Duo Demetrius & Janna Polyzoides

Following the guide of their Greek-born parents, the Duo Demetrius & Janna Polyzoides began playing together at a very early age. Their father, the violinist Christos Polyzoides (1931-2019), Emeritus Professor at the University of Music in Graz, and their mother, the pianist Katherina Polyzoides-Sourvali, who worked as a professor for piano at the same university until her retirement, have been performing as the Duo Polyzoides more than 60 years. The Duo Demetrius & Janna Polyzoides have played since their youth a great number of concerts, including performances in venues like the Cologne Philharmonic, Stefaniensaal and Chamber Music Hall of the Graz Musikverein, Großer Sendesaal of ORF (Austrian Radio and Television) in Salzburg, Athens Concert Hall, State Theatre in Thessalonica, Hall of the Forbidden City in Beijng, Grand Theatre in Shenzhen, a live broadcast by the South Chinese Radio in Shanghai, and in festivals like “Forfest” in Kroměříž/Czech Republic, festival for New Music in Opatija/Croatia, the “Hellexpo” and “Dimitria” festivals in Thessalonica, festival “piano & forte” for ORF Landesstudio Salzburg (Regional Studio in Salzburg), “Grabenfest” Vienna, “La fête des luthiers” Montpellier/France and many others. Remarkable are the CD publications: a double CD of 13 solo and chamber music works by the composer Klaus Johns (Extraplatte), a CD of the Duo Demetrius & Janna Polyzoides containing compositions by Tschaikowsky, Ravel, Mozart, Ysaÿe, Kreisler, Kroll und Wieniawski (Aulos) and in 2021 a live CD production of the complete works for violin and piano by Eugène Ysaÿe (Paladino Music) has been released with the Duo Polyzoides.

Demetrius Polyzoides

Demetrius Polyzoides was born into a musical family in Graz. He studied with his father Christos Polyzoides and continued his violin study with Harald Himmel at the Music University of his home town. He graduated in 1982 from the Vienna Music University as a student of Franz Samohyl, earning his soloist’s diploma with a unanimous vote of special merit. In addition, he received viola lessons from Hatto Beyerle at the Vienna Music University. During his studies he was prize winner at various regional and national youth competitions of Jugend musiziert. Master classes with Arthur Grumiaux, Christian Ferras, Max Rostal and Wolfgang Marschner rounded off his violinistic studies. He held a number of concertmaster positions (Bavarian National Orchestra of Munich, Hamburg Symphony Orchestra, Cologne Gürzenich Orchestra) before settling in Cologne, as a member of the Gürzenich Orchestra Cologne since 1989. From 1995 to 1997 he was the first violinist of the Leonardo Quartet in Cologne. He is the first violinist and founder of the Cologne String Sextet, which has established itself as a well-known ensemble since 1997. His recordings with the Kölner Streichsextett reached the lists of the Top 10 of the classical charts in the Netherlands “NMZ” and the German “Phonoforum”. Demetrius Polyzoides solo career has taken him to nearly all European countries, as well as South America and the Far East, playing in concert halls such as the Konzerthaus and the Musikverein (Music society) in Vienna, ORF-Funkhaus Vienna, Musikverein Graz, Castle Mirabell Salzburg, Music-Hall Hamburg, Gasteig Munich, Gürzenich Cologne, Cologne Philharmonic Hall, WDR-Funkhaus Cologne, Alte Oper Frankfurt, Castle Weilburg, Athens Concert Hall, Thessalonica Concert Hall, Chiesa Santo Spirito Venezia, Lisbon Gulbenkian, Music Hall of Grand Theatre in Shenzhen, Concert Hall of the Forbidden City in Beĳing, to name but a few. As a soloist he played, amongst others, with the Hamburg Symphony Orchestra, Villingen-Schwenningen Symphony Orchestra, Vienna Chamber Philharmonic, Graz Symphony Orchestra, Pannonia Symphony Orchestra of Szombathely, Thessalonica State Orchestra, Orchestra of the city of Thessalonica, Camerata Athens, Orquesta de la Región de Murcia, Capella Aquensis Aachen and Niški Simfonijski Orkestar. Especially noteworthy is his CD recording of the „Six Sonates pour Violon Seul“ op. 27 by Eugène Ysaÿe (The Fab Productions) as well 3 CDs released in 2021 with the Sonatas and Partitas of Johann Sebastian Bach for solo violin combined with the 24 Capricci by Niccolò Paganini (AVI). Demetrius Polyzoides played since 1997 a violin made by Giovanni Paolo Maggini, 1630, Brescia and since 2016 one made by Giovanni Grancino, 1685, Milano.