Iakovos Kolanian
Encyclopedia
Iakovos Kolanian is a Greek classical guitar
ist born in Piraeus
, Greece
and is best known for his performances and transcriptions of ethnic folk music for the classical guitar
.
n father and a Greek mother. He studied at the National Conservatory of Athens with noted professors Evangelos Assimakopoulos
and Lisa Zoe, and graduated in 1985 with the top award and a special honor for exceptional performance. Since that time, he has attended various special seminars and master classes from distinguished teachers such as Oscar Ghilia and Leo Brouwer
.
, Asia
, North America, and Latin America
, where he has presented to audiences a large part of the classical guitar repertoire. He also regularly takes part in international festivals in Vienna
, Milan
, Athens
, Israel
, Cyprus
and Yerevan
by giving individual recitals or acting as soloist with symphonic orchestras and ensembles of chamber music. He has performed as a soloist with Athens State Orchestra, Thessalonica State Orchestra, Symphonic Orchestra of Greek Broadcasting Corporation (ERT), The Camerata Orchestra of Athens, Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra
, etc.
He has also been regularly featured in well-known television and radio programs such as BBC
, ORF
, Radio France
, ERT
and RIK.
. He currently holds a teaching position at the Athenaeum Conservatory in the classical guitar department.
Classical guitar
The classical guitar is a 6-stringed plucked string instrument from the family of instruments called chordophones...
ist born in Piraeus
Piraeus
Piraeus is a city in the region of Attica, Greece. Piraeus is located within the Athens Urban Area, 12 km southwest from its city center , and lies along the east coast of the Saronic Gulf....
, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
and is best known for his performances and transcriptions of ethnic folk music for the classical guitar
Classical guitar
The classical guitar is a 6-stringed plucked string instrument from the family of instruments called chordophones...
.
Biography
Kolanian was born in 1960, to an ArmeniaArmenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
n father and a Greek mother. He studied at the National Conservatory of Athens with noted professors Evangelos Assimakopoulos
Evangelos Assimakopoulos
Evangelos Assimakopoulos is a Greek classical guitarist and musical pedagogue. In 1965 he married guitarist Liza Zoe and together they established the guitar duo Evangelos & Liza.-Biography:...
and Lisa Zoe, and graduated in 1985 with the top award and a special honor for exceptional performance. Since that time, he has attended various special seminars and master classes from distinguished teachers such as Oscar Ghilia and Leo Brouwer
Leo Brouwer
Juan Leovigildo Brouwer Mezquida is a Cuban composer, conductor and guitarist. He is the grandson of Cuban composer Ernestina Lecuona Casado.-Biography:...
.
Performing career
Throughout the years he has toured in EuropeEurope
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
, North America, and Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
, where he has presented to audiences a large part of the classical guitar repertoire. He also regularly takes part in international festivals in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
, Athens
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...
, Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
and Yerevan
Yerevan
Yerevan is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's oldest continuously-inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerevan is the administrative, cultural, and industrial center of the country...
by giving individual recitals or acting as soloist with symphonic orchestras and ensembles of chamber music. He has performed as a soloist with Athens State Orchestra, Thessalonica State Orchestra, Symphonic Orchestra of Greek Broadcasting Corporation (ERT), The Camerata Orchestra of Athens, Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra
Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra
The Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra is the national orchestra of Armenia. It was founded in 1925 as a symphony orchestra of the Yerevan State Conservatory. Now it performs in Khachaturian Hall, Yerevan....
, etc.
He has also been regularly featured in well-known television and radio programs such as BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, ORF
ORF (broadcaster)
Österreichischer Rundfunk, ORF, is the Austrian national public service broadcaster.Funded from a combination of a television licence fees and revenue from limited on-air advertising, ORF is the dominant player in the Austrian broadcast media...
, Radio France
Radio France
Radio France is a French public service radio broadcaster.-Mission:Radio France's two principal missions are:* To create and expand the programming on all of their stations; and...
, ERT
Elliniki Radiofonia Tileorasi
The Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation is the Greek state-owned public radio and television broadcasting corporation. It is a member of EBU.Since 70's ERT is part of the Eurovision Song Contest, organized by EBU...
and RIK.
Teaching posts
Kolanian has been the head of the Classical Guitar Department at the Contemporary Athens Conservatory since 1992, and is an honorary professor at the Armenian Academy in YerevanYerevan
Yerevan is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's oldest continuously-inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerevan is the administrative, cultural, and industrial center of the country...
. He currently holds a teaching position at the Athenaeum Conservatory in the classical guitar department.
Recorded works
- Bohemio: Guitar Masterworks of Agustin Barrios (Pomegranate Music, 2006)
- Shoror: Armenian Folk Music for Guitar (Pomegranate Music, 2004)
- Bach Lute Suites for Guitar (Eros, 2003)
- Tjeknavorian's Concerto for Guitar and Orchestra with the Armenian Philharmonic (1991)