Myron Michailidis
Myron Michailidis (Greek: Μύρων Μιχαηλίδης) is a Greek conductor who serves as Artistic Director of the new Cultural and Conference Center of Heraklion, Crete, Greece since 2019 and the Cyprus Symphony Orchestra since 2026. He is regarded today as one of the most important Greek conductors.
Previously, between 2018 and 2022, Michailidis was the Generalmusikdirektor (GMD) of both the Erfurt Opera & the Philharmonic Orchestra of Erfurt in Germany, and between 2011 and 2017, he held the position of Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the Greek National Opera (GNO) (Greek: Εθνική Λυρική Σκηνή, Ethnikí Lyrikí Skiní) in Athens, Greece, of which he made one of the great European opera houses. From 2004 to 2011 he was the General Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the Thessaloniki State Symphony Orchestra (TSSO), while from 1999 to 2004 he served as Permanent Conductor at the Opera of Eastern Saxony in Germany.
The repertoire of Myron Michailidis, which consists of a catalog that exceeds 250 symphonic works and 40 operas, ranges from Baroque to Contemporary music and includes Symphonic as well as Choral works alongside operas. He is a great proponent of the music of Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff and Xenakis, as well as of the operas of Verdi, Puccini, Gounod and Wagner.
Michailidis has conducted the Berlin Symphony Orchestra, the Philharmonic Orchestra of Erfurt, the Braunschweig State Orchestra, the Saarländisches Staatsorchester, the Vienna Chamber Orchestra, the Camerata München, the Rome Symphony Orchestra, the Shanghai Opera Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Bangkok Symphony Orchestra, the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, the Ontario Philharmonic Orchestra, the Croatian Rijeka National Orchestra, the Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra, the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Bucharest National Opera, the George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra, the National Radio Orchestra of Romania, the Orchestra of the National Opera of the Republic of North Macedonia, the Οdessa Philharmonic Orchestra, the Astrakhan State Theater Symphony Orchestra, the Bilkent Symphony Orchestra, the Μexico State Orchestra, the Orquestra Sinfônica Municipal de São Paulo, as well as all Greek symphony orchestras, including the Thessaloniki State Symphony Orchestra, the Athens State Orchestra, the Greek Radio Symphony Orchestra ERT, the Greek National Opera Orchestra and the Athens Philharmonia Orchestra.
He has collaborated with leading artists, including Aldo Ciccolini, Paul Badura-Skoda, Cyprien Katsaris, Ivo Pogorelić, Lars Vogt, Fazıl Say, Barry Douglas, Martino Tirimo, Dimitris Sgouros, Salvatore Accardo, Vadim Repin, Shlomo Mintz, Diana Tishchenko, Kirill Troussov, Mischa Maisky, Theodore Kerkezos, Paata Burchuladze, June Anderson, Cheryl Studer, Maria Farantouri, and several others. About his close collaboration with Myron Michailidis and the Thessaloniki State Symphony Orchestra, the legendary pianist Aldo Ciccolini was declaring in May 2006:
« I am impressed and happy to have collaborated with this orchestra, brilliantly conducted by Mr. Myron Michailidis, who knows what he is doing… a partnership that will remain in my memory for long... »
Also more recently, following a concert conducted by Michailidis in Erfurt in September 2018, Cyprien Katsaris, who played Shostakovich's piano concerto No. 2, declared:
« The Erfurt Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by the great Greek conductor Myron Michailidis, played wonderfully well [...] it was simply fantastic! Then I listened to Rachmaninoff Symphony No. 2 in the second part, and I could not believe what I witnessed: a miracle! »
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