A portrait of Yorgos Ziavras, from the shoulders up, standing in front of a graffiti painted wall wearing a black zivnago shirt.

ABOUT YZ

BIOGRAPHY

Greek-German conductor, based in Cologne, Germany. HE IS THE PRINCIPAL CONDUCTOR OF OPER WUPPERTAL, AND ARTISTIC DIRECTOR OF TRIETHNÉS INTERNATIONAL MUSIC FESTIVAL.

He studied conducting with Prof. Michael Luig at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz in Cologne, piano in Athens under Elisabeth Kounalaki and in Cologne with Paulo Álvares, as well as architecture at the National technical university Of Athens. He began his collaboration with the Theater Krefeld / Mönchengladbach in 2014, as a member of the renowned Opernstudio Niederrhein. Within five years, he rose to the position of Deputy Principal Conductor.

He is the founder of CoGNiMUS Collektiv and is also active in the contemporary music scene. In 2019 he founded ÉRMA Ensemble with fellow specialists in contemporary music. Since 2017/18 he is guest conductor of the Greek National Opera, while he has also conducted numerous symphonic orchestras and ensembles in Greece and Germany, including Sinfonieorchester Wuppertal, Philharmonie Südwestfalen, Niederrheinische Sinfoniker, Südwestdeutsches Kammerorchester Pforzheim, Ensemble MusikFabrik, Greek National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Athens Philharmonia Orchestra, City of Athens Symphonic OrchestraERGON Ensemble, TETTTIX and others.

In 2020/2021 he received a scholarship from the Ministry of Culture of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia (Germany). Since 2023 he and his ensemble ÉRMA have held a scholarship from InSzene - Podium Gegenwart of the Deutscher Musikrat. During his tenure at Theater Krefeld/Mönchengladbach (2020), he was awarded the Förderpreis for his artistic excellence by the "Freunde der Musik" association. 

PRESS KIT

MULTIMEDIA

GALLERY

Media Quotes

“The one who deserves the most credit, however, is maestro Yorgos Ziavras, who conducted the Athens Municipality Symphony Orchestra with passion, bringing an unexpected dynamism to the evening.”
— Christos Paridis / LiFO 2024
“Ziavras was able to achieve great success with Liszt’s music...In the purely orchestral pieces, the “Mephisto Waltz” and “Mazeppa”, Ziavras was able to combine the almost intoxicating moments of sound into powerful narratives. “
— Ingo Starz / OnlineMerker 2024
“Ziavras gave the orchestra security and proved to be an interesting conductor...With the Athens Philharmonia Orchestra, the conductor created a slender, eloquent sound”
— Ingo Starz / Online Merker, 2023
“Overall, the concert left excellent impressions on the quality of Ziavra’s conducting... he seemed well informed on historical hermeneutics”
— Yannis Svolos / efsyn.gr 2023