The German-Greek pianist and harpsichordist Andreas Skouras was born in 1972 in Thessaloniki (Greece). He studied piano with Prof. Franz Massinger and harpsichord with Prof. Lars Ulrik Mortensen at the University of Music and Theater in Munich. Skouras has worked with major orchestras and ensembles (including the Vienna Philharmonic, Bavarian State Orchestra, ASKO Ensemble, Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg, Munich Chamber Orchestra, Ensemble intercontemporain) under conductors such as Peter Eötvös, Susanna Mälkki, Lucas Vis, Ralf Gothóni, Constantinos Carydis, Markus Poschner, Christoph Poppen, Dirk Kaftan and Jac van Steen. His enormous repertoire includes music from five centuries; numerous recordings document his skills. Andreas Skouras has been awarded the Music Scholarship of the City of Munich and the Bavarian Art Prize, among others.
On this CD, Andreas Skouras devotes himself to the etudes for piano by various composers. In addition to an exemplary example of the more well-known etudes by György Ligeti and Pascal Dusapin, Skouras has Three Etudes op. 18 by Béla Bartók, the Three Etudes op. 23 of Ligeti's student Wolfgang von Schweinitz, the 6 Études sur des rythmes populaires grecs by the Greek composer Yannis Constantinidis and the piano etudes Siemens Prize winner Unsuk Chin.
The result is a varied collection of piano pieces with which Andreas Skouras demonstrates his great skills.