Nikolaos Lavdas

Education

He also had a Doctor of Philosophy in Physics from the University of Athens. He studied at the Athens Conservatory and he also took private classes with Dionyssios Lavrangas.

Career

The name “Athenian Mandolinata” made its first appearance that year. Four years later he formed an ensemble made up of 20 musicians and gave his first concert in the “Parnassus” hall in Athens on May 26, 1900. The success of this appearance led to the formal establishment of the “Athenian Mandolinata”, and by 1901 the Mandolinata had its own conservatory, teaching various instruments (mandolin, guitar, violin, cello, flute), vocal music and music theory.

As the director of the "Athenian Mandolinata" orchestra, he conducted the orchestra in the interim Olympic Games of Athens (1906), for the king of Italy Vittorio Emmanuele (1907) and for Kaiser Wilhelm in Corfu"s "Achilleion" (1910).

The orchestra started performing abroad, too, with appearances in Cairo and Alexandria (1907), Smyrna (1908), New York (1912). Nikolaos Lavdas held the post of director of the Orchestra and Conservatory, while Zakharias Papantoniou was its first president, and Prince Nikolaos of Greece its honorary president

Nikolaos Lavdas was a great composer writing very important music, which creatively combines classical music, that he knew in great depth, with Greek traditional music, that he had also deeply experienced. Through his compositions, one can see the continuity of the Greek music throughout the centuries, as well as its close connection with various classical music forms developed in Western Europe.

Some of his compositions for mandolin orchestra are: "Greek overture", "Balos from Andros", "Cretan dance", "Varkarola", "Serenata", "Gertsita" et cetera

He also wrote piano and vocal variations of Greek traditional music ("Voskopoula", "Tsopanakos", "Tria paidia Voliotika", "Ta matia sou Dimo m" ta glara" etc). Nikolaos Lavdas was also an educator, not only within the Athenian Mandolinata Conservatory, but also in the “Arsakeion School”, as well as in the Schools of the “Philekpaideftiki Etairia" (1913-1937). He was also a state-appointed general inspector of music in high school education (1937-1940).

He wrote mandolin and guitar method books, and a theory of music textbook.

The outbreak of World World War II and the death of Nikolaos Lavdas in 1940 resulted in the dissolution of the orchestra and the conservatory.

Achievements

• He was the founder and director of the "Athenian Mandolinata", one of the oldest music associations and music schools in Greece. One of the most important moments for the orchestra and its conductor was in 1910, when they received the first prize in Cremona, competing among 32 ensembles from all over Europe, and Nikolaos Lavdas received the first prize for conducting. In recognition of his great achievements in music, he received the Cross of the Savior from King George the first of Greece.