Rena Kyriakou (25 February 1917August 1994) was a pianist and

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 ...

born in

Herakleion Heraklion or Iraklion ( ; el, Ηράκλειο, , ) is the largest city and the administrative capital of the island of Crete and capital of Heraklion regional unit. It is the fourth largest city in Greece with a population of 211,370 (Urban Ar ...

, Crete, Greece.Dubal, David (2004)
''The Art of the Piano: Its Performers, Literature, and Recordings''
p. 208. Amadeus Press.

Education

Rena Kyriakou revealed an early aptitude for the piano and for composition, and gave her first public performance at the age of six in Athens, performing twelve original piano pieces. She studied first in Vienna under Paul Weingarten and

Richard Stöhr Richard Franz Stöhr (11 June 1874 – 11 December 1967) was an Austrian composer, music author and teacher. Born in Vienna, Stöhr studied composition with Robert Fuchs at the Vienna Conservatory. After working there as a repetiteur and cho ...

and then in Paris under Henri Büsser and Isidor Philipp. At the age of sixteen, she was awarded the first prize for piano at the

Conservatoire National de Paris The Conservatoire de Paris (), also known as the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue ...

Career

Kyriakou followed a dual career as pianist and composer. Her recorded legacy includes the complete piano music of

Emmanuel Chabrier Alexis-Emmanuel Chabrier (; 18 January 184113 September 1894) was a French Romantic music, Romantic composer and pianist. His Bourgeoisie, bourgeois family did not approve of a musical career for him, and he studied law in Paris and then worked ...

, whose works she played with idiomatic flair, and recitals of works by

John Field John Field may refer to: *John Field (American football) (1886–1979), American football player and coach *John Field (brigadier) (1899–1974), Australian Army officer *John Field (composer) (1782–1837), Irish composer *John Field (dancer) (192 ...

Joseph Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( , ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions ...

, Enrique Granados and Isaac Albéniz. She recorded a major survey of the piano music of

Felix Mendelssohn Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), born and widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions include sy ...

. Her sound, both in recordings and in concert, was characterised by a wide palette of tone colour, as might be expected of a Philipp pupil. Some of the characteristic tone colour of her recordings is due to her use of a Bösendorfer Imperial Concert grand piano for at least some of them, including her Mendelssohn recordings. She died in August 1994 in Athens.

Works

Her compositions include a piano concerto as well as solo piano pieces. Some of the more representative ones are the following: * ''6 Preludes symphoniques'', Op. 8 * ''Les Cloches and Burlesque'', Op. 9 * ''6 Preludes lyriques'', Op.12 * ''5 Preludes'', Op. 13 * ''Phantaisie'', Op. 14 * ''Perpetuum mobile'', Op. 15 * ''Deux pieces pour piano'', Op. 16 * ''Theme et Variations'', Op.17.See P. Kalligas, 'Introduction to Rena Kyriakou's compositions', ''Mousikos Logos'' 3 (2001), 152-167 (in Modern Greek)

References

1917 births 1994 deaths 20th-century classical pianists 20th-century composers Greek classical pianists Greek women pianists Greek classical composers Women classical pianists 20th-century women composers Greek expatriates in Austria Greek expatriates in France Musicians from Heraklion 20th-century women pianists {{classical-pianist-stub