Byron Fidetzis
Encyclopedia
Byron Fidetzis is a Greek cellist
and conductor.
, He studied violoncello under Manolis Kazabakas and advanced theory under Solon Michaelides
at the State Conservatory of Thessaloniki. Upon a scholarship granted by the Hellenic Foundation for State Bursaries, he moved to Vienna where he continued with his cello studies at the Hochschule für Musik under the expert guidance of Vladimir Orloff, André Navarra
and S. Benes, receiving his diploma in 1975.
Alongside his cello studies, he attended the class of Hans Swarowski in orchestra conduction from 1973 to 1977, in which year he gained his diploma at chef d’ orchestre. He has also attended seminars held by conductors Miltiades Caridis
(Vienna) and Otmar Suitner
(Weimar).
For many years he has been co-operating with the Greek National Opera House, and from 1985 to 1992 he was permanent conductor of the House’s Orchestra.
From September 1990 to 1992 he was the chief conductor of the Ekaterinenburg State Philharmonic Orchestra of Russia, and since 1992 he has been Guest Conductor of Cappella Russia Orchestra in Moscow (the official orchestra of the Ministry of Culture in Russia).
He was also Honorary Guest Conductor of the Symphony Orchestra of Pasardjik in Bulgaria up until 1999; during the period 1999-2001 he also served as artistic director at the same orchestra.
Since 1987 he has been permanent conductor to the Athens State Orchestra and since 2000 he has been chief conductor of the Symphony Orchestra of the Municipality of Thessaloniki.
All three *Manolis Kalomiris
’s symphonies, namely the Levendia Symphony (of Manliness), Of Simple and Good People and "Palamian" as well as the composer’s operas Anatoli
(Sunrise) and Konstantinos Paleologos (The Fall of Constantinople);
He has also recorded works by such notable composers as Sicilianos, Dragatakis, Evangelatos, Lialios, Lavrangas, Varvoglis, Petridis, Emilios Riadis
, Antoniou
, Theodorakis, Xanthoudakis, Koukos, Zanas, and many others.
As for Skalkottas’s orchestral work, Fidetzis has conducted the world premiere of the Small Symphony (or Sinfonietta) in B flat major, four of the 36 Greek Dances in transcription for strings, and the independent Greek dance for orchestra in C minor.
In 1990 he did the world premiere recording of the symphonic cycle of the 36 Greek dances. In January the 28th 1997 he conducted the Athens State Orchestra in the public world premiere of the whole cycle in Thessaloniki. For all the above he had to restore the musical texts, considering all of the composer’s accessible scores. He has also corrected masses of mistakes in printed scores and in scores recorded in PC.
presented him with the Spyros Motsenigos Music Award; he has also received awards by the Bank of Greece and the International Fair of Thessaloniki.
The Greek Composers Association has duly acknowledged his contribution to Greek music, unanimously electing him Honorary Member in 1986. Byron Fidetzis has also received distinctions by the Union of Drama and Music Greek Critics for his recording output.
In 2010, the Department of Music Studies of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
presented him with an Honorary Doctorate.
Cello
The cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
and conductor.
Early studies
Byron Fidetzis (Βύρων Φιδετζής) was born in ThessalonikiThessaloniki
Thessaloniki , historically also known as Thessalonica, Salonika or Salonica, is the second-largest city in Greece and the capital of the region of Central Macedonia as well as the capital of the Decentralized Administration of Macedonia and Thrace...
, He studied violoncello under Manolis Kazabakas and advanced theory under Solon Michaelides
Solon Michaelides
Solon Michaelides was a Cypriot composer, teacher and musicologist. He taught himself the guitar as a schoolkid. He was appointed guitar teacher in the Cypriot Conservatory, where he learned piano. He studied in the UK and France. After his studies he spend the next two decades in Limassol...
at the State Conservatory of Thessaloniki. Upon a scholarship granted by the Hellenic Foundation for State Bursaries, he moved to Vienna where he continued with his cello studies at the Hochschule für Musik under the expert guidance of Vladimir Orloff, André Navarra
André Navarra
André-Nicolas Navarra was a French cellist and cello teacher.-Early life:...
and S. Benes, receiving his diploma in 1975.
Alongside his cello studies, he attended the class of Hans Swarowski in orchestra conduction from 1973 to 1977, in which year he gained his diploma at chef d’ orchestre. He has also attended seminars held by conductors Miltiades Caridis
Miltiades Caridis
Miltiades Caridis was a German-Greek conductor.Caridis was born in Gdańsk, then Free City of Danzig. His mother was a Danziger of German ethnicity, his father was a merchant from Greece. His family moved to Weimar Germany and he was raised in Dresden, but his family moved to Greece in 1938,...
(Vienna) and Otmar Suitner
Otmar Suitner
Otmar Suitner was an Austrian conductor who spent most of his professional career in East Germany. He was born in Innsbruck and died in Berlin. He was Principal Conductor of the Staatskapelle Dresden from 1960 to 1964, and then Music Director at the Berlin State Opera from 1964 to 1990...
(Weimar).
Musical career
Fidetzis has co-operated as a soloist and conductor with all the Greek and many foreign orchestras in various concerts throughout Greece (festivals of Athens, Corfu, Herakleion, the Demetria Festival of Thessaloniki, the Manolis Kalomiris Festival of Samos) as well as abroad (Austria, Armenia, Albania, China, Japan, Mexico, Germany, Italy, Poland, Russia, Czech Republic, Romania, Slovakia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Cyprus, Turkey).For many years he has been co-operating with the Greek National Opera House, and from 1985 to 1992 he was permanent conductor of the House’s Orchestra.
From September 1990 to 1992 he was the chief conductor of the Ekaterinenburg State Philharmonic Orchestra of Russia, and since 1992 he has been Guest Conductor of Cappella Russia Orchestra in Moscow (the official orchestra of the Ministry of Culture in Russia).
He was also Honorary Guest Conductor of the Symphony Orchestra of Pasardjik in Bulgaria up until 1999; during the period 1999-2001 he also served as artistic director at the same orchestra.
Since 1987 he has been permanent conductor to the Athens State Orchestra and since 2000 he has been chief conductor of the Symphony Orchestra of the Municipality of Thessaloniki.
Recordings
Fidetzis has recorded:- Spyridon SamarasSpyridon SamarasSpyridon-Filiskos Samaras was a Greek composer particularly admired for his operas who was part of the generation of composers that heralded the works of Giacomo Puccini...
’s operas RheaSpyridon SamarasSpyridon-Filiskos Samaras was a Greek composer particularly admired for his operas who was part of the generation of composers that heralded the works of Giacomo Puccini...
, La Martire, La Biondinetta (or, Historie d’Amour), Mademoiselle de Belle-Isle; - Pavlos CarrerPavlos CarrerPavlos Carrer was a Greek composer.Carrer was born in Zakynthos. He studied in Zakynthos and in Corfu. In the early 1850s he moved to Milan, where his first operas and ballets were performed at the stages of the Teatro Carcano and the Teatro alla Canobbiana. In the same city he published some of...
’s operas Frossini and Despo o L’eroina di Suli; - Dimitri Mitropoulos's opera Sœur Béatrice;
All three *Manolis Kalomiris
Manolis Kalomiris
Manolis Kalomiris ), was a Greek classical composer. He was the founder of the Greek National School of Music.-Biography:Born in Smyrna, he attended school in Constantinople and studied piano and composition in Vienna. After working for a few years as a piano teacher in Kharkov he settled in...
’s symphonies, namely the Levendia Symphony (of Manliness), Of Simple and Good People and "Palamian" as well as the composer’s operas Anatoli
Anatoli
Anatoli is a town and a former municipality in the Ioannina peripheral unit, Epirus, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Ioannina, of which it is a municipal unit. The population was 7,198...
(Sunrise) and Konstantinos Paleologos (The Fall of Constantinople);
- Yoannis Constantinidis’s complete orchestral works; and
- Nikolaos MantzarosNikolaos MantzarosNikolaos Halikiopoulos Mantzaros was a Greek composer born in Corfu and the major representative of the so called Ionian School of music...
’s Ode to Freedom in its original, conclusive form.
He has also recorded works by such notable composers as Sicilianos, Dragatakis, Evangelatos, Lialios, Lavrangas, Varvoglis, Petridis, Emilios Riadis
Emilios Riadis
Emilios Riadis was a Greek composer. He was born in Thessaloniki, Greece. He had his first music lesson in harmony and piano with a friend of Wagner’s, Dimitrios Lalas. He also studied at the Munich Academy from 1908-1910...
, Antoniou
Antoniou
- Men :*Kostas Antoniou, Greek footballer*Marios Antoniou, Greek footballer*Platon Antoniou, English-Greek photographer*Theodore Antoniou, Greek conductor and composer- Women :*Angeliki Antoniou, Greek director and screenwriter...
, Theodorakis, Xanthoudakis, Koukos, Zanas, and many others.
As for Skalkottas’s orchestral work, Fidetzis has conducted the world premiere of the Small Symphony (or Sinfonietta) in B flat major, four of the 36 Greek Dances in transcription for strings, and the independent Greek dance for orchestra in C minor.
In 1990 he did the world premiere recording of the symphonic cycle of the 36 Greek dances. In January the 28th 1997 he conducted the Athens State Orchestra in the public world premiere of the whole cycle in Thessaloniki. For all the above he had to restore the musical texts, considering all of the composer’s accessible scores. He has also corrected masses of mistakes in printed scores and in scores recorded in PC.
Awards and honors
In 1975, the Athens AcademyAthens Academy
Athens Academy is a private, co-educational, college preparatory school originally founded in Athens, now located in Oconee County, Georgia, United States. The school sponsors grades K through 12, and also operates a preschool. It was founded in 1967. The school's motto is Excellentia Cum Honore...
presented him with the Spyros Motsenigos Music Award; he has also received awards by the Bank of Greece and the International Fair of Thessaloniki.
The Greek Composers Association has duly acknowledged his contribution to Greek music, unanimously electing him Honorary Member in 1986. Byron Fidetzis has also received distinctions by the Union of Drama and Music Greek Critics for his recording output.
In 2010, the Department of Music Studies of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
The National and Kapodistrian University of Athens , usually referred to simply as the University of Athens, is the oldest university in Southeast Europe and has been in continuous operation since its establishment in 1837. Today, it is the second-largest institution of higher learning in Greece,...
presented him with an Honorary Doctorate.