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Performer Information

Ermis Theodorakis

Ερμής Θεοδωράκης

Pianist, Composer

Ermis Theodorakis was born in 1979 in Athens, Greece, where he studied piano with Nilyan Perez-Ioannidis, composition with Yannis Ioannidis as well as musicology at the University of Athens. Subsequently he followed advanced studies on piano with Håkon Austbø at the Amsterdam Conservatory (the Netherlands) and on composition with Claus-Steffen Mahnkopf at the University of Music and Theater Leipzig (Germany). In 2016 he was awarded a doctoral degree from the University of Athens for his dissertation on the work of the composer Michael Adamis.

Since the beginning of his professional career in 1994 he shows a strong commitment to performing 20th century and contemporary music, especially its most complex aesthetic directions. In this segment of repertoire he has given solo recitals in most european countries as well as in the U.S., Canada, South America (Brazil, Argentina, Chile) and Ghana. He has collaborated as a soloist with orchestras such as the Athens State Orchestra, the Orchestra of Colours, the Buenos Aires Philharmonic, the Nederlands Kamerorkest, with ensembles of contemporary music such as Ensemble LINEA (Strasbourg), Ensemble SurPlus (Freiburg), United Instruments of Lucilin (Luxembourg), and with conductors such as Peter Eötvös, Arturo Tamayo, Jean-Philippe Wurtz, Theodor Antoniou, Miltos Logiadis.

He has given the first world performances of many works by living composers of different generations, several of them being written for and/or dedicated to him. He has worked with important contemporary composers such as Iannis Xenakis, Brian Ferneyhough, Claus-Steffen Mahnkopf, Mark Andre, Frank Cox.

His discography comprises eight solo CDs, which include the complete piano works by Iannis Xenakis, Claus-Steffen Mahnkopf, Yorgo Sicilianos as well as works by Second Viennese School composers, Yannis Ioannidis, Dániel Péter Biró and various greek composers. Recordings of single works such as Xenakis’ Evryali and “Synaphaï”, or Andre’s Un-Fini III are included in various CD compilations of contemporary music.

As a composer, he has written since 1996 several pieces for solo instruments or chamber ensembles. His works have been performed in Germany, Greece, the Netherlands, Belgium, Cyprus and Chile.

He has been invited to hold lectures, workshops and reading sessions on different aspects of performance practice of contemporary music at universities in Germany, Greece, the U.K., Brazil, Chile and Canada. Since 2017 he is adjunct professor for Contemporary Performance Practice at the University of Music and Theater Leipzig.

For his work as a pianist and composer he has been awarded various prizes and scholarships (A.S. Onassis Foundation scholarships, UNESCO Prize for his services to greek contemporary music, SACEM and Boucourechliev prizes at the 7th International Piano Competition in Orleans). Iannis Xenakis has stated that he considers Ermis Theodorakis an ideal interpreter of his music.

Source: Ermis Theodorakis (website)

Performances

#	Date	Venue	City	Country	Festival	Organiser	Artist(s)	Ensemble(s)	Work(s) Performed
1	April 1, 1996	Goethe Institute of Athens	Athens	Greece	N/A	Athens Music Society	Ermis Theodorakis (piano)	N/A	Etudes Compositionnelles. Op. 32
2	March 22, 2002	Friends of Music Hall (Christos Lambrakis Hall)	Athens	Greece	N/A	N/A	Dimitri Chorafas (conductor), Ermis Theodorakis (piano)	Athens State Orchestra	Piano Concerto, Op. 52
3	May 23, 2002	Parnassos Literary Society Hall	Athens	Greece	N/A	N/A	Ermis Theodorakis (piano)[Op. 17c, Op. 23, Op. 32, Op. 48], Emmanouil "Manolis" Perysinakis (piano)[Op. 17c, Op. 48]	N/A	Tanagraea, Op. 17c - Eight Children's Miniatures, Op. 23 - Etudes Compositionnelles, Op. 32 - Contrastes, Op. 48
4	March 21, 2006	Goethe-Institut Athen	Athens	Greece	Yorgos Sicilianos Memorial	Hellenic Society for Aesthetics	Ermis Theodorakis (piano)[Op. 23, 32, 45], Georgios Demertzis (violin) [Op. 45]	N/A	Etudes Compositionnelles Op. 32, Eight Children's Miniatures Op. 23, Violin Sonata Op. 45
5	March 20, 2007	Benaki Museum	Athens	Greece	Exhibition - Yorgos Sicilianos 1920-2005, the composer in the avant-garde of contemporary music	Benaki Museum	Georgios Demertzis (violin) (Op. 45, 46), Apostolos Chandrakis (cello) (Op. 46), Ermis Theodorakis (piano) (Op. 32, 45, 46, 48), Daniël Kramer (piano) (Op. 48)	N/A	Etudes Compositionnelles Op. 32, Violin Sonata Op. 45, Pantoum Op. 46, Contrastes Op. 48
6	March 30, 2007	Benaki Museum Piraeus Ave	Athens	Greece	Exhibition - Yorgos Sicilianos 1920-2005, the composer in the avant-garde of contemporary music,	Benaki Museum	Miltos Logiadis, Angelica Cathariou (mezzo-soprano) Op. 41, Ermis Theodorakis (piano) Op. 52, Petros Ioannou (narrator) Op. 41	Orchestra of Colours (Ορχήστρα των Χρωμάτων)	The Lady in the Moonlight Op. 41, Piano Concerto Op. 52, Metamorphoses Op. 55
7	December 2, 2017	Tellogleio Foundation of Arts, University of Thessaloniki	Thessaloniki	Greece	Interdepartmental Conference under the auspices of the Hellenic Musicological Society	Hellenic Musicological Society	Ermis Theodorakis (piano)	N/A	Etudes Compositionnelles Op. 32

Works

#	Catalogue Number	Work Title	Subtitle	Opus	Instrumentation	Work Page
1	YSC95	Concerto	for Piano and Orchestra	52	1111-1110, Timpani, Strings	View
2	YSC90	Contrastes	for Two Pianos, on a Chromatique Theme by Orlande de Lassus.	48	2 Pianos	View
3	YSC73	Etudes Compositionnelles	for Piano	32	Piano	View
4	YSC61	Eight Children's Miniatures	for Piano	23	Piano	View
5	YSC53	Tanagraea	Suite for two Pianos	17C	2 Pianos	View

Discography

#	Album Cover	Title	Artist(s)	Work(s) by Sicilianos	Format	Label	Release Date	Album Page
1		Yorgos Sicilianos Piano Music 1957-1984	Daniël Kramer, Ermis Theodorakis	Contrastes for Two Pianos on a Chromatique Theme by Orlande de Lassus Op. 48, Eight Children's Miniatures Op. 23, Etudes Compositionnelles Op. 32, Tanagraea Suite for two Pianos Op. 17c	Compact Disc	Hellenic Society For Aesthetics	2007	View

Conferences & Events

#	Image	Name	Type	Location	Year	Event Page
1		Event in memory of Yorgos Sicilianos at the Goethe Institut in Athens	Commemorative	Goethe-Institut Athen	2006	View
2		Yorgos Sicilianos 1920-2005, the composer in the avant-garde of contemporary music	Exhibition	Benaki Museum	2007	View

References

“Αφιέρωμα στον Γιώργο Σισιλιάνο,” Music Library of Greece “Lilian Voudouri” Digital Collection, March 13, 2007, accessed August 16, 2024, https://digital.mmb.org.gr/digma/handle/123456789/11737.
Valia Christopoulou, Yorgos Sicilianos Catalogue of Works [Κατάλογος Έργων Γιώργου Σισιλιάνου] (Athens: Panas Music Papagrigoriou - Nakas, 2011) , 56, 69, 70, 89, 108, 126, 133
Kostas Chardas, Giorgos Sakallieros, and Ioannis Fulias, eds., 9th Musicological Conference: “Variations, Elaborations, Transformations” (Conference proceedings, under the auspices of the Hellenic Musicological Society, Thessaloniki, 1-3 December 2017), Hellenic Musicological Society, Thessaloniki, 2021. Accessed August 19, 2024. https://hellenic-musicology.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/ConfProc2017.pdf. [In Greek]
Yorgos Sicilianos Piano Music 1957-1984 (Γιώργος Σισιλιάνος Μουσική για Πιάνο 1957-1984), performed by Ermis Theodorakis and Daniël Kramer. Hellenic Society For Aesthetics, 2007, Compact Disc, 66:07.
“Εκδηλώσεις 2006, Event in memory of Yorgos Sicilianos at the Goethe Institut in Athens: concert by Ermis Theodorakis (piano) and Georgios Demertzis (violin), speakers: D. A. Zivas, A. Kostios, Y. Ioannidis.” Hellenic Society for Aesthetics, accessed August 19, 2024, https://hellenicaesthetics.gr/εκδηλώσεις
“Ermis Theodorakis,” accessed August 19, 2024, https://www.ermis-theodorakis.com/.

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