Composers

Composer, stage director, conductor, musicologist and professor Dimitri Nicolau was born in Keratea (Greece) and naturalized Italian. Besides the musical studies in Greece and in France he has developed some personal searches in the vast field of the popular music and with particular interest in that of the Mediterranean and Balkan area. In 1967 opposing him to the regime of the Greek colonels it got political asylum from the Italian state. Graduated in cinematography in the Experimental Center of Cinematography in Rome (C.S.C ) he has practiced this profession for some years without yet to interrupt the musical composition collaborating with different directors between which: S.Agosti, M Bellocchio, M.Brenta, V. Gassman, N. Koundouros, M. Meschke, M. Ponzi, C. Tuzii a. o. He has frequented the faculty of Modern Letters in Rome University. He has developed for some years didactic activity like teacher of stage song, vocal theatrical technique and as composer of original music near the Institute of the Ancient Drama (INDA) of Syracuse, The Theatrical Academy of Calabria, the Theater Calabria a.o. From 1959, year when begins to compose and to realize his compositions publicly, his catalog of over 260 compositions including 3 Operas, 5 Symphonies for large Orchestra, numerous Concerts for Soloist and Orchestra, many works for Plucked string orch., Soloist and Ensemble, Works for chamber Ensemble, many works for Voice, Two Cantatas for soloist, choir, actors and large orch., ballet music. He has composed, besides, Sound tracks for the cinema and the television, for the Radio, music and songs for infancy and more than 100 scores for the theater of prose, from 1996 it collaborates firmly with the theatrical company "La Bottega del Pane".
His music exploits masterly each instrument (or voice) potential, often with most unusual toneand unusual playing techniques. Many of his works exhibit an intense theatrical quality. His works have been performed at many musical centers throughout Europe, North Africa, U.S.A., Canada, Japan, at Italian festivals like: "Incontri Musicali Romani", "Nuova Consonanza", "Danzaricerca", "Musica 900", "Nuova Musica Italiana alla RadioUno", "Il Politecnico Musica", "Teatro del Opera", "Rassegna Intern. di Musica Contemporanea", "EAST meet WEST", "Abruzzo Rossini Festival", etc., Also at festivals in: Greece, England, Poland, Holland, Spain Germany, France, Romania, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Belgium, Egypt, Turkey, S. Arabian, U.S.A, Argentina, Chile, Mexico, Brazil, Canada, Japan, Australia etc.
In 1990 the Center of Search-Actual-Music (KSYME) of Athens has devoted to him a cycle of meeting-seminars, that they are developed him in its center for some days, with discussions, deepenings and comparisons on its language and musical style and with a public concert in the Town Theater of Athens where the author has directed in first absolute his "Concert for Cello and Chaber Orchestra op. 39" interpreted from the famous cellist Marcel Spinei.
In November 1991 he has been assigned the First Prize to him to unanimity in the 2nd Conc. Intern. S.Behrend for the composition "NYCTES op.97" that she has been realized in first world to the Festival of Baden-Baden in May 1993.
In March 2001 the Center Mousikì Estìa in Athens has devoted a monographic meeting to him in which the Prof. Thomas Tamvakos has illustrated, analyzed, proposed and had deepened the work and personal style of the composer since 1959 at 2000.
The VI STAGE International Of the Saxophone that has unwound near the Conservatory of Fermo in Dic.1999 and in Collaboration with the A.S.I. they have devoted a concert and monographic space to him "Voyage in the music of D. Nicolau". It is discussed deepening his personal and original style, on his way writing for Saxophones and whole to other compositions has been introduced in first absolute her "Rhapsodie en grec" op.127 from the SAX CHORUS.
Dimitri Nicolau was invited to participate in the International Symposium of Composers that is organized by the Fondazione Toscana Musica e Arte which will take place at the Castello di Poppi in Arezzo (Italy) in the first week of October 2002, about the topic: The art of composition today.
In May 2002 in the Meistersingerhalle in Nürnberg (Germany) and in collaboration with the Bayerischen Rundfunks has been performed with great success his "La Melodia Ritrovata" op 41 (1975) a ballet for large orchestra.
The Nürnberger Symphoniker was directed from Jac van Steen.
With his original compositions he has participated in different WORLD SAX CONGRESS consecutively between which: Tokyo 1988, Pesaro 1992, Montreal 2000, Mineapolis 2003.
The XXXVI Festival Internacional de Music en the Rioja has assigned to him the PREMIO DE COMPOSICIÓN "AYUNTAMIENTO DE LOGROÑO 2002" for the MANDOLIN Sonata op.198 for Soloist Mandolin (Mus.Editions Mnemes) interpreted with great sucess by Mathieu Sarthe-Moureau.
He has been named component in the international jury for the IX edition 2003 of the International Contest of Composition "2 Agosto"
He has received many prizes and awards for his music and many commissions from numerous ensembles and international soloists like:
AURELIA SAX QUARTET of Amsterdam, ENSEMBLE ITAL. DI SASSOFONI , TRIO MONDELCI-MAZZONI-GIULIODORI, ATHENS CHAMBER ORCHESTRA, SYMMOLPA ENS. of Athens, PLUCKED STRING ORCH. of Patras, il CIRCOLO MUSICALE of Athens, STRINGS IN STEIN (Holland), NEDERLAND SAX QUARTET of Amsterdam, ARTURO TALLINI guitar soloist, WORLD SAXOPHONES ORCH. of Brussels, ALEA III of Boston, KENNY-HARATSARIS-WITTING Ens. of Edimburg, LAWRENCE GWOZDZ sax soloist, SAX CHORUS ENS.., ELENA PAPANDREOU Guitar soloist, WURTEMBERG Z.ORCHESTER, HESSISCHES ZUPFORCHESTER of Frankfurt, TRIO UMBRO DI SAX, I SOLISTI DI ROMA, IALSAX Quartet, Ensemble "OCTANDRE" di Bologna, l'orch. della CITTÀ' DI BRESCIA, Ens.LA MUSICA di Roma, TRIO PETRASSI, TRIO CHIAROSCURO of Amsterdam, Duo LOMBARDI-VITI, ACCOLAND, Duo MARCEL & SANDA SPINEI, TRANSCONTINENTAL SAX Q., Duo ARBONELLI - De FILPO, HELIKON SaxQuartet of Amsterdam, Quartetto "BERNINI" , GLI ARMONICI of Palermo, NEW SAXOPHONE Q., Orchestra IL PLETTRO of Brescia, ANAKI DUO (Spain), ATEF HALIM ( Japan), PIERP. IACOPINI (Rome), ORCHESTRA OF COLOURS ( Athens), ENSEMBLE à PLECTRE (Luxembourg), ITALIAN MODERN ENSEMBLE, The D'Amore DUO (U.S.A.), Das BADISCHE ZUPFORCHESTER (Germany), TRIO POLYCORDES (Francia), Orchestra "F.BUSONI" di Trieste, DUO EGGEBRECHT-KUPSA (Germany), JON BURGESS (Texas University USA), DUO MARKUS LEOSON- HELEN JAHREN, QUARTETTO AURANOVA, ROMA SINFONIETTA, and many Others...
Many CD are realized e distributed from: EDIPAN, Ponzo-Records, LYRA in Athens, KSYME in Athens, PENTAPHON, MATERIALI SONORI, FONIT-CETRA (Italy), LA FOLLIA MADRIGAL (France), TROUBADISC (Germany).
Over 190 compositions of his have appeared in many music editions like:
EDIPAN di Roma, PENTAFLOWERS di Roma, NAKAS di Atene, J.TREKEL MusikVerlag di Amburgo, VOGT& FRITZ MusikVerlag di Schweinfurt, MATERIALI SONORI, AGENDA Ed.Mus. di Bologna, MNEMES (Palermo), AURALIT (Bologna - New York).