BIOGRAPHIE

Pavel Efremov, born in 1994 in Chișinău, the capital of the Republic of Moldova, is an outstanding accordionist whose musical journey takes him through excellent training facilities and impressive stages across Europe. His artistic career began under the guidance of Segiu Mirzac at the “Stefan Neaga” Music College in Chișinău, before he successfully completed his Bachelor’s degree with Marko Kassl at the renowned Detmold University of Music.

As part of the Erasmus program, Pavel deepened his musical skills at the Centro Superior del Pais Vasco “Musikene” with Inaki Alberdi. The year 2021 marks the beginning of his Master’s degree at the renowned Folkwang University of the Arts, where he is currently pursuing a concert examination degree under the guidance of Prof. Mie Miki.

Pavel Efremov received decisive artistic impulses from renowned personalities such as Janne Rättyä, Claudio Jacomucci, Veli Kujala, Grzegosz Stopa, Maciej Frąckiewicz, Georg Friedrich Schenck, and Richard Galliano. Pavel Efremov was awarded a scholarship from the Werner Richard-Dr. Carl Dörken Foundation in Herdecke and the GWK Music Promotion Prize from the GWK Society for Westphalian Cultural Work in Münster. In December 2021, he received the award for best Moldovan student of the year in the “Arts” category in Chișinău. In 2022, he was a scholarship holder of Yehudi Menuhin Live Music Now Rhein-Ruhr and received the Folkwang DAAD Prize as the best foreign student of the year. In 2024, he will be awarded the prestigious Folkwang Prize in the category of Music.

His musical talent has led Pavel Efremov to stages worldwide, from the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg to the Music Center De Bijloke in Ghent, the National Theater in Baghdad, and the Festspielhaus in Baden-Baden. He has performed with renowned ensembles such as the Gürzenich Orchestra Cologne, the Deutsche Oper am Rhein, the Moldovan National Youth Orchestra, as well as the Choreos Ensemble and the Symphonic Orchestra of the Moldovan National Philharmonic.

Pavel is not only a virtuosic soloist and chamber musician, but also a dedicated cultural diplomat. As the president of the non-governmental organization ‘SonArte’ in Chișinău, founded in 2019, he actively promotes young accordionists in the Republic of Moldova. In the same year, he organized the first accordion festival in Moldova, and in 2024, he founded the summer academy “Summer Music Camp”, which made a significant contribution to the local music scene.

The accordionist performs in a duo with guitarist Rusu Matei, saxophonist Luis Gonzales Garrido, and pan flutist Andreea Chira.