Described
by
USA
Review
as
doing
for
the
Greek
soul
what
flamenco
does
for
the
Spanish,
Eleftheria
Kotzia
has
toured
regularly
in
Europe,
Canada,
the
United
States,
South
America,
North
Africa,
Australia,
New
Zealand
and
the
Far
East.
She
has
performed
both
as
a
soloist
and
with
orchestras
at
many
of
the
great
International
Guitar
and
Music
Festivals,
including
the
10th
Anniversary
Series
of
the
D'
Addario
Foundation
in
the
USA,
the
Festival
Estival
in
Paris,
the
Tavener
Festival
in
Athens,
the
Segovia
Celebrations
in
Spain,
the
Guitar
Foundation
of
America
in
the
USA
(three
times),
the
10th
Anniversary
Series
of
the
Festival
‘Guitarras
Del
Mundo’
in
Argentina,
the
City
of
London
Festival
and
various
other
festivals
around
the
world.
Born
in
northern
Greece,
in
Alexandroupolis
,
Eleftheria
Kotzia
studied
guitar
at
the
National
Conservatory
in
Athens,
the
Conservatoire
National
Supérieure
in
Paris,
and
finally
at
the
Guildhall
School
of
Music
in
London.
Among
her
teachers
have
been
Julian
Bream,
Alexandre
Lagoya,
Dimitri
Fampas,
David
Russell
and
Timothy
Walker.
She
was
the
winner
of
the
first
prize
in
the
6th
International
Guitar
Competition
in
Milan.
When
Eleftheria
made
her
London
debut
the
Times
admired
her
skill,
unfailing
beguiling
tone
and
her
ability
to
vary
her
touch
with
fluency.
Since
then
Eleftheria
Kotzia
has
performed
for
various
radio
and
TV
stations,
including
the
BBC
and
WNYC
and
has
given
recitals
at
some
of
the
most
famous
concert
halls
in
the
world,
including
the
Merkin
Concert
Hall
and
the
Carnegie
Recital
Hall
in
New
York,
the
Herbst
Theatre
in
San
Francisco,
The
Wigmore
Hall
and
the
South
Bank
Centre
in
London,
the
Megaron
Concert
Hall
in
Athens,
Les
Halles
and
the
Ampitheatre
Richelieu
in
the
Sorbonne
in
Paris,
the
Jubilee
Hall
-
Raffles
Hotel
in
Singapore
,
The
Rudolfinum
in
Prague.
Eleftheria
Kotzia
has
an
impressive
list
of
recordings
to
her
credit.
Among
them
the
first
recording
of
Michael
Tippett's
The
Blue
Guitar,
which
was
described
as
life
enhancing,
enjoyed
unanimous
critical
acclaim
and
was
selected
by
Gramophone
magazine
as
a
Critic's
Choice
Recording
of
the
Year.
The
American
Record
Guide
hailed
her
as
a
wizard-a
strong
sensuous
player
with
bite
and
sass.
John
Tavener's
only
solo
guitar
work,
Chant,
was
also
recorded
for
the
first
time
by
Eleftheria
Kotzia,
(‘Mediterraneo’)
in
a
special
adaptation
made
for
her
by
the
composer.
Her
CDs
‘Fuoco’
on
Harmonia
Mundi
-
Mandala
and
‘La
Guitarra
Latina’
on
Chandos,
‘Gypsy
Ballad’
(Somm)
and
’Respectus’
have
all
received
rave
reviews.
Kotzia
was
selected
to
represent
Greece
in
London's
Millennium
Celebrations
:String
of
Pearls
.
She
played
the
guitar
part
in
the
first
performance
of
John
Tavener's
Fall
and
Resurrection
in
St
Paul's
Cathedral,
London,
which
was
televised
live
and
subsequently
issued
on
CD/DVD.
An
inspirational
creative
force
Eleftheria
Kotzia
set
out
in
1992
on
an
important
initiative:
the
encouragement
of
non-Greek
composers
to
write
Greek
-influenced
music
for
her.
Her
uniquely
pioneering
work
has
resulted
in
compositions
by
such
composers
as
Dusan
Bogdanovic
(his
popular
‘Levantine
Suite’),
Stephen
Dodgson,
Carlo
Domeniconi,
John
Duarte
and
Edward
McGuire,
who
were
all
influenced
in
different
ways
by
the
richness
of
the
Greek
musical
heritage.
Eleftheria
has
also
presented
numerous
works
by
Greek
composers
in
her
recitals
around
the
world
such
as
Theodorakis,
Hadjidakis,
Haliasas,
Giorginakis,
Pittas,
Tatsis,
and
Boudounis.
Estonian
René
Eespere
and
Chilean
composer
Edmundo
Vasquez
have
also
dedicated
works
to
Eleftheria.
René
Eespere
wrote
and
dedicated
his
guitar
concerto
to
her.
It
was
premiered
in
October
2007
in
Tallin
,
Estonia
and
subsequently
Eleftheria
recorded
it.
Passionate
in
collaborating
with
other
artists
she
has
worked
with
acclaimed
violinist
Leonidas
Kavakos,
Clio
Gould,
Luigi
de
Philipi
,
with
mezzo-
soprano
Patricia
Rosario,
Flutist
Judith
Hall,
cellist
Robert
Max
etc.
Eleftheria
Kotzia
has
been
on
the
cover
of
the
major
guitar
magazines
(Classical
Guitar,
Guitar
International)
and
on
the
cover
of
the
music
journal
of
the
Incorporated
Society
of
Musicians
(I.S.M)
and
the
Panhellenes.
She
has
given
interviews
for
the
US
magazine
‘Soundboard’,
French
‘Guitare
Classique’,
the
Dutch
‘Guitarren’and
the
Greek
‘Tar’.
Eleftheria
Kotzia
was
a
lecturer
at
the
Royal
Welsh
College
of
Music
and
Drama
(2000-2015).
She
gives
masterclasses
and
training
courses
around
the
world.
She
is
a
frequent
judge
in
international
guitar
competitions
(GFA,
Benicasim
,
Alessandria).
Within
the
Catalogue
of
Lathkill
Music
Publishers
she
directs
the
Eleftheria
Kotzia
Series
which
features
new,
contemporary
music
for
guitar.
She
is
the
writer
of
the
guitar
method
‘le
cahier
de
ma
guitare/guitarobics’,
in
two
volumes.
Since
2007
Eleftheria
kotzia
is
the
director
of
the
International
Guitar
Course
and
Festival
in
Ligoure
,
France.
"Eleftheria
Kotzia
holds
the
stage
with
the
sort
of
presence
I
have
not
seen
for
a
while.
She
has
a
robust
character
mixed
with
a
quiet
sensitivity
.You
could
say
it
is
something
like
the
voraciousness
of
Julian
Bream
combined
with
a
feminine
delicacy
of
control,
an
alluring
combination
-
all
infused
with
the
pizzazz
of
Greek
spirit"
Classical
Guitar
(Purcell
Room
-
London).
"Kotzia
reminds
you
of
the
magic
of
the
guitar.
A
superb
disc
neatly
tying
together
the
lyrical
and
the
fiery."
W.
Yeoman.
Gramophone.
The
Gramophone
wrote
"a
perfect
way
to
spend
a
magical
hour
bathed
in
Mediterranean
warmth."