Offertoire

Georges Poniridy (1892 - 1982) was a Greek violinist, conductor and composer.

He began his musical studies in Istanbul, and later moved to Brussels where he was a student of Eugène Ysaÿe (violin) and Paul Gilson (harmony and counterpoint). He then settled in Paris expanding his musical interests and attending the courses of the Schola Cantorum under the direction of Vincent d'Indy and Albert Roussel . At the same time he devoted himself to Gregorian music with Amédée Gastoué . He was active for more than twenty years in France, Belgium, Germany and other European countries until he returned to Greece where he had been called upon to direct the music section of the Ministry of Culture of Athens.

In life he was considered a leading figure in the Greek music school, Poniridy belonged to that group of composers strongly linked to the French tradition, although his work shows a confident and strongly original personality. He wrote a ballet, two collections of Byzantine songs for solo voices, choir and orchestra and a variety of orchestral music including two symphonies and the three symphonic preludes as well as music for Sophocles's Antigone and other theatrical works based on Shakespeare, Molière, Musset, etc.