Renowned violinist and conductor Spiros Rantos passes away

The late Spiros Rantos - violinist, conductor and teacher. Photo courtesy Move Records

Fans of music and art are mourning the loss of renowned Greek Australian violinist Spiros Rantos.

The 78-year-old’s death was announced to Neos Kosmos by composer Tassos Ioannidis, who collaborated with Spiros in many concerts and other cultural events.

The two were bound by deep friendship and appreciation and it is no coincidence that they also became each others best men. Spiros baptised Tassos’ daughter, Artemis Ioannidis.

“I am heartbroken. We have lost a great musician, a highly sensitive music teacher who leaves behind a huge body of work in Australia and Europe,” Ioannidis told Neos Kosmos.

“He was still a very kind, good-natured, truly cultured man. I just spoke to his wife, Brachi Tilles, also a musician, to whom I expressed my condolences.”

Spiros died in a Brisbane hospital after dealing with some health issues.

Founder and CEO at Cultural Infusion Peter Mousaferiadis took to social media to remember the violinist.

“My first orchestral concert, which I conducted, was shared with Spiros Rantos in December 1988,” he said in a Facebook post.

“I fondly remember him as someone who was generous in prosperity.

“Spiros was a wonderful violinist and music director, who created a legacy of musicians that will forever continue his spirit.”

Spiros Rantos had the opportunity to play under Mikis Theodorakis
and Manos Hatzidakis. Photo courtesy The Courier Mail

Born in Corfu and raised in Athens, for Spiros Rantos’s music was a family matter. His uncle, Sotiris Tahiatis, was a household name of the Greek classical scene, with many years as the leading cellist of the National Symphony Orchestra, the National Opera and Radio Orchestra.

As a child, Spiros had the opportunity to meet Mikis Theodorakis and Manos Hatzidakis, and he even took part in the recording of the first performance of “Axion Esti”.

When Mikis Theodorakis toured Australia in 1995, it was the orchestra of Spiros Rantos that performed the compositions of the famous Greek composer.

On his way from Melbourne, Spiros cultivated the musical education of the parish. It is no coincidence that he gave a “violin concerto” and filled the Melbourne Concert Hall with fellow musicians.

In 1964 he went to Austria, where he worked for a year as a musician in the Orchestra of the State Opera of Leeds (1st violin), while at the same time he continued his studies at the Music Academy of Vienna.

He also won prizes in the international competitions “Forte dei Marmi” in Italy and “Colmar” in France.

He made many appearances in Europe (Vienna, Paris, London), Asia and the USA.

From 1968 he was a professor at the Landesmusikschule in Graz and had taught at the Vienna Academy. At the same time, he participated in Greece in a chamber music trio (with pianist G. Vakarelis and cellist V. Fidetzis) with several notable performances.

In the early 1970s he created the Ensemble I Chamber Music Group. After its successful tenure in Vienna, the group moved to Australia in 1976. As head of the ensemble, Spiros settled, first in Bloomington, Indiana and then in Melbourne, where in 1986 he created the “Rantos Collegium” Chamber Orchestra.

This orchestra appeared in its own concert series, also playing for other organisations: the Victorian Arts Centre, Victorian State Opera, Arts Council, and was funded by public and private Australian agencies.

He had also toured Europe and appeared at various festivals and appeared frequently as a soloist with various orchestras in Europe and Australia.

He taught at the Victorian College of the Arts, the Melbourne College of Advanced Education and the University of Melbourne and later at the University of Brisbane.

Spiros also performed as a soloist with all the Greek State Symphony organisations. Among other things, he has recorded for Greek state broadcaster ERT, the Violin Concerto of A. Nezeritis.

Other recording engagements included six releases on the Archiv Produktion label, the early music and Baroque branch of Deutsche Grammophon.

He was a violinist in the concert of the late Christos Ioannidis when he presented “Free Besieged” in poetry by Dionysios Solomos and in “Paratagoudas” by Tassos Ioannidis, at the Hellenic Museum of Melbourne with Maria Farandouris and Yiannis Kotsiras.

First published at Neos Kosmos, September 28, 2024