The Greek-Australian violinist died in a Brisbane hospital on 27 September, aged 78
Spiros Rantos was born in Corfu on 7 November 1945 into a musical family. His father, Sotiris Tahiatis, was the principal cellist of the Greek National Symphony Orchestra and the National Opera and Radio Orchestra.
Rantos began his musical studies in Athens, studying violin with Stelios Kafantaris at the National Conservatory and with Tatsis Apostolidis at the Athens Conservatory.
At the age of 18, he was invited to join the Linz Opera by the visiting chief conductor, where he worked for one year. He then embarked on further studies at Vienna Musikhochschule with Eduard Melkus and Ricardo Odnoposoff.
Rantos became the concertmaster of the Capella Academica in Vienna in 1968 and also taught at the Graz Conservatorium. He studied in the US at Indiana University with Franco Gulli and garnered chamber music prizes in the ’Forte dei Marmi’ competition in Italy and France’s Colmar International Competition.
Rantos was a member of a Greek piano trio with pianist Janis Vakarelis and cellist Byron Fidetzis. As a recording artist, he made over 55 recordings with Deutsche Grammophon, Harmonia Mundi, and Grevillea Records, and performed in broadcasts across Europe, Asia and Australia.
He moved to Australia in 1976 with the chamber group Ensemble I from Vienna for its Melbourne residency. With his partner and pianist of over 50 years, pianist Brachi Tilles, Rantos established one of Australia’s top chamber music duos, performing nationally and internationally.
He founded the Rantos Collegium in 1986, which evolved into The Melbourne Chamber Orchestra, where he served as artistic director and conductor.
As an educator, Rantos taught at the Victorian College of the Arts, the University of Southern Queensland and the University of Melbourne. He served as senior lecturer at the University of Queensland until his retirement in 2009.
He is survived by Tilles and their son, Alexi.
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