GEORGE HADJINIKOS May 3rd 1923 - November 29th 2015
George's son, Nicholas, said this at his funeral in January 2016:
"Some of you may wonder why a man you admired in private was not better known in public, but George Hadjinikos never sought status or suffered from vanity, nor did he ever have any time for those who did, in whatever field.
This was the man who acknowledged his audience after a performance by holding high the score of the music he had just interpreted, directing the applause away from himself and towards the composers whose presence lived on through him, in the hope that he had served their memories with every sinew of his being.
In this act of dedication, powered by his awesome intellect, by a solemn devotion, an unquenchable learning and unending generosity, we see his true majesty,
A majesty that struck all those who saw him at the piano as h exercised his command over his musical realm. A majesty that helps explain the modesty so perplexing in a man of such greatness, who dedicated his life not to himself but to the legacy of the artists who shaped him, and to the students to whom he would pass on that legacy. In essence my father is a bridge, not an end in himself with a beginning and an end, but an immortal connection between times, whose learning will always inspire those it touched and who pass it on.
A bridge with an amazing lifespan that had the time and space to become sure footed in whatever musical continent it connected. Every ounce of his being he gave to cultivate the spirits of the composers he immortalised, leaving too little for himself and so a light that might have illuminated him lit but a lucky few, some of whom are gathered here today. George Hadjinikos used to say that he never chose music, it chose him.
It could not have chosen more wisely."
WE say a very fond Farewell to someone who once graced our concert platform with his consumate artistry and took his seat among our audience with obvious delight in the music-making we provided. Graham Marshall
