Theodore, the Great

I came across this video on Youtube the other day:


John Thow used to call Theodore Antoniou "a force of nature". If a picture's worth a thousand words, how about a video?
This one is from 1975, and it's a great document to Theodore's amazing energy and charisma on the podium. But there's so much more to him. Theodore is an extremely prolific composer, a dedicated teacher, a visionary administrator, a pioneer, a patriarch, and a tireless advocate of new music. He has literally created and maintained the new music scene in Greece single-handedly, not only by defining compositionally a sound that is uniquely his, one that has captivated such musical giants as Bernstein, Ligeti and Messiaen (not to mention, imitated by virtually every young Greek composer since the 60's) but also by forming ensembles, finding funds, conducting something like a hundred concerts a year, serving in almost every committee, awarding prizes, commissioning works. He did the same in Boston, where he founded and still leads Alea III, and for close to 30 years, he would be on a plane between Athens and Boston every week, leading a "double life", maintaining projects, students, scores and apartments in both cities, never missing a beat.

I met Theodore in 2000, and since then he's been a constant part of my life. He has commissioned and premiered more than half of my works composed since then, and has offered his friendship, guidance, advice and unconditional warmth. I have to admit that Theodore makes me feel old. His energy, work ethic, enthusiasm and the way with which he dives head-first into life would put anyone to shame, and whenever I spend time with him, I leave with renewed enthusiasm and energy, because his zest is contagious.

In the past couple of years, since Theodore retired from his Boston University post, he has been spending most of his time in Athens, without showing any signs of slowing down or taking it easy in any way, where he has recently been joined by his son, William, another apple-falls-under-the-tree case of a talented young composer. I got to see him on a regular basis while living in Paris, since flying to Athens was easy and I never missed a chance to spend time with the maestro.
The typical evening will start with a drink at his rooftop atelier, decorated with a grand piano as the centerpiece, during the course of which, the doorbell will ring several times, revealing a cast of "usual suspects" from the who-is-who of musicians, artists, theatre people or writers, and gradually make its way to Theodore's favorite dining spot, just steps away from the apartment, to a modest but very distinguished taverna he has been frequenting since the 60's. He'll order food for the whole table, and he'll usually "pinch" a french-fry from your plate, since he's not allowed to eat fried food himself, and "eating it off of someone else's plate doesn't count..." . Trying to pick up the check with him is not a task for the faint-at-heart. All it takes is a nod from across the room, and you're toast trying to sneak a better tip into the waiter's pocket. Then, he'll usually retire first, before even the dinner is over, always leaving on a high note, always having something to get up very early for.

Theodore has a unique talent of making friends, and he's always surrounded by them, new and old. He's friends with everyone, from cleaners to prime ministers, and strolling down the street with him always takes much longer than you thought it would, because of all the people he stops and talks to, whether it's Athens, or downtown Boston.

Since being back in the States, I haven't been able to see him in person, but Theodore is always present, and I'll get an email from him at the most incredible times, never missing a beat.

I'm sending him this video, and wish him many many more.