Ioannis Constantinidis (

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

: Ιωάννης Κωνσταντινίδης), also known by the pen name Kostas Giannidis ( el, Κώστας Γιαννίδης) (21 August 1903 – 17 January 1984) was a Greek

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

and conductor.Nina-Maria Jaklitsch ''Manolis Kalomiris (1883–1962), Nikos Skalkottas (1904–1949): Griechische Kunstmusik zwischen Nationalschule und Moderne'', 2003, page 304: "...bildete Giannis Konstantinidis (Γιάννης Κωνσταντινίδης, 1903-1984), der mit Skalkottas schon seit dessen Berliner Jahren bekannt war, und der unter dem Pseudonym Kostas Giannidis in Athen Operetten, Revuen, Film- und Unterhaltung..." Constantinidis was born in

Smyrna Smyrna ( ; grc, Σμύρνη, Smýrnē, or , ) was a Greek city located at a strategic point on the Aegean coast of Anatolia. Due to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence, and its good inland connections, Smyrna rose to promi ...

(today Izmir) in 1903. He came to

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

after the destruction of Smyrna and continued his studies in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

(1923–1931). He returned to

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

and worked as a conductor and composer at the

musical theater Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movement ...

composing many

operettas Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs, and dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, length of the work, and at face value, subject matter. Apart from its s ...

, musical comedies, and

revues A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own duri ...

. He would sign and publish his popular works as Kostas Giannidis, and his classical compositions as his birth name. He died in Athens in 1984.

Works

Constantinidis wrote

symphonic A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, most often for orchestra. Although the term has had many meanings from its origins in the ancient Greek era, by the late 18th century the word had taken on the meaning com ...

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small numb ...

, music for films, compositions for piano, artsongs, and many popular songs.

Film music

He composed music for seven Greek movies, including: *'' Οι Γερμανοί Ξανάρχονται (The Germans Strike Again)'' *''Ο μεθύστακας (

The Drunkard ''The Drunkard; or, The Fallen Saved'' is an American temperance play first performed on February 12, 1844.

)''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Giannidis, Kostas 1903 births 1984 deaths Greek classical composers Greek film score composers Male film score composers Greek conductors (music) Greek pianists Greek opera composers Smyrniote Greeks 20th-century conductors (music) 20th-century pianists 20th-century composers Male pianists 20th-century male musicians Emigrants from the Ottoman Empire to Greece Musicians from İzmir