Constantine Mexis

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Konstantin Mexis (photography by
Fayer, Vienna 1959)
Mexis Signature Black.png

Konstantin Mexis (also: Constantin Filotas Mexis , (born May 17, 1913 in Triest , Cisleithanien ); † January 26, 1983 in Mödling near Vienna , Austria ), was a Greek - Austrian pianist of classical and contemporary music as well as a piano teacher .

biography

Childhood and Adolescence (1913–1927)

Mexis was the third child of Eriphylli Mexis (née Boukovalla) (1884–1952) and Michele Mexis (1871–1941). The father Michele came from Thessaloniki and was a merchant at the Greek Chamber of Commerce.

Due to the political and military escalation in the course of the First World War, the family fled to neighboring countries. The family initially chose Lugano in the canton of Ticino , Switzerland as their new home.

In 1919 he moved to Zurich and in 1920 to Lausanne ( Canton Vaud . He attended elementary school from 1919 to 1922. In mid-1922 the Mexis family moved to Perchtoldsdorf near Vienna.

The first piano lessons with Robert Teibler began here at the age of nine . After graduating from the Perchtoldsdorf elementary school, he graduated from the public boys' school in Perchtoldsdorf in 1927. On the urgent recommendation of his piano teacher Robert Teibler at the time, Konstantin Mexis was admitted to the Academy for Music and Performing Arts in Vienna for the 1927/28 school year .

Musical career (1927–1940)

Mexis around 1940

At the age of 14, Mexis began studying music at the Academy for Music and Performing Arts in Vienna (today: University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna ) in 1927, initially with Professors Josef Saphier and Josef Meyer. After passing the school leaving examination with excellent success, he was awarded the certificate of artistic maturity in 1931.

After completing the special class with Franz Schmidt , he was accepted into his master class. He was one of the best students and graduated in 1934 with a diploma in the master class.

While studying at the academy, Mexis gave solo and orchestral concerts, which were already attracting attention and recognition and were awarded several prizes. Particularly noteworthy here are, for example, his first appearance as a 14 year old with the Glazunov Sonata No. 1, Op. 74 as well as his first orchestral concert at the age of 17 with the Piano Concerto No. 1 in E flat major by Franz Liszt .

Further studies took place under Professors Emil von Sauer and Paul Weingarten .

Teaching activity (1940–1983)

Between 1940 and 1941 Mexis was also a piano teacher at the Academy for Music and Performing Arts in Vienna. Due to the increasing number of appearances, however, he was no longer able to continue this activity. However, when his schedule allowed, he continued to give private lessons to young people with great enthusiasm until his death. Among his students was the orchestra conductor and later professor of ear training at the Munich Music Academy Andreas Puhani (born 1973).

Life for Music (1940–1983)

The first concerts after several years of studies took Konstantin Mexis across Austria in the first half of the 1940s:

In April 1940 the first public concert evening took place in the Schubert Hall in Vienna. The critic Bruno Prohaska, the music reporter of the daily newspaper Das Kleine Blatt , paid tribute to Mexis: “The Greek pianist Konstantin Mexis ... who appeared in front of the Viennese audience for the first time with his own evening in the Schubert-Saale, made a good impression. The artist's technique is extraordinary, the force of his stroke and the force of his figure make you sit up and take notice. We will be happy to hear the artist again in Vienna. "

This was followed by further appearances in Vienna and the Vienna districts, as well as in Linz and Graz.

Shortly before the end of the war, members of the Nazi regime carried out a massacre of those detained in Stein prison on April 7, 1945 . The Greek artists who were executed in this mass murder, including Konstantin Mexis, were commemorated at a dignified funeral service and honored the murdered in the Krems / Stein prison in August 1946.

Mexis made his Swiss debut on March 21, 1947 in the Zurich Chamber Music Hall.

Mexis around 1965

Concert tours led Mexis u. a. He frequently visited Paris, London, Vienna, Salzburg, Prague, Budapest, Lucerne, Zurich, Bern, Munich, Athens, Salonika, but also smaller cities. He did not forget Perchtoldsdorf either and gave concerts there for the roommates.

Private

Mexis, was a Greek citizen until 1960 and then Austrian.

He belonged to the Greek Orthodox Church .

In the 1950s he had an extramarital relationship with the nurse Anna Weitz from Vienna. The son from this relationship is the violinist Konstantin Weitz , resident in Austria and Finland (* 1954).

In 1964 Mexis married the pediatrician Elsemarie Mexis (* 1931); the marriage resulted in two children. He found his new place of residence in Aufham (now Anger ), Germany.

Mexis was called Appassionatos - based on the Appassionata by L. v. Beethoven - member of the Schlaraffenvereinigung Hala Bavarica in Bad Reichenhall.

Mexis is buried in the cemetery of the parish church of St. Jakobus in Anger parish .

Mexis' date of birth is given in the estate as three different days. The most likely date is May 17, 1913, although it is not clear here whether it is still a date July. or already by the corrected date greg. acts.

Recordings and works

Recordings

Mexis: ORF recordings at the concert hour on February 15, 1968 on the radio program Austria 1 with Joseph Haydn's Sonata in F major (HV XVI / 23).

Mexis: Further recordings, played between 1960 and 1970 on the radio program of ORF. Including recordings from the Manhattan Center, New York City, USA (Chester publishing house), in the Soviet Union (Belaieff publishing house), in France (Durand and Heugel publishing houses) and in Great Britain (Simrock publishing house).

Own works

  • 1925/26: Fantasy in F major (lost)
  • 1940s: Sonata in B flat minor
  • 1954: Scherzo in F major
  • 1955: vision! Dream! in D flat major
  • 1950s: In D flat major (untitled, fragmentary)

Awards and honors

  • 1957: Sponsorship award from the Vienna Art Fund
  • 1969: Award of the title of professor by the Federal President
  • 1970: Award of the plaque and medal of honor for services to the market town of Perchtoldsdorf
  • 1974: Award of the Silver Medal of Honor for Services to the Federal State of Lower Austria
  • 1974: Award of the Silver Medal of Honor for Services to the Republic of Austria by the Federal President
  • 1975: Award of the gold medal of honor for services to the market town of Perchtoldsdorf

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h i Christoph Mexis (son), private archive with documents from around 1890.
  2. ↑ Conversations with Prof. Dr. hc Dipl.-Ing. Nikolaos Ansgar D. Mexis, 2011
  3. ↑ Conversations with Dr. Elsemarie Mexis.
  4. ^ Register of the residents' registration office of the City of Zurich, 1919–1920.
  5. ↑ Music book (Livret Scolaire), No. 29535, Mexis Constantin, 1920 to 1922.
  6. ↑ school message, certificates, dismissal testimony Mexis Konstantin, 1922-1927.
  7. ↑ a b c d e Konstantin Mexis, Curricula vitae, 1945 to 1975.
  8. ↑ a b Student identification (student ID) of the Academy for Music and Performing Arts in Vienna, 1927–1931 and 1931–1934
  9. ↑ High-school diploma from the Academy for Music and Performing Arts, Mexis Konstantin, June 26, 1931.
  10. ↑ a b The pianist Prof. Konstantin Mexis: Carolinum historical-literary magazine, 37th vol., No. 60/61, Göttingen, autumn 1971, page 112 f.
  11. ↑ Bruno Prohaska: Piano artist from the south . Ed .: Das Kleine Blatt. Vienna April 29, 1940.
  12. ↑ Mahrer: In honor of murdered Greeks . Ed .: Austrian newspaper. Vienna August 29, 1946.
  13. ↑ -ng .: piano recital Konstantin Mexis . Ed .: Neue Zürcher Zeitung. Zurich March 25, 1947.
  14. ↑ WF: Piano recital Konstantin Mexis . Ed .: Tages-Anzeiger for the city and canton of Zurich. Zurich March 25, 1947.
  15. ↑ According to: Dr. Karl Leopold Schubert. Ed .: Mödlinger Zeitung. Vienna in December 1948.
  16. ↑ Konstantin Mexis, the internationally known Austrian pianist. In: Österreichischer Rundfunk Ges. Mb H., 1041 Vienna, Argentinierstrasse 30 A (Ed.): Radio Austria magazine of Austrian broadcasting . Issue 7. Österreichischer Rundfunk Ges. Mb H., 1041 Vienna, Argentinierstrasse 30 A, Vienna 10 February 1968, p. 24, 40 .
  17. ↑ a b ORF recordings, years approx. 1960–1970. ORF archive.
  18. ^ Document of the Vienna Art Fund after a meeting on October 15, 1957.
  19. ↑ Central Savings Bank of the Municipality of Vienna (ed.): Vienna Art Fund: Fine Arts, Music, Literature, Performing Arts, Film . Report on the activities of the Vienna Art Fund on the occasion of the 20th award. Vienna 3 1970, p. 32 .
  20. ^ Resolution of the Federal President on July 11, 1969. Awarded by the Federal Ministry for Education, Federal Minister Dr. Dr. hc Alois Mock, Certificate No. Zl. 81.602-II / 5/69 on August 4, 1969.
  21. ↑ Certificate of the award on October 20, 1970.
  22. ^ Resolution by the Lower Austrian provincial government on January 15, 1974. The award ceremony took place on March 27, 1974 in the Marble Hall of Lower Austria. State government held by LH Maurer.
  23. ^ Resolution of the Federal President of December 13, 1974. Awarded by the Federal Ministry for Education and the Arts, Federal Minister Dr. Fred Sinowatz, Certificate No. Zl. 2100/1/45/74 on March 10, 1975.
  24. ^ Certificate of award on September 21, 1975.
personal data
SURNAME Mexis, Constantine
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Mexis, Konstantin Filotas; Mexis, Constantin
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Greek-Austrian pianist
DATE OF BIRTH May 17, 1913
PLACE OF BIRTH Trieste
DATE OF DEATH January 26, 1983
Place of death Mödling