Teofils Bikis was a Latvian pianist and music teacher, later a professor. He was born in Liepaja on August 30, 1952, and studied at the Emils Darzins Secondary Music School in Riga in the class of J. Daugul.
He graduated from the Moscow Conservatory in 1975 in the class of Professor Lev Vlasenko and continued to refine his artistry with him in postgraduate study. In the same year, he shared first place at the Vianna da Motta International Piano Competition in Lisbon.
From 1975 to 1989, Bikis taught at the Novosibirsk Conservatory, and from 1980 he headed its piano department. In 1989 he returned to Latvia, and from 1993 he led the piano department at the Jazeps Vitols Latvian Academy of Music.
Among his students were V. Shimkus, Yu. Zhvikovs, E. Samoilov, and D. Okun-Ketler. As a performer, he was noted for monumental musical thinking and a strong virtuoso technique.
In his concert activity, he preferred works by Beethoven, Ravel, Prokofiev, Stravinsky, and Aram Khachaturian. He also successfully performed music by Latvian composers of different generations, including Jazeps Vitols, Janis Ivanovs, Peteris Vasks, and Yu. Karlsons. He toured in the Soviet Union, mainly in Siberian Russia, as well as in Sweden and the United States.
On January 21, 1998, he received a Certificate of Honor from the Cabinet of Ministers of Latvia. Bikis died in Riga on November 2, 2000.
Connections
This figure has 1 connection in the Music Lineage catalog.