentoring and classes with such pianists as Martino Tirimo, Philip Fowke, Ian Pace, and Douglas Finch. Panayotis also likes to site the influences of Prokofiev, Shostakovich, Mahler and Barber on his choices of piano repertory. He is also an avid collector of soundtracks and an expert on the subject.
Natalie has trained with D. Toufexis (see above), as well as Julliard graduates Dr. Bedford and Dr. McHugh, all pupils of Copland's protege William Masselos. Because of this artistic lineage, Natalie shows a predilection for compelling melodic lines and a polyphonic approach to the dense textures of modern classical music, as well as music from earlier times. Natalie has an immediacy of expression and a powerful command of the piano, ranging from delicate to bombastic and from poised to explosive. Her piano idols while she was growing up were Horowitz, Maria Yudina and Richter. Though she performs a lot of Rachmaninoff, Chopin, Bach and Beethoven in her solo appearances, try to catch her in her performances of all new music (either solo or in chamber music) where she impiously... rocks! A true artist, she espouses extremes that manifest themselves in her stage persona, her choices of repertory, to her dual off-stage existence as teacher and researcher.
Since her relocation to London in 2005, Natalie has been coached by TCM's former Head of Keyboard Douglas Finch, and professor Elena Riu. She also graduated from the prestigious music department of the University of London at Royal Holloway with an MMus in performance studies (musicology). Her teachers included such prominent musicologists as Nicholas Cook and John Rink and her dissertation on British Pianism brought her the honour of receiving the warm support of well-respected pianists Philip Fowke, Yonty Solomon, Martino Tirimo, and Stephen Hough.
Sounds Like: What they are supposed to play! For non-concert goers, this means their music can be easy-listening, to more involved classical music to experimental (with no use of electronic music).
Record Label: Check back for information