NICOLAS ASTRINIDIS
(1921–2010)
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Life and Works (in Greek) |
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Short biography Composer, pianist and conductor Nicolas Astrinidis was born in Akkerman
(Bessarabia) in Romania on May 6, 1921. He began his musical studies (piano
and theory) at a relatively young age, and in 1939 he enrolled in the
Bucharest Conservatoire, simultaneously studying Chemistry at the city’s
University. The events of World War II
forced his family to take refuge in the Middle East, where he enlisted in the
Royal Greek Air Force as a volunteer and served on the Libyan front for two
years. After been wounded and awarded a Medal for Outstanding Deeds, he was
transferred in 1943 to Cairo, where he began his career giving 80 concerts
for the Allied troops; he also won the First Prize, both as a composer and
pianist of his Cypriot Rhapsody, in the Eisteddfod Festival in 1944,
and he conducted his first major symphonic work, Oedipus Rex, at the
Cairo Opera the following year. In 1947, Astrinidis
moved to Paris where he completed his formal musical studies at the Schola
Cantorum, receiving Diplomas in Piano Virtuosity and Composition. From 1948
onwards he undertook numerous tours throughout the world, giving more than
2500 concerts either as a soloist, or in collaboration with other artists,
such as the violinists Christian Ferras and Henryk Szeryng. He spent most of the period 1959-1962 in
Martinique, in the French Antilles, where he co-directed and taught in the
Conservatoire he and the violinist Colette Frantz had founded on a commission
from the French Government; he also founded and conducted the Chamber
Orchestra of the French Antilles. In 1965 Astrinidis
was appointed artistic and musical director of the Philharmonic and Mixed
Choir of the Municipality of Thessaloniki, a position which he would hold
until 1985. Since then, he made an outstanding contribution to the musical
life of the city by presenting his major symphonic works in the Demetria
festivals, by giving many first performances of important works (very often
transcribed by himself), by inviting foreign artists of world repute for
concerts concerts, and by playing a leading part in
the efforts towards the creation of an Opera House in Thessaloniki. Beginning
in 1970, he made many appearances in Romania and Bulgaria in his triple
capacity. He was a member of the Artistic Board of the State Theatre of
Northern Greece and he founded the Chamber Opera of Northern Greece. Since
1979 he conducts the Mandolinata of Thessaloniki
and from 1980 he has been Director of the Macedonian Conservatoire. He was a
member of the Union of Greek Composers (Athens), the Society of Authors,
Composers, and Editors of Music (Paris), and the International Society of
Contemporary Music (Paris), and he has been awarded the Golden Cross of the
Order of George I. Representative
works Orchestra and chorus: ·
Saint Demetrios (1962) ·
Cyril and Methodios (1966) ·
The Psalms (1968) ·
“1821” Symphony (1971) ·
To Christ in the Castle (1991) ·
The Youth of Alexander the Great (1995) Orchestra and solo
instruments: ·
Concert Variations (piano;
1955) ·
Hellenic: Concerto-Rhapsody
(violin; 1979) Orchestra: ·
Oedipus Rex (1945) ·
The Tower of Solitude (1950) ·
The Masque of the Red Death (1951) ·
Saint Demetrios (1953) Chamber music (solo and
piano): ·
Caprice in Balkan Mode
(violoncello; 1946) ·
Two Pieces in Greek Style
(violin; 1947) ·
Hellenic: Concert-Rhapsody
(violin; 1955) ·
Sonata Concertante
(violoncello; 1988) Voice and piano: ·
The Passion of Shiva (1948) ·
Greek Nights (1983) Piano: ·
Cypriot Rhapsody (1944) ·
Greek Dance (1947) ·
Two Preludes (1948) |