Cilia Petridou Recordings

Greek-Cypriot pianist/composer Cilia Petridou was born in Famagusta, Cyprus in 1945. She was taught by her mother from the age of four until the age of nine, when she entered the Greek Lyceum in her native town. She performed her first piano concerto, Mozart’s K. 488, at the age of eleven in Nicosia, at the Theatre Royal.

By the age of fifteen Cilia had been awarded the Mozart Medal, the highest award in the whole of Cyprus, and had been hailed as the successor to Gina Bachauer. When she was seventeen she offered a full programme for her Diploma Examination, which was open to the public, and which ended with a performance of Beethoven’s Third Piano Concerto. The examiner, Solon Michaelides, gave a short speech afterwards and finished by saying that he had been examining for thirty years, in Cyprus and abroad, and that this was the first time he had heard such a captivating performance by an examinee. Two years later, when the Greek Lyceum moved to its new purpose-built home – a state-of-the-art centre for the performing arts – its director, M. Ioannou, approached Cilia’s mother and said that she would like Cilia to become its director for life after her studies abroad, adding that it was only Cilia that she trusted for this post. Sadly, Famagusta has been a “Ghost Town” since the Turkish invasion in 1974.

Cilia studied at the Vienna Academy and the Royal Academy of Music in London. She furthered her studies privately under Harold Craxton and Kendall Taylor. A chance meeting with a music lover who introduced her to his circle enabled Cilia to perfect her piano playing, increase her repertoire and test her programmes as she prepared them. Solon Michaelides was moved by her interpretation of his composition, “The Lyre of Sappho”, which impressed him with its intellectual grasp and emotional depth.

Unfortunately, her playing came to an abrupt end in 2002 after major surgery. When she finally realised that performance could no longer be part of her life, she started to look through her compositions. The first composition she stumbled on was the Lullaby for Soprano and Piano, which brought a smile to her face and encouraged her to type out some of her songs. These she showed to Eileen Hamilton, who expressed her appreciation of them. It is ironic that composition – which had been a much-loved hobby – has now taken centre-stage.

Through Alison Smart and Lesley-Jane Rogers, who have recorded the songs shown to Eileen Hamilton, she has been introduced to a group of very gifted musicians who seem to have enjoyed learning and recording some of her chamber and vocal music. Following the musicians’ preparation for performance has given her immense satisfaction.

Cilia has played several times live on Cyprus radio.