Georges Athanasiadès (27 July 1929 – 3 February 2022) was a Swiss organist and choirmaster.

Biography

Athanasiadès was born to an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

mother and a

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father in Saint-Ursanne (Jura) . He studied theology at the and later studied German literature and musicology in

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...

and

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. He returned to Switzerland to study music in

Lausanne Lausanne ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of towns in Switzerland, city of the Swiss French-speaking Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud, in Switzerland. It is a hilly city situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, about halfway bet ...

and earned a high distinction on the pipe organ. In 1952, Athanasiadès was ordained a priest at the Abbey of Saint-Maurice d'Agaune and became a teacher of German and Greek literature. He was also the abbey's organist. He participated in multiple concert tours across Europe, North America, Japan, Africa, and China. He made numerous recordings and participated in multiple international competitions. In 2001, he founded the Concours international pour orgue de Saint-Maurice. Athanasiadès's discography included many recorded works by great composers such as

Franz Liszt Franz Liszt (22 October 1811 – 31 July 1886) was a Hungarian composer, virtuoso pianist, conductor and teacher of the Romantic music, Romantic period. With a diverse List of compositions by Franz Liszt, body of work spanning more than six ...

Johannes Brahms Johannes Brahms (; ; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor of the mid-Romantic period (music), Romantic period. His music is noted for its rhythmic vitality and freer treatment of dissonance, oft ...

César Franck César Auguste Jean Guillaume Hubert Franck (; 10 December 1822 – 8 November 1890) was a French Romantic music, Romantic composer, pianist, organist, and music teacher born in present-day Belgium. He was born in Liège (which at the time of h ...

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (German: Help:IPA/Standard German, �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque music, Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety ...

, and other Baroque composers. He was also an expert in liturgical texts and represented Switzerland in the French-speaking translation commission at the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the or , was the 21st and most recent ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. The council met each autumn from 1962 to 1965 in St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City for session ...

. He died in Saint-Maurice on 3 February 2022, at the age of 92.

Bibliography

*''Wer singt, betet doppelt'' (2009) *''Mysterium Salutis'' *''Initiation à la musique par le disque'' *''Josef Krips, pas de musique sans amour'' (1999)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Athanasiadès, Georges 1929 births 2022 deaths 20th-century Swiss musicians 21st-century Swiss musicians Swiss organists Swiss people of Greek descent People from Aigle District