Karolos Trikolidis

Karolos Trikolidis (Κάρολος Τρικολίδης) was a distinguished Greek-Austrian conductor, born on July 24, 1947, in Bad Aussee, Allied-occupied Austria, to a Greek father and an Austrian mother. His education in music was comprehensive and profound, having studied at the musical universities of Vienna and Salzburg. He honed his skills in various disciplines: violin under Günter Pichler, composition under Alfred Uhl and Cesar Bresgen, percussion under Richard Hochrainer, and orchestral conducting under Hans Swarowsky and Miltiades Caridis. Additionally, he actively participated in annual masterclasses led by notable figures such as Franco Ferrara, Pierre Boulez, and Herbert von Karajan. He also received conducting lessons from composer and conductor Bruno Maderna.

Trikolidis began his career as an assistant to Giuseppe Patane and Sir Adrian Boult. After a competition in Paris, he was selected to work with the Boston Symphony Orchestra alongside Leonard Bernstein, Seiji Ozawa, and Andre Previn. He achieved first prizes in international conducting competitions in Besançon (1970), Florence (1971), and Budapest (1977).

His career spanned various roles and engagements. He worked in many operas in West Germany and Hungary and served as the permanent conductor of the Marseille National Ballet “Roland Petit,” touring across Europe. He was also invited by Aterballetto and the Bolshoi and Kremlin ballets. His roles included principal guest conductor of the Iceland Symphony Orchestra, general music director of the Debrecen Philharmonic Orchestra, and multiple guest conducting engagements with the Russian National Orchestra for concerts in Moscow and tours in the Volga cities and the Athens Festival.

From 1972, for 38 years, Trikolidis was the permanent conductor and musical director of the Thessaloniki State Symphony Orchestra. As a guest conductor, he led over 140 orchestras in Europe, Australia, Russia, and Japan, including Orchester national de l’ORTF, Russian National Orchestra, Berlin Symphony Orchestra, Nuremberg Symphony Orchestra, Prague Symphony Orchestra, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Hungarian Radio and Television Symphony Orchestra, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, and many others.

He appeared at numerous festivals, including Dresden, Paris, Budapest, Aix-en-Provence, Besançon, Athens, Vienna’s “Music Summer,” and the Dimitria of Thessaloniki. Trikolidis was also involved in radio productions and television concerts for networks like ABC, BBC, ORTF, RAI, WDR, ORF, MRT, NRU, and a series of 12 television concerts on Hungarian television.

Karolos Trikolidis passed away on January 20, 2022, at the age of 74.

Source: Wikipedia