Dimitri Terzakis
Encyclopedia
Dimitri Terzakis (born March 12, 1938 in Athens
) is a Greek
composer
. His father was the author Angelos Terzakis
.
From 1959–1964 Terzakis studied composition
with Yannis Papaioannou at the Athens Hellenic Conservatory
, followed by five years spent at the Hochschule für Musik
in Cologne
, Germany
where he studied composition with Bernd Alois Zimmermann
and electronic music
with Herbert Eimert
. Works by Terzakis have been performed at the International Society for Contemporary Music Festival
in Basle (1970), the Darmstadt Artists' Colony
summer courses (1970) and the Hamburg
Das Neue Werk series (1972). He taught counterpoint
and fugue
(1974–94) and Byzantine music
and composition (1989–94) at the Musikhochschule, Düsseldorf. In 1980 he began to organize summer courses in Western and south-eastern European music in Nafplion
. In 1985–6 he was guest professor of composition at the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler
. From 1994 to his retirement he held the chair for composition at the Leipzig Felix Mendelssohn College of Music and Theatre
.
He has been a German
citizen since 1985 and is living and composing in Leipzig
, Germany, and Nafplion
, Greece.
Terzakis has written numerous symphonic works, chamber music
pieces, vocal art songs, and choral pieces such as Kassandra after Aischylos
for the ensemble amarcord
. He has also written three operas: Circus Universal (1975), Thomas Torquemada (1976), and Hermes (1984).
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
) is a Greek
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
. His father was the author Angelos Terzakis
Angelos Terzakis
Angelos Terzakis was a Greek writer of the 30s Generation. He composed short stories, novels and plays.-Life:...
.
From 1959–1964 Terzakis studied composition
Musical composition
Musical composition can refer to an original piece of music, the structure of a musical piece, or the process of creating a new piece of music. People who practice composition are called composers.- Musical compositions :...
with Yannis Papaioannou at the Athens Hellenic Conservatory
Hellenic Conservatory
The Hellenic Conservatory was founded in Athens in 1919 by the composer Manolis Kalomiris. Kalomoiris was the conservatoire's director until 1926, when he left to found the National Conservatoire. The conservatoire early on opened a number of branches throughout Athens, in a number of cities in...
, followed by five years spent at the Hochschule für Musik
Hochschule für Musik Köln
The Cologne University of Music is a music college in Cologne, and Germany's largest academy of music.-History:The academy was founded by Ferdinand Hiller in 1850 as Conservatorium der Musik in Coeln...
in Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
where he studied composition with Bernd Alois Zimmermann
Bernd Alois Zimmermann
Bernd Alois Zimmermann was a post-WWII West German composer. He is perhaps best known for his opera Die Soldaten which is regarded as one of the most important operas of the 20th century...
and electronic music
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
with Herbert Eimert
Herbert Eimert
Herbert Eimert was a German music theorist, musicologist, journalist, music critic, editor, radio producer, and composer.-Life:...
. Works by Terzakis have been performed at the International Society for Contemporary Music Festival
International Society for Contemporary Music
The International Society for Contemporary Music is a music organization that promotes contemporary classical music.ISCM was established in 1922, in Salzburg. Its core activity is the World Music Days Festival, held every year at a different location. The festival includes cutting edge productions...
in Basle (1970), the Darmstadt Artists' Colony
Darmstadt Artists' Colony
The Darmstadt Artists’ Colony refers both to a group of artists as well as to the buildings in Mathildenhöhe in Darmstadt in which these artists lived and worked...
summer courses (1970) and the Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
Das Neue Werk series (1972). He taught counterpoint
Counterpoint
In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more voices that are independent in contour and rhythm and are harmonically interdependent . It has been most commonly identified in classical music, developing strongly during the Renaissance and in much of the common practice period,...
and fugue
Fugue
In music, a fugue is a compositional technique in two or more voices, built on a subject that is introduced at the beginning in imitation and recurs frequently in the course of the composition....
(1974–94) and Byzantine music
Byzantine music
Byzantine music is the music of the Byzantine Empire composed to Greek texts as ceremonial, festival, or church music. Greek and foreign historians agree that the ecclesiastical tones and in general the whole system of Byzantine music is closely related to the ancient Greek system...
and composition (1989–94) at the Musikhochschule, Düsseldorf. In 1980 he began to organize summer courses in Western and south-eastern European music in Nafplion
Nafplion
Nafplio is a seaport town in the Peloponnese in Greece that has expanded up the hillsides near the north end of the Argolic Gulf. The town was the first capital of modern Greece, from the start of the Greek Revolution in 1821 until 1834. Nafplio is now the capital of the peripheral unit of...
. In 1985–6 he was guest professor of composition at the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler
Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler
The " in Berlin, Germany is one of the leading music conservatories in Europe. It was established in East Berlin in 1950 as the ' because the older was in West Berlin...
. From 1994 to his retirement he held the chair for composition at the Leipzig Felix Mendelssohn College of Music and Theatre
Felix Mendelssohn College of Music and Theatre
The University of Music and Theatre "Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy" Leipzig is a public university in Leipzig . Founded in 1843 by Felix Mendelssohn as the Conservatory of Music, it is the oldest university school of music in Germany....
.
He has been a German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
citizen since 1985 and is living and composing in Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
, Germany, and Nafplion
Nafplion
Nafplio is a seaport town in the Peloponnese in Greece that has expanded up the hillsides near the north end of the Argolic Gulf. The town was the first capital of modern Greece, from the start of the Greek Revolution in 1821 until 1834. Nafplio is now the capital of the peripheral unit of...
, Greece.
Compositions
As a composer, Terzakis' music began with an expanded tonality (Prelude (1961) and Legend (1964)) moving to 12-note serialism (e.g. the Sinfonietta (1965)) and then to a fruitful exploration of micro-intervals and glissandi, principally in his melody, based on Byzantine music. In recent years, Terzakis's view of Western harmony, polyphony and the tempered system as constituting only an extended episode in the evolution of music has increasingly led him to an essentially monophonic output. In this he has drawn example from Greek traditional music, as well as from other parts of the Mediterranean and the Near East.Terzakis has written numerous symphonic works, chamber music
Chamber music
Chamber music is a form of classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small number of performers with one performer to a part...
pieces, vocal art songs, and choral pieces such as Kassandra after Aischylos
Aeschylus
Aeschylus was the first of the three ancient Greek tragedians whose work has survived, the others being Sophocles and Euripides, and is often described as the father of tragedy. His name derives from the Greek word aiskhos , meaning "shame"...
for the ensemble amarcord
Ensemble amarcord
The ensemble amarcord is a German male classical vocal ensemble based in Leipzig, founded in 1992 by five former members of the Thomanerchor. Their focus is Medieval music, Renaissance music and the collaboration with contemporary composers.- Singers :...
. He has also written three operas: Circus Universal (1975), Thomas Torquemada (1976), and Hermes (1984).
Sources
- George Leotsakos. The New Grove Dictionary of OperaNew Grove Dictionary of OperaThe New Grove Dictionary of Opera is an encyclopedia of opera, considered to be one of the best general reference sources on the subject. It is the largest work on opera in English, and in its printed form, amounts to 5,448 pages in four volumes....
, edited by Stanley Sadie (1992). ISBN 0-333-73432-7 and ISBN 1-56159-228-5