Beau Pluto
Wassili Zampouridis, known professionally as Beau Pluto, is a pianist and artist.
Early life
Wassili Zampouridis was born in Roth, Germany. He received his first piano lesson at the age of five, winning his first piano competition one year later. Over the course of nine years he won over 30 awards in various national and international competitions including Jugend musiziert, Münchner Klavierpodium der Jugend, Grotrian-Steinweg Klavierwettbewerb Braunschweig and Steinway-Competition Berlin, never leaving a competition without receiving an award. He has performed with the Youth Orchestra Nuremberg at the Opera House, recorded with the radio station BR-Klassik in the series "U20 – Classic and more" and participated in the Festival MusicAlp in Tignes, France. For his outstanding cultural achievements he was honoured with the "950 Years Roth Jubilee Medal" by Richard Erdmann, the mayor of the city of Roth at the time.
Musically, Zampouridis studied with Professor Claude-France Journès (Hochschule für Musik & Theater München, Germany) and Professor Christopher Elton (Royal Academy of Music, London, UK). In addition to regular recitals he has given numerous solo concerts with the proceeds going to charity. He has performed at the 100th jubilee of the Lions Club in 2017, the London Art Pride Festival, the Closing Ceremony of the Rotary International Music Festival in Belvedere Castle in Weimar and the Proms at St Jude's Festival in London. His stage name consists of the words Beau, the French adjective for "beautiful", which expresses the fact that true beauty is universal, eternal and shines from within, and Pluto, the Ancient Greek god of wealth and the beyond, who has returned with art, music, peace and kindness in his cornucopia.
Debut album Liberation
After his musical studies, Zampouridis founded the record label Homme Royal and began working on his debut album, titled Liberation. It would serve as the first chapter of a trilogy called Vision & Verity. The recording took place at the Air Edel Studios near Baker Street in London over the course of three days. He also produced two music videos for promotional purposes, they were shot in November 2016 on two consecutive days in Berlin. On February 2, 2017, Pluto released the lead single, Fantaisie Impromptu by Frédéric Chopin, to streaming platforms worldwide, alongside a music video of the same name, available on his Vevo- and YouTube-Channel. The clip begins with Pluto performing the first part of the musical work at a black grand piano and continues with him awakening in a forest and encountering a mysterious maiden that transforms into a lad. The piano used at the video shoot was provided by the piano manufacturing company Steinway & Sons. Pluto's outfit whilst playing the piano, a custom-made bright blue suit with silver embroidered kingfishers, one of which is also featured on the single cover, was designed by Eva and Michael Söhn. The video expresses the blossoming of romantic feelings during adolescence and symbolises the liberation from the harmful repression of sexuality.
On March 10, Pluto's second single was released to streaming platforms worldwide, Für Elise by Ludwig van Beethoven. The single artwork shows a love letter from Pluto addressed to Elise.
His third single, Prélude by Sergei Rachmaninoff, was released on April 21, together with a music video of the same name. The video also begins with Pluto performing the track at the grand piano but does not have a narrative plot like Fantaisie Impromptu, instead, various scenes fused with elements of performance art and horror show Pluto visually expressing the emotions of the music in front of an army of mannequins. For the musical part Pluto wears a custom-made black suit with hand-painted blood-red ornaments inspired by his admiration for Alexander McQueen; once again the piano was provided by Steinway & Sons. The outfits in the separate scenes include a cap with letters spelling the name PLUTO in the front, a face mask made of white bandages and a pair of black suit trousers inspired by Dolce & Gabbana's infamous pubic trousers. This music video symbolises the liberation from the restrictive beauty ideals that are culturally coined and expresses the pain that resulted thereof. The album cover shows a deep red rose that stands for the fierce beauty of the soul.
In anticipation of the official album release Pluto released three more audio singles to streaming platforms, Black Keys by Frédéric Chopin on April 28, Pathétique B and Pathétique A, the second and first movement of the Grande Sonate Pathétique by Ludwig Van Beethoven, on May 4 and 5 respectively. The cover for Black Keys shows spiralling piano keys, Pathétique B features the peace symbol of a dove with an olive branch, and Pathétique A is held in grave simplicity.
Liberation was released via Homme Royal worldwide on May 5. To illuminate the concept of the album, an official statement by Beau Pluto titled Declaration of Liberation was uploaded to his website and social media accounts; in it he compares the tracks to the different layers that make up our personality and describes the album as a reflection of ourselves that commences with the upbeat and playful exterior, delves through wistful, romantic and longing parts, and ultimately reaches the most intimate core filled with emotions that we usually keep hidden from the world like isolation, despair and darkness. The album is designed to express and understand the whole of our being with the final aim of experiencing a liberation from the past which enables the listener to move on to an auspicious and promising future that awaits each and everyone of us. The album cover is a collage and shows Pluto twice. He embraces himself which reflects self-love, the final stage and ultimate aim of Liberation that is achieved after a thorough examination of one's self. On release night Pluto staged the concert The Liberation in the Kulturfabrik Roth to celebrate the official album release; the show was produced in co-operation with the venue which in turn celebrated its 25th jubilee. On May 8, Pluto performed at the Hellenic Centre in Paddington, London, at the UK-version of The Liberation.
On June 30, Grand Sousta by Manos Hatzidakis was released to streaming platforms, it served as seventh and final single of the album Liberation and captures the summer spirit.
Progression and Edward
Pluto continued the Vision & Verity trilogy with the release of the EP Progression on September 1. On social media, Pluto described the record as a symbol for scientific change that is natural and necessary in order for our world to progress; this is reflected in the album cover that features Ancient Egyptian gods Osiris (transition and revitalisation), Anubis (afterlife, together with Osiris and thus acting as the Egyptian counterpart to the Ancient Greek god Pluto), and Amun (self-creation and sun). Whilst Liberation is a descriptive and analytical journey through the various layers of our psyche with the focus on childhood and adolescence, Progression is about regeneration, advancement, and the power to determine the course of the future. He dedicated this record "to all the real-life heroes of the world".
On October 31, Pluto released the single Edward as the final instalment in the Vision & Verity trilogy. The ballade was composed by Johannes Brahms and is based on a Scottish poem of the same name. The artwork features an excerpt from the Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard by Thomas Gray scratched on a weathered tombstone against the backdrop of a starry night. The track is an homage to time, which merges the past with the present and later the future, as well as to the season of winter, and represents the concluding – and prophesied – liberation of the trilogy's protagonist referred to as The Boy Who Thought Too Much.
External links
- Official Website
- Beau Pluto on YouTube
- Beau Pluto on Internet Movie Database