It is with a great sense of loss that the UQ community mourns the passing of retired Senior Lecturer Spiros Rantos. A violinist and conductor of international repute, Spiros joined the staff of UQ in 1996 and retired in 2008, though he continued to teach part-time at UQ until 2014. His partner of many years, pianist Brachi Tilles, and his son Alexi, along with hundreds of past students, friends and colleagues, feel his loss deeply.
Spiros was born in Greece, taking up the violin at an early age with the encouragement of musicians in his extended family. While Spiros was in his teens, conductor Kurt Woess came to Greece and was impressed with Spiros’ playing. He offered him a position in the opera orchestra in Linz. Opportunities then developed to study and perform with Capella Academica Wien, directed by Eduard Melkus, to play in the Clemencic Consort and to teach at the Music Academy in Graz. He also had violin lessons with the renowned violinist Riccardo Odnoposoff.
He joined ENSEMBLE I (pronounced E, from the I Ching - the “Book of Changes”) in Vienna in 1974. This ensemble, the core instrumentation being Piano, Violin, Viola, Cello, Flute and Horn, was one of the first to explore repertoire written for diverse combinations of instruments, rather than the traditional String Quartet or Piano Trio. The ensemble started a concert series in Vienna in the Mozart-Saal and toured widely in Europe.
A desire developed to further consolidate the ensemble, and an offer came from Indiana University Bloomington for a six-month residency, during which the group had access to a world-class faculty that included pianist Menahem Pressler (Beaux Arts Trio), violinist Franco Gulli and cellist Janos Starker. The group was lauded as an example of musicians who were committed to a career in chamber music, rather than as solo musicians. They also toured regionally in the Bloomington area.
As this residency was coming to an end, an offer came from John Hopkins, Head of the Victorian College of the Arts to become the ensemble-in-residence. The first activity for the group in Australia was an Australia-wide Musica Viva tour. A very strong memory of this tour is the concert in Brisbane, played to a packed Mayne Hall at UQ.
Regional touring was a big part of the VCA residency, and when this residency finished the various members applied for positions in different states. Spiros and Brachi joined the staff of the DDIAE in Toowoomba (now University of Southern Qld) in 1978, teaching and touring regionally, performing extensively as a duo, and as part of the Rantos Collegium Chamber Orchestra. Spiros directed an expanded version of this ensemble, the Brisbane Festival Orchestra, for the first concert in the Queensland Performing Arts Complex, performing Vivaldi’s Four Seasons.
During this time, a Festival at Taabinga Homestead near Kingaroy, established by highly respected pedagogue Elizabeth Morgan, was expanded by Spiros, and was held annually for twenty-five years.
The Rantos Collegium maintained connections in Melbourne, and in 1986 Spiros and Brachi returned there. Spiros taught at the University of Melbourne, the Victorian College of Arts and also privately. The Rantos Collegium was renamed the Melbourne Chamber Orchestra, which toured extensively in Victoria including with Victorian Opera.
When the full-time Violin Lecturer position at UQ became available in 1996, Spiros was appointed and retained that position until his retirement in 2008. During his tenure at UQ, Spiros taught Violin, was an enthusiastic member of the chamber music staff, took orchestral tutorials, and often directed the strings of the Symphony Orchestra as part of the orchestral program. ENSEMBLE I, with myself as cellist, gave several concerts during this time, mainly as a Piano Trio and Piano Quartet.
Spiros’ sudden passing came as a shock to all who knew him. His passion for music inspired his large cohort of students who studied with him in Austria and Australia. There are many past students of Spiros in significant performing and teaching positions in both countries, and recent students who are developing significant careers at an early age. The two who played at his “Celebration of Life,” Alessandro Martinese and Ein Na, demonstrated many attributes from Spiros’ playing, including passion, colour and a very appealing sense of nuance.
We mourn his loss, and deeply miss his “joie de vivre,” sense of humour and generosity of spirit.
Gwyn Roberts
