Panasmusic Online. Papagrigoriou - Nakas Music Publications

Kyriakos Tzortzinakis was one of ’s most important guitar composers. Born in Athens, he graduated from the National Conservatory with a Diploma in classical guitar (class of Dimitris Fampas), and at the same time studied architecture in Florence. His gift for composition was spotted by Manos Hadjidakis, who praised the ‘inspiration and spontaneous talent’ of young Kyriakos in a handwritten note as early as 1976:

‘The Twelve Études for Guitar by Kyriakos Tzortzinakis are a most agreeable musical surprise and an invaluable contribution to the field of Educational Music in this country.  Despite his youth, Tzortzinakis, with great care and a wise progression of the pieces, gets the learner started with the traditional sound of the instrument in Études 1 and 2, cautiously proceeds to more harmonic writing with Études 3, 4 and 5, gets him through the technical difficulties of 7 and 8, to bring him to a more contemporary sound with Études 9, 10 and 11—the most important in the series—and conclude with 12, in an apotheosis of traditional sound, enriched with all the virtuosic experiences of the Études that preceded it.  I congratulate Tzortzinakis for this work, and, even more, for the noble aims that he can realize with inspiration and spontaneous talent.

Manos Hadjidakis, Oct. 1976’ 

In a brief lifetime, he wrote several works for one and two guitars, for flute and guitar, for piano etc. as well as a concerto for guitar and orchestra.

Publications . . .