Son of a violinist and teacher, Tedi Papavrami (born in Tirana on May 13, 1971) began playing the instrument at the age of four in his native Albania, then under the yoke of a Communist dictatorship. Invited to play in France in 1982, he decided to stay and study at the Paris Conservatoire, before taking refuge in Bordeaux with his father. He was finally granted political asylum in 1986. Now an internationally renowned soloist, Tedi Papavrami specializes in chamber music, either with the Schumann Quartet or under his own name. The Swiss-based violinist teaches at Geneva's Haut-Conservatoire. In 2013, he published his autobiography Fugue pour un violon seul, framed by recitals focusing on composers from the post-romantic, neoclassical and modern eras: Eugène Ysaÿe, César Franck, Gabriel Fauré and Béla Bartók feature, along with J. S. Bach and Scarlatti, among his extensive repertoire.
