Giorgos Thymis (1925-2009)

He started his piano career in Greece in 1946 and continued abroad as a conductor collaborating with soloists of international prestige. His contribution as a piano teacher at the State Conservatory of Thessaloniki was also remarkable, where he taught from 1954 to 1991, as a maestro (1962) and as its general director from 1971 to 1982. He also taught at the Summer Academy Mozarteum Salzburg (1958-1972). At the same time, he was the founder of the “Thessalonici Trio”, the director of the “Rotonda” string orchestra and the artistic director of the North London College of Music of the University of London.

He had placed particular emphasis on the pedagogical field, as he contributed to the development of more than 80 graduate students, many of whom are pursuing careers in Greece and abroad. As a teacher, he was extremely methodical, with particular attention to the development of the students’ technique, to the accurate reading of the score and to the respect of the composer’s instructions.

Having the dual status of a pianist as well as a conductor, he treated musical works as architectural constructions, a perception that he tried to pass on to his students. He conducted in USA, Romania, Former Yugoslavia, Austria, Portugal, Israel, Bulgaria, Germany, Venezuela, Poland, S. Korea, Philippines, Former Soviet Union, Switzerland, Japan , in Italy, France, the former Czechoslovakia and Hungary etc. In Greece, he conducted for a number of years the State Orchestra of Athens, the Symphony Orchestra of ERT, as well as the Symphony of the Municipality of Thessaloniki.

Collaborated as a soloists under his direction: CI. Arrau, AI. Weissenberg, Br. L. Gelber, G. Gziffra, R. Ricci, S. Cherkassky, N. Magaloff, M. Brussolerie, R. Odnopossof, B. Ringeissen, VI. Ashkenazy, P. Badura-Skoda, R. Szidon, G. Sandor, K. Katsaris, D. Sgouros, M. Tirimos and G. Vakarelis. At the “DIMITRIA” festivals he conducted the orchestras: Philharmonia Hungarica, Odense Symphony Orchestra, Strasbourg Philharmonic Orchestra, Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra, Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra.

Although he himself maintained that in order to deal with the subject of composition one should be able to devote himself and remain fixed exclusively on it, he achieved some compositional efforts with success. His compositional work consists of works for piano, violin and voice. During his long career, he received numerous honors.

Giorgos Thymis was undoubtedly the great musical personality of the city of Thessaloniki in the second half of the 20th century. He was a source of inspiration for the younger generations, whom he loved selflessly, he stood by their side whether they were his students or not and he left behind the initially Panhellenic and then International Competition that bears his name.