Christina Athinodorou (b.1981) is a Greek-Cypriot composer whose music is marked by her strong preoccupation with pacing and refined orchestration, with the harmony of movement and the treatment of light and space.
Her catalogue comprises of more than 70 compositions to date, written from solo to symphony orchestra, for vocal, instrumental and electronic forces, multidisciplinary projects, music for the stage and opera.
In recognition of her “captivating” orchestral writing, Christina received awards and commissions from symphony orchestras worldwide. Symphonic works include Votrys which received its world première at the prestigious Grafenneg Festival in Austria in 2014 by the Tonkünstler Orchester Niederösterreich with the composer herself on the podium; and it was subsequently performed at the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence with the Orchestre de Jeunes de la Méditerranée under Pablo Heras-Casado; Intermède pour une mer jamais vue a commission by Radio France premiered by the Orchestre National d’Île-de-France under Jean Deroyer in 2013, in tour with Yoel Levi including at the historic parisian Salle Pleyel marking “la grande découverte de la soirée”, and, later in Greece with the Athens State Orchestra led by Pierre-André Valade; Alma for solo viola and symphony orchestra, premiered by the Saint Petersburg State Academic Symphony Orchestra with the violist Alexei Bogorad and conductor Alexander Titov in 2012; Reverse Rivers:Images of Euboea for Symphony Orchestra, commissioned and premiered by the Aldworth Philharmonic Orchestra, at the Reading Concert Hall in 2007. Works for smaller-sized orchestra include Quatre Silences, a work described as “a beautiful, solidly sounding package, comfortably yet intensively interpreted with a strong percussion ending”, commending her “fine and logical treatment of silence”, upon its premiere in Musiikin Aika Festival with the Jyväskyla Sinfonia Finlandia led by the composer; Naked Branches, I for string orchestra by the Aldworth Philharmonic Orchestra, a work which also made its way to the composer’s birth country in various occasions with the Cyprus Symphony Orchestra. Recent additions to Christina’s growing symphonic catalogue are the works Sails composed in 2018, and Thérapía for Symphony Orchestra composed in 2024.
An evident influence of her upbringing in a coastal town, much of Christina’s music is inspired by the sea, often exploring fluctuation, frequency range and multi-layered flow, from a technical and a poetic point of view. Acclaimed for its “delicate textures and bursts of the mediterranean” and “somewhat archaic climate”, Aktaí for six players was commissioned and premiered by Sentieri Selvaggi at the Festival MITO Settembre Musica and was subsequently performed in the Biennale di Venezia; Olkàs for ensemble premiered by Ensemble Reconsil in the ISCM World New Music Days in Vienna; Aigaio in Memoriam Ilias Venezisf or an ensemble of twelve cellos which received its world première by the Nomos Ensemble de Violoncelles at the Théâtre Dunois in Paris; and X-Île for ensemble was first performed in the Music Biennale Zagreb, and later revived in Nicosia by the Ergon Ensemble.
In the operatic sphere, Christina has been developing the concept of the vocal drama: composed during the difficult period of lockdowns Ma Mèr(e) Méditerranée (2019-20), for mezzo-soprano, two choirs and symphony orchestra on a multilingual libretto, was commissioned by the Opera La Monnaie/De Munt, Brussels; and Un Silence Extraordinaire for choir and five musicians, based on a text compiled by the composer, taken from Jules Vernes” Un voyage au centre de la terre” in French and from the 3rd Psalm of David in Greek, a work commissioned by the Festival International d’Art Lyrique d’Aix-en-Provence, and premiered by the Ensemble Vocal d’Aix-Marseille Université (dir. Philippe Fransceschi) with the Ensemble C Barré (dir. Sébastien Boin) in June 2023.
Working with languages and on the refined connection between text and sound, Christina has produced “atmospheric, strangely fascinating” scores, including De l’Âme for a capella choir in 8 parts, based on St Gregory Palamas’s prayer, and awarded in the 1st Sibelius Composition competition 2015, chaired by Kaija Saariaho in Finland. Further, her work thou Art with me for Solo Violin, commissioned by the Code Modern Festival in Germany, “embarks on a musical quest for a new perspective on religion and spirituality”, employing the speaking and singing voice, and the body movement of the instrumentalist, as an integral part of this composition in “meditative, ethereal, tender tones”.
Christina’s output in chamber and ensemble music manifests the important role of extended techniques in her process of dealing with innovative or traditional formations, in collaborations with some of the most remarkable ensembles and musicians of our time. Her trio En Root for clarinet, cello and piano, was first performed by the Ensemble Aleph upon invitation from the Pharos Arts Foundation, and subsequently, in the Festival Musikprotokoll in Graz by Klangforum Wien. Her piano trio entitled Messa Aktis, started its journey in Rieti with the Ensemble L’ Arsenale in 2013, and received further performances by the Belgian Het Collectief, the Munich-based ensemble Oktopus, and is soon to be released on an album with the Marseille-based Trio&Co. Moreover, Christina worked with the Ensemble DissonArt in her Erot[onde]as, an ensemble work commissioned by the Onassis Cultural Centre, in the framework of the Interfaces Network co-funded by Creative Europe, and which was also selected for the International Review of Composers in Belgrade. Other collaborations include the Neue Vocalsolisten Stuttgart – Musik der Jahrhuderte, Pierrot Lunaire Ensemble Wien, Ensemble Zeitfluss, Elias String Quartet etc. Solo works in which both image and gesture as part of pacing sound is explored, include Virgules for accordion premiered by Timo Kinnunen in Japan, Re:Mains for multi-pianist premiered by Annini Tsiouti as part of the Pafos2017 European Capital of Culture programme, Aosmon for solo violin premiered by Alda Dizdari at the Warehouse London, and the Flut(t)eRings for solo flute, a piece in which “wavelike beaten indentations” are “translated in colorful detail”, premiered by Richard Craig in the Sound Festival in Aberdeen.
Christina began her musical training as a pianist and flutist in Cyprus and started composing from a very young age. She then entered the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London to study composition with Julian Philips, and graduated with a BMus and an MMus. She also studied in France in various settings such as Centre Acanthes, IRCAM, CNSMD de Lyon and in private lessons with Philippe Leroux, and later she completed a PhD at the Royal Holloway University of London, now continuing her research independently. She also studied conducting, and read Byzantine music.
For a number of years Christina lived in London, Paris and Athens. She relocated to Cyprus, where she maintains her composition studio and continues to travel and to work internationally.
Beyond her work as a composer, she is occasionally active as a freelance conductor, and as an artistic advisor introducing project concepts and designing programmes, while she frequently gives composition seminars, workshops, masterclasses and private lessons, invited by music, academic and art institutions, festivals etc. These included the London College of Music, the Royal Holloway University of London, the European University Cyprus and others. Christina was also a Composer-in-Residence at the CAMAC, La Monnaie, the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel, Belgium, and at the Cité des Arts in Paris.
Not to be altered without permission © Christina Athinodorou 2025