Born in Greece, Yiannis Efstathopoulos is a guitarist who performs, teaches and lectures, based in Brussels.

 

His recording debut came in 2019 with his album “Seis Caprichos- Spanish music around 1930” by Passacaille records and in 2021 he became a Doctor in the Arts at the Vrije Universiteit/Koniniklijk Conservatorium Brussel. His Phd research “The concert guitar in Spain from 1920 to 1939: Reconstructing a lost performance practice” analyses for the first time topics on performance practice of the early 20th century combined with applied examples on gut-strung guitars.

 

Yiannis holds two Masters from the Royal Conservatory of Brussels: on classical guitar and early plucked instruments (vihuela, baroque guitar) while his earlier studies include the University of Macedonia-Music science and arts and the State Conservatory of Thessaloniki. Among his professors belong Antigoni Goni, Elena Papandreou, Thanos Mitsalas and Xavier Díaz-Latorre.

 

Special place on his heart takes the summer seminar at the legendary Academia Chigiana of Siena (Italy) with maestro Oscar Ghiglia. Furthermore, at the Catedra “Emilio Pujol” in Cervera(Spain) he had the privilege to study with maestro Carles Trepat from whom he was also invited to collaborate at the reconstruction of the historical “Lira Orfeo Miquel Llobet” in Catalunya.

 

As a student he participated in numerous masterclasses with world famous guitarists such as: Rafael Andia, Sergio and Odair Assad, Roland Dyens, Zoran Dukic, Carlo Marchione, Sharon Isbin, Margarita Escarpa, Duo Melis, Costas Cotsiolis, Gerardo Nuñez and Rolf Lislevand.

 

Yiannis has given recitals and chamber music concerts in Greece, Italy, Spain, France, Belgium, UK, Austria and the Netherlands in reputable concert halls such as Palais des Beaux Arts, Flagey(Brussels), Palacio Chigi(Siena), Seu Vella(Lleida), Megaron Concert Hall(Thessaloniki) and King’s college chapel (London). He has collaborated with groups “Les Alchimistes”, “Omicron Ensemble” in Athens and the very successful multidisciplinary spectacle “Balkan Express”.

 

Aside from his performances, he gives regular lectures in academies and conservatories in Belgium and abroad. His research has appeared in major guitar conferences such as “IGRC-University of Surrey” (UK) “The instrument of change-Melbourne Conservatory of Music”-Australia, 3rd Altamira Guitar Symposium in Hong-Kong and published as well in international magazines.

 

Within his favorite luthiers belong Christopher Dean, Dirk De Hertogh and he enjoys performing on original guitars strung in gut and silk. Since 2014 he works as assistant researcher and teacher at the Koninklijk Conservatorium Brussels as well as guitar tutor at the Institute Cervantes of Brussels, part of at the “Dulcinea project”.