A musician,
twice over.

Greek conductor, composer and pianist Ektoras Tartanis moves between podium and score — focused, precise and emotionally direct.

As Chief Conductor of the Niederbayerische Philharmonie, he devoted himself to a repertoire spanning the symphonic canon and contemporary voices. Through new concert, outreach and podcast formats, he opens classical music to a broad audience. He has a particular affinity for the sweeping musical arcs of Mahler, Brahms and Bruckner, and the dramatic clarity of Verdi and Wagner. Critics praise his immense conviction and creative drive: “from Baroque to contemporary music! One sentence after another, each ready for print — and an expression of a strong personality.”

Highlights include premieres of his own works and his December 2025 debut in the Golden Hall of the Vienna Musikverein with his composition Ilion — A Trojan Rhapsody. For his groundbreaking interpretation of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, the Union of Greek Critics named him Young Artist of the Year 2023/24. In 2021 he received the Special Prize at the International Khachaturian Conducting Competition.

As a composer, Tartanis is published by Universal Edition in Vienna. His recent works explore the realm of the Muses and Dionysian ecstasy — between classical form and contemporary breath. His third album is scheduled to be recorded in winter 2026.

His career has taken him to Freiburg as First Kapellmeister and to Bremerhaven as Deputy General Music Director, as well as to orchestras including the SWR Symphony Orchestra, Munich Radio Orchestra, musicAeterna and Athens State Orchestra. He has collaborated with Teodor Currentzis, Nicolas Altstaedt, Patricia Kopatchinskaja and Peter Sellars.

Recently, Tartanis formed the Palintonos Trio. Alongside double bassist Antonino Tertuliano and soprano Clara Heupgen, he explores unheard sound worlds, new forms of presentation and fresh perspectives on seemingly old music at the piano.