Dimitrios Levidis

Dimitrios Levidis ( Greek Δημήτριος Λεβίδης - Dimítrios Levídis ; born April 8, 1886 in Paleo Faliro ; † May 30, 1951 in Athens ) was a Greek composer.

Life

Levidis first attended the Lottner Conservatory and the Conservatory (Odeion) in Athens, where Dionysios Lavrangas and Franck Choisy were among his teachers, then studied in Lausanne with Alexandre Denéréaz and finally in Munich with Richard Strauss , Felix Mottl and Friedrich Klose . Around the same time as Emilios Riadis , he left Munich in 1910 and settled in Paris , where he stayed until 1932. Then he returned to Athens, became a teacher at the Greek Conservatory and founded the Faliron Conservatory in 1934 , which later became part of the Athens Conservatory . From 1945 to 1947 he took over the chairmanship of the Greek composers' association until his predecessor Manolis Kalomiris replaced him in this position. Then Levidis tried to build on his Parisian pre-war successes and lived there again from 1947-48.

Levidis' style moves between late romanticism and musical impressionism . He rejected atonality and the tendencies of French neoclassicism such as the Groupe des Six . To do this, he dealt with ancient Greek modes , whose “exotic” tonal language found its way into his work.

The orchestra is regarded as his most important medium, for which he also composed in smaller, unusual ensembles. He created works for an Eoliki Orchistra ( Αἰολίκὴ Ὀρχήστρα , "Aeolian Orchestra"), a decet that consisted of muted string instruments, celesta, two harps, piano, various gongs and drums. He was also one of the first composers to devote himself to the Ondes Martenot , an electronic instrument invented by Maurice Martenot in 1928 . He composed a symphonic poem for Ondes Martenot and orchestra, a De profundis for two Ondes Martenot, tenor and orchestra. Another instrument for which Levidis wrote works was the polychordo (πολύχορδο), a chromatic harp with 177 strings developed by the Greek piano tuner Evangelos Th. Tsamourtzis .

Most of Levidi's works have been lost, including the operetta Amour et garde française from 1911, a symphony mystique for voices and orchestra with dancers (from 1928), three orchestral suites and an "archaic oratorio" The Iliad for speakers, Tenor and Orchestra (1943).

Several pieces of ballet have been preserved, including O voskos ke i neraida (Ο βοσκός και η νεράιδα, "The Shepherd and the Elf" op. 39, 1923), To fylachto ton theon (Το φυλαχτό των θεών der, "The Gods" The Talisman . 41, 1925). The vocal works that have been preserved testify to a rich song-making, both for solo voices and for mixed choir, with piano, chamber music (the “Aeolian Decet” mentioned above) and orchestral accompaniment. In the area of ​​chamber music, a piano sonata from his time in Munich, some pieces for solo instruments and piano from the 1920s and several works for the polychordo from his time in Athens have survived.

literature

• Giorgos Leotsakos : Dimitrios Levidis . In: The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians . London 2001, ISBN 0-333-60800-3
• Giorgos Leotsakos: Light under a bushel, Piano works by Greek composers 1847-1908 . (Crete University Press), Heraklion 1999, ISBN 960-524-069-2
• Takis Kalogeropoulos: Dimitrios Levidis . In: Lexiko tis Ellinikis mousikis , Athens 1998–99 ( wiki.musicportal.gr )