Biography
George Tossikian, one of the most creative and talented Greek guitarists, was born in Piraeus in 1981 and studied guitar under Iakovos Kolanian at the Contemporary Conservatory of Athens. He distinguished himself in Greek competitions, and also at the International Renaissance Music Festival of Armenia, where he was awarded First Prize.
Since 2005 he has given recitals and participated in festivals in Greece and abroad, producing a rich discography at the same time.
In 2010 his first discographic work was released under the title Guitar Music by Greek Composers, with works for guitar by established, as well as young, Greek composers, many of them premiere recordings.
Three years later, he brought out his second album entitled Mosaic consisting of compositions influenced by the musical traditions of countries of the Near East and the Balkans.
Since 2008 he has been a permanent collaborator and member of the orchestra of composer George Varsamakis. In 2015 a CD entitled Suite for Guitar and String Ensemble, by George Varsamakis.
During the period 2010-2022, he had the privilege of collaborating with distinguished guitarist, songwriter and composer Notis Mavroudis. They appeared as a guitar duo in concerts and recordings, mainly based on the latter’s songs, releasing in 2018 Café Latino, in which the Latin American sound is dominant through anonymous compositions arranged for two guitars.
In 2021 a CD entitled La Plage was released, marking his debut with leading European record label Brilliant Classics: it is the first complete collection of works by Yann Tiersen arranged for classical guitar, with George Tossikian transcribing and playing ten themes by the French composer.
Two years later, another album was released under the Brilliant Classics label, entitled Cuatro Argentinas and dedicated to the Argentinean composer Maximo Diego Pujol, to the applause of critics and the composer himself.
He teaches classical guitar at the Contemporary Music Education Conservatory and at the Philippos Nakas Conservatory.