Theodore Antoniou (1932-2018)

GP763

Grand Piano is sad to record the passing of Greek composer Theodore Antoniou, on 26 December 2018. He was aged 83.

Born in Athens in 1935, Theodore Antoniou belonged to the generation of renowned composers that included Ligeti, Crumb, Penderecki, Stockhausen and Xenakis. He was latterly a professor emeritus at Boston University and president of the Greek Composers’ Union, a position he held for more than 25 years. In recognition of his contribution to the international musical scene, he was elected a member of the Academy of Athens, Greece’s highest intellectual establishment.

Antoniou’s prolific output of more than 450 works includes 8 significant works for solo piano, all of which feature on Konstantinos Destounis’ 2018 release for Grand Piano (GP779). It includes six world premiere recordings and was made in the presence of the composer, who considered Konstantinos Destounis “a phenomenon… a great interpreter of my complete piano works.”