Stathis Karapanos

Greek musician STATHIS KARAPANOS finds inspiration in his daily life through his work as a performer and conductor. His international career spans solo, orchestral, chamber, and increasingly symphonic repertoire. He graduated with honors in 2018 from the National Conservatory of Athens and the University of Music in Karlsruhe. During his studies, he performed with youth and professional orchestras, including the Staatstheater Karlsruhe, the Cologne Chamber Orchestra, and the French Radio Philharmonic Orchestra. His teachers and mentors include Mathieu Dufour, Vangelis Papathanassiou, Peter-Lukas Graf, and Prof. Philippe Bernold at the Paris Conservatoire. After graduating, he was appointed principal flutist of the Athens State Symphony Orchestra. Since 2018, Karapanos has performed with renowned conductors such as Zubin Mehta, Christoph Eschenbach, Valery Gergiev, and Neeme Järvi. He has collaborated as a flutist and conductor with orchestras including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra, the NHK Symphony Orchestra, Camerata Baltica, and the Royal Symphony Orchestra. He has worked with leading musicians such as Gidon Kremer, Vilde Frang, Matthias Goerne, Nicolas Altstaedt, Daniel Hope, Chen Reiss, and Marisol Montalvo. In May 2024, he released a critically acclaimed album featuring the complete flute works of Paul Hindemith (Ondine Records), followed by recordings of Michael Shapiro’s In the Light of the Sun with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Karapanos appears on international podcasts and in the media and is actively involved in environmental and intercultural projects. In 2025, he was appointed an artistic ambassador for Greenpeace, reflecting his commitment to so‑called “artivism” (a synthesis of art and activism). In this capacity, he participates in the creation of video content aimed at raising public awareness of current environmental issues. Among his accolades are the Bernstein Prize at the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival (2020) and the LOTTO Prize at the Rheingau Music Festival (2019), as well as numerous awards from international competitions. Karapanos plays a wide range of flute instruments, including the alto, bass, and contrabass flutes, the piccolo, pan flute, recorder, and conch shell, as well as the ancient Greek lyre, blending classical, contemporary, and traditional styles with a distinctive artistic language.