Alexandra Trianti

Alexandra Trianti was born in Athens into the Kotzias family. Her birth year is recorded as 1896 by the Greek National Opera and as 1901 by the Athens Concert Hall. She studied singing with Kimon Triantafyllou at the Athens Conservatoire, receiving her diploma in 1921, and continued in Vienna with Philip Forsten.

Her European career began at Vienna’s Volkshaus in 1927. That April, Athens programmes document her performances with Franz Mittler, including German song texts translated into Greek. In December 1928 she appeared in Berlin with pianist Michael Raucheisen. Recitals and collaborations carried her through European musical centres, while recordings preserved her interpretations of Hugo Wolf. Her repertoire extended across German art song and French vocal music.

Teaching and support for Greek musical life later became central. In 1953 she helped found the Σύλλογος Οι Φίλοι της Μουσικής (Friends of Music Society) with Lambros Eftaxias and other supporters. She served as vice-president from 1957 to 1968 and president from 1968 until her death on 15 November 1977. Her bequest supported the organisation’s cultural aims. Her archive reached the Lilian Voudouri Music Library in 1993, preserving the traces of both a performer and an organiser.

Trianti’s work centred on the recital: a singer, a pianist and the close relationship between poetry and music. Lied usually denotes the German art-song tradition, although her repertoire also included French music. Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann, Brahms, Mahler and Wolf stood alongside Ravel and Poulenc. Her collaborations with Maria Ivogün added vocal duets to this musical world.

The Athens programme for 9 and 12 April 1927 records Trianti and Franz Mittler at the Athens Conservatoire. Its German song texts and Greek translations show an effort to connect performance with an audience’s understanding. Composer, singer and accompanist each have a distinct role. A melody can be heard immediately, while a printed translation offers another route into the words. Her London recordings for the Hugo Wolf Society similarly preserve interpretative work on music written by another person.

Her institutional contribution developed alongside this performing history. The Friends of Music Society, founded in 1953, pursued the creation of a concert centre in Athens. Trianti’s leadership and bequest helped sustain that long project. She died before the Concert Hall began operating in 1991. The hall bearing her name, the archive and scholarships connect the memory of her singing with practical support for later musicians.

Trianti’s legacy joins performance with musical education and access to archives. Her bequest supports the Music Library and scholarships administered by the Friends of Music Society. For a small Greek task, begin with the adapted passage and the documented bilingual programme of 1927. Identify τραγουδίστρια, πιανίστας and συνθέτης, then write two sentences: who sings, and who plays the piano? Next invent a short programme of your own, giving each person a role. This original practice develops everyday reading skills for Greek concert listings. The historical songs were mainly in other languages; the Greek learning comes through programme vocabulary and translation, rather than assuming that every recording contains Greek speech.

• Diploma from the Athens Conservatoire, 1921.
• Athens recital programme with German song texts and Greek translations, April 1927.
• Co-founder of the Friends of Music Society in 1953; president from 1968 to 1977.
• Died in Athens on 15 November 1977; her archive reached the Music Library in 1993.