A pianist…
…” The music never leaves me…I am always thinking about it…sometimes I get anxious and then the magic happens”. Listening to classical concert pianist Christos Fountos you get the distinct feeling that his career is all consuming. It could be misconstrued as an obsession but when he speaks his passion is infectious yet understated. During our conversation he uses the word “humble” nine times and his relaxed demeanour belies that undoubted talent. After all we are not blessed with a plethora of concert pianists.
An only child, born in Kaimakli, Nicosia in 1997 into a musical family – both his parents are musicians playing mainly Laika and Rembetika – he started playing the piano aged 5 under Professor Gospodinoff. For twelve years this experience gave him an opportunity to learn about the many facets of piano playing – citing the art of polyphony as integral to his grounding – and then aged just 17 he debuted with the Cyprus Symphony Orchestra before coming to London to study at Trinity Laban Conservatoire. One of the main reasons for venturing from Kaimakli to London was Martino Tirimo, an octogenarian Cypriot classical pianist. “He is a source of great inspiration. I would say a force of nature and yet so humble even though he has recorded extensively and played all over the world”. There’s that word again and also confirmation that we do have other concert pianists. He quips, “there are not many of us, in fact very few”.
Quality rather than quantity perhaps and last weekend Fountos played with the Guildford Symphony Orchestra (GSO) at GLive, a leading live entertainment venue in Surrey (our review is included in this week’s edition of Parikiaki). The eclectic programme featured work by Humperdinck (Hansel and Gretel Overture), Rachmaninov (Symphony No.2) and the piece that he played, Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No.1. Suddenly he becomes scholar – he is a Junior Fellow at Laban – explaining with authority, clarity and nuance to enhance our listening experience, “Tchaikovsky’s music is melodic and accessible, with elements of virtuosity that are both brilliant and lyrical”. Without pause he continues “The first movement is long, twenty minutes, and throughout the piano and orchestra play alone and only occasionally meet”. He elaborates, “The piano as an instrument evolved from the time of Mozart and Beethoven until Tchaikovsky’s time at which point the instrument could take more extremes, bigger sounds. The orchestras evolved too”. My history of classical music knowledge was increasing by the minute.
All of this knowledge is unsurprising when you consider he graduated in 2019 (Bachelor of Music in Performance) with top marks, the Director’s Award for Excellence in piano and was a Gold Medal nominee. He continued his studies and then earned a Master of Music Performance with Distinction in 2021 and awarded the Musicians’ Company (City of London Livery Company) Silver Medal. When he describes having “felt isolated” in his childhood it is a trait that sounds very familiar with those who set their sights on a specific goal often turning into high achievers. I ask him about that and how he related to the other children in the neighbourhood. He smiles and says, “I just felt they were missing out, but coming from a down to earth humble family made this all feel very natural and not that I was any better but different”.
He spends many hours practicing and rehearsing – he also provides piano accompaniment at some Laban classes – and is keen to tell me about the Piano Trio he has formed with a cellist and violinist, that have performed around the world, including the leading concert halls in the UK as well as Malta, Austria and Canada. You can’t help thinking there are not enough hours in the days and when does he find time to relax. “I read and write poetry which I enjoy very much but I also get anxious if I am away from music for too long”. I try to interject to probe further about down time but he’s in his music philosophy mode now and encapsulates what this all means to him. “You can feel very exposed on stage as a concert pianist, and sometimes I am overcome by fear. Then I get out there and it becomes a magical experience, pushing me to the limit. I am delivering a performance that is my interpretation, how I feel about whatever it is I’m playing”, he says, hands gently animating his thoughts.
This brief time spent with Fountos played vividly in my mind’s eye at the concert on Saturday. The GSO are made up of amateur musicians and that pleases him too, “They play from their hearts which is great and really touches me”. We cannot end without going back to his (my) roots, “That simple life is what I still want, sun, sea and good company, you can’t beat that, it reminds me of my humble start in life”. Perhaps, but with this dedication it will be many years before he has time to lie on the beach. Few are those who absolutely love their work, but this man is definitely one and let’s hope he inspires a new generation of classical pianists just as Martino Tirimo did for him.