Greek cellist Timotheos Gavriilidis-Petrin is forging an unwavering artistic path, aiming to evoke powerfully stirring illusions through his music making. He regularly appears as a soloist and chamber musician throughout North America and Europe, most recently as a soloist with conductor-violinist Leonidas Kavakos and the Athens State Orchestra. Timotheos made his first major US solo appearance in 2016 with the Kansas City Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Robert Spano. He then gained international recognition as a prizewinner at the prestigious International Paulo Cello Competition in Finland, where he was singled out by local press for his “great and passionate soloist style: expressive, vibrant singing lines, sparkling rhythm”, and “interesting, original personality”.
He has also appeared as a soloist with the Helsinki Philharmonic and Susanna Mälkki in the rarely performed Shostakovich 2nd Cello Concerto. Other notable solo performances include appearances with the Lahti Symphony Orchestra, the Tapiola Sinfonietta, the Israel Camerata, the NEC Philharmonia Orchestra, the Thessaloniki State Symphony Orchestra, and Symphony in C Orchestra. He is the winner of the 2015 Astral Artists National Auditions.
Timotheos made his Carnegie Hall recital debut in 2019, performing cello and chamber music works by renowned contemporary composer Leonid Desyatnikov.
In 2017, he was named Artist-in-Residence at ‘Performance Today’, the most listened-to classical music radio program in the US. Several of his recordings were broadcast and received with great success throughout that year. In 2023, Timotheos was named Artistic Director of the Samos Young Artist Festival, a position which he holds till now. As the festival’s director, he created the Young Composer in Residence program, an initiative aiming to promote young composers through commissioning new works that are premiered at the festival.
Since 2022, he has been a member of the ApollΩn Ensemble, a small chamber music group created by Leonidas Kavakos. With this ensemble he frequently tours in both Europe and Asia performing a large array of chamber music repertoire.
Currently he is the solo cellist of the Athens State Symphony Orchestra.
COLLABORATIONS
An avid chamber musician, Timotheos has collaborated with important musical figures such as violinists Leonidas Kavakos, Noah-Bendix Balgley, Miriam Fried, Pamela Frank, violists Roberto Diaz and Kim Kashkashian, and pianists Meng-Chieh Liu and Ignat Solzhenitsyn. He has participated at the Marlboro Music Festival, where he performed with Jonathan Biss, Joseph Lin, Samuel Rhodes, and Peter Wiley. Other festival appearances of note include Chamberfest Cleveland, Ravinia’s Steans Music Institute, Caramoor’s Evnin Rising Stars, Molyvos Festival, the Moritzburg Festival.
Timotheos received his Bachelor of Music at the Curtis Institute of Music, where he studied with Peter Wiley and Carter Brey. He then entered the class of Laurence Lesser at the New England Conservatory and graduated with a Master of Music and an Artist Diploma. He was a scholarship recipient of the Onassis Foundation.
PROJECTS
Timotheos is a founding member of Trio Zimbalist, a piano trio of Curtis Institute alumni which – through a commitment to artistic excellence – carries on the storied legacy of legendary violinist and Curtis director Efrem Zimbalist. Trio Zimbalist made their European debut in summer 2021 and continue touring in both Europe and North America. Their first album was released with great success in January 2024 under the Curtis Studio Label. It includes works by Weinberg, Auerbach and Dvořák.
LISTENPERFORMANCES
Benjamin Britten – Cello Suite no.3, op.87 in C minor – Timotheos Petrin
Elgar Cello Concerto op.85 in E minor – Petrin/Ollikainen
Eugène Ysaÿe – Cello Sonata op.28 in C minor – Timotheos Petrin
Shostakovich – Cello Concerto no.2 op.126 – Petrin/Mälkki
Richard Danielpour – Canti de la Natura (2019), IX. Cambi di Stagione
Lalo: Concerto for Cello in D minor | Timotheos Petrin + Ludovic Morlot + NEC Philharmonia
Haydn Cello Concerto in C major – Timotheos Petrin/Leonidas Kavakos
