Rena Kyriakou

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Rena Kyriakou (25 February 1917 – August 1994) was a Greek pianist and composer born in Herakleion, Crete. She showed early talent for piano and composition, giving her first public performance in Athens at age six, playing twelve original pieces. She studied in Vienna with Paul Weingarten and Richard Stöhr, then in Paris with Henri Büsser and Isidor Philipp. At sixteen she won the first prize for piano at the Conservatoire National de Paris. Kyriakou built a dual career as pianist and composer. She recorded the complete piano music of Emmanuel Chabrier and gave recitals of works by John Field, Haydn, Granados and Albéniz. She also recorded a major survey of Felix Mendelssohn’s piano music. Her sound was noted for a wide palette of tone colors, a trait linked to her training with Philipp. Some of her recordings were made on a Bösendorfer Imperial concert grand piano, contributing to the distinctive tone. She died in August 1994 in Athens. Her compositions include a piano concerto and several solo piano pieces.