Athanasia Tzanou is a Greek multi award composer, widely known in Europe for her orchestral works.

Tzanou was born on June 25^th 1971 in Athens. She studied composition with Franco Donatoni at the Conservatorio G. Verdi in Milan for 5 years, from 1993 until 1998.

She has been honoured with several awards for her compositions. In 2001, she received the Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Preis, the Johannes-Brahms-Preis Award in Hamburg, the Andrzej Panufnik Prize for the best piece by a composer under 30 and the Günter Bialas Preis Award in Munich. In 2006, she received the Förderpreis der Ernst von Siemens Stiftung Award in recognition of her achievement as a young composer.

She has performed in several countries, like Argentina, Austria, France, Germany, Japan, Mexico, Holland, Greece and the United States.

Since 2003, Athanasia Tzanou has lived in Germany, as composition in Greece is less promising than abroad.

The work has had nearly 100  performances since, and hasbeen heard in Darmstadt, Paris, New York, Chigaco, Amsterdam, Maryland, Milano, Bologna, Trieste, Warsaw, Krakow, Athens, London,  Alicante, Boston,Firenze, Karten, Salzburg, Budapest, Bucurest, Wien, Zürich, Witten, Buones Aires, Gottingen,Darmstadt, Paris, Kiev, and at Darmstadt festival, «Musik der Jahrhunderte»festival in Stuttgart, Second festival of contemporary music in Mexico,»Voix Nouvelles» festival in Paris , Arte d” Montelpuciano (2001) e.t.c.Numerous soloists, such as clarinettists Guido Arbonelli, Henri Bok, Hans Peter Linshalm, and Harry Sparnaay, flautists Pierre-Yves Artaud and Roberto Fabbriciani, Camilla Hoitenga, percussionist Daniel  Ciampolini, pianists Yuki Hasekawa, Dimitris Vassilakis, and Mark Robson and violinists Hae-Sun Kang and Asako Urushihara have performed her works. In addition, violist Garth Knox, cellists Jean-Guihen Queyras and Frances-Marie Uitti.

Her music had been perfromace from Radio France, SWR-Radio, ORF, WDR 3 , and forthcoming commissions include a piece for the group of Percussionist of the Theater of Scalla in Milan , a new  piece commission from WDR for the festival of Witten for 2004 (after request of Mr.Peter Eötvös)  for the Ensemble Colleguim Novum Zürich that will conductor Mr.Peter Rundel , and a  commission  from Bayrische Staat Oper for the Contemporary Music Bavarian State Orchestra that performance in March 2005 .

She’s chamber enemble piece with the title «Epigramma IV» has  performance in in the during of  Festival Wien Modern 2003 in a concert à Memoria of M° Luciano Berio in Musikverein, and she’ s piece with the title “»moving shapes of a wonderous spell….»commission from WDR will premeired in Witten Festival for new music, April 2004  under the coductor Mr.Peter Rundel and ensemble Collegium Novum, and Tonhalle Zürich.

She has performed her own music with Ensemble ALEA III,  Ensemble Polyphonie T sinfon, Ensemble Het Collectiv, Ensemble Ictus,Ensemble Icarus,  Ensemble InterContemporain,Paris  Kaida Trio, Ensemble of Contemporary music in Kiev, Ensemble 2e2m, Ensemble Octandre, the Ensemble of Contemporary Music of Athens, and Ensemble Ticom, Ensemble Kontrapunkte, Ensemble Collegium Novum.Her scores can be found in the Fondation Paul Sacher for musicological research.