"Nicholas Astrinidis"

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Nicholas Astrinidis (also Nicolas Astrinidis, 6 May 1921 – 10 December 2010) was a Greek-Roman composer, chief musician, pianist, and tutor. He is considered one of the last representatives of the national school and the leading Greek symphony of the post-war period.

Biographical data
Greek of the Balkan Diaspora, Astrinidis was born and raised in Ackerman, Bessarabia, Romania. His father, an immigrant from the Purpose of Eastern Thrace, created considerable property in Tsar Russia. After the October Revolution, he fled to Bessarabia, annexed at the time to Romania, where he married a Romanian-Russian woman and had three sons. Despite the strong Greek conscience in the family, no one spoke Greek. The composer grew up in the cosmopolitan atmosphere of interwar Romania and already since his teenage age showed a significant lean on music. Satisfying fatherly desires he studied Chemistry at the University of Bucharest, while at the same time attending the Conservatory of the same city. Catalytic for his artistic development was the influence of Dinu Lipatti, who had just returned from Paris, and offered him private lessons on piano and composition.

The beginning of World War II soon brought chaos to Romania as well. The 1940 Soviet invasion divided the Astrinides family into two. After film adventures, the composer and his parents managed to escape to the Middle East. Astrinidis joined the Greek Royal Air Force and served in the 335rd squadron of pursuits under the legendary Varvaresos. The two years he spent on the Libyan front were the most dramatic for the outcome of the war. A foot injury and the following decoration (Metal of Outstanding Acts) brought the composer to Cairo, the world's most cosmopolitan capital. There he began his career as a pianist and composer, giving about 80 concerts for Greek and Allied troops. In 1944 he received the First Prize of Pianist Interpretation and Composition at the famous Eisteddfod Festival with Cyprus Rhapsody and the following year (1945) he conducted his symphonic work Oedipus Tyrannos at the Cairo Opera.

After his demobilization in 1947 he went to Paris, where he completed his studies at Schola Cantorum taking piano mastership and composition diplomas with an excellent degree. Almost immediately he began continuous tours as a pianist around the world giving more than 3000 concerts either as a soloist or in partnership with other artists. He worked, among other things, with violinist Bernard Michelin and with violinists Christian Ferras, Henryk Szeryng, and Jacques Thibaud, while having recorded on the radio stations of most of the world's major capitals. He also participated in the Athens and Ohrid Festivals. In 1949 the music house "Ricordi Ameri-cana" published his works for piano. The first execution