- Violin
Tedi Papavrami arrived in France at a young age, and discovered a country and a culture that were totally foreign to him. His natural curiosity and his desire to learn the French language in order to feel at home in this country where he felt at first so alone, encouraged him to read books, always in French : Stendhal, Proust, Flaubert, Dostoïevski, Tchekhov, Kafka... A curiosity which had no boundries, allied with intellectual and artistic requirements, allowed him to overcome the distances between his domain and other horizons, and this is what makes this pianist stand out in the musical world.
It was therefore natural that in 2000, when Albanian translater J. Vrioni died, that he took over the task of translating the works of Ismaïl Kadaré, who he knew as a child in Albania. This escape into the literary world became for him a way to exist professionnally for the first time outside violin playing. In 2013, this adventure continued through writing the work "Fugue for Solo Violin", edited by Robert Laffont. Unanimously hailed by the press, this autobiography tells his journey as a child prodigy in Albania and leaving for the West, towards freedom. In 2003, he was also noticed on a television set by actrice Jeanne Moreau. Tedi became known as a Danceny violinist, alongside Catherine Deneuve, Ruppert Everett and Nastassja Kinski, in an adaptation by filmmaker Josée Dayan in "Dangerous Liaisons" by Laclos.
This diversity would never have been possible without an earlyness concerntrating solely on the violin from a very young age. The instrument, which since has been a part of his life, was given to him when he was 5 years old by his father, a brilliant teacher with many years of teaching experience. Tedi's progress was very fast, three years later he performed Bohemian Airs by Saraste with orchestra. At 11 years old, he performed the 1st Violin Concerto by Paganini with Cette diversification n’aurait pourtant pas été possible sans une précocité et une concentration singulières sur le violon, dès ses jeunes années. L’instrument, qui depuis toujours a fait partie de sa vie, lui est transmis à l’âge de 5 ans par son père, brillant professeur, ayant une longue expérience pédagogique. Les progrès de Tedi sont rapides : trois ans plus tard il joue en concert, avec orchestre les Airs bohémiens de Sarasate. À onze ans, il interprète en public le Concerto n°1 de Paganini with the undoubtable candence of Emile Sauret.
In 1982 in Albania, a country cut off from the world, by an extraordinary chance he met flautist Alain Marion, who noticed the young virtuoso and invited him to Paris as a scholarship student offered by the French government. He there joined the class of Pierre Amoyal in the CNSM of Paris for four years. He made appearances in many television programs, such as "Le Grand Echiqier", "Dimanche Martin"... as well as giving many concerts at this time.
At the end of his studies, aged 15, Tedi continued his musical and instrumental development alone. Shortly before, with his parents, he escaped the communist regime in Albania to live with them in France. Heavy punishment was in place for the rest of his family who stayed in Albania, until the fall of the communist regime in 1991. Tedi and his parents left Paris, so as not to be found out by civil servants of the embassy of Albania who were looking for them, and settled in Bordeaux, where they were helped by friends.
Thanks to several prizes, T. Papavrami began a career as a soloist and chamber musician in the 1990s. He has since collaborated as a soloist with conductors such as K. Sanderling, A. Jordan, E. Krivine, M. Honeck, F.X. Roth, Th. Fischer, G. Varga, M. Aeschenbacher… In chamber music, he was a member of the Schumann Quartet, with piano for 9 years, and he has performed in concert or in recordings with partners such as Philippe Bianconi, Gary Hoffman, Marc Coppey, Nelson Goerner, Martha Argerich, Maria Joao Pires, Viktoria Mullova, Paul Meyer or Lawrence Power.
Many recordings have puncuated the artistic activity of Ted since 1990. In 2014, his disc of 6 sonatas for violin solo by Eygène Ysaÿe was released as well as the sonata for two violins by the same composer, alongside Svetlin Roussev, which was simultaneously awarded "diapason d'or" and "choc de l'année" prizes from magazines Diapason and Classica. As well as this, he recorded his transcriptions of 12 sconatas by Scarlatti as well as the Fantasy and Fugue by Bach BWV 542, originally written for ogan, scores available from edited Ries & Erler Berlin. In violin solo, he has often performed the interal of sonatas and partitas by Bach in concert, a repertoire which he is particularly fond of, as well as the sonata for solo violin by Bela Bartok, the 6 sonatas by Ysaÿe or the 24 capices by Paganini.
For many years Tedi has worked in a duo with the pianist François-Frédéric Guy around the 10 sonatas by Beethoven. Their recording of these works was released in 2017. Along with cellist Xavier Philips, they are continuing this work around the full trios by Beethoven and will soon record them. In 2021, their CD "A Kreutzer" by Beethoven and the 2nd sonata by Prokofiv along with Martha Argerich (Avanti Classics" as well as the new full collection of Sonatas and Partitias of Bach (Alpha) will be released.
Currently living in Geneva, Switzerland, Tedi is professor of violin at the Haute Ecole de Musique. He plays a violin made especially for him by lythier Christian Bavon.