Born in Smyrna,
Ottoman Empire (modern
Izmir,
Turkey), he attended school in
Constantinople and studied
piano and composition in
Vienna. After working for a few years as a piano teacher in
Kharkov,
Russian Empire, he settled in
Athens. An admirer of
Richard Wagner,
Rimsky-Korsakoff,
Kostis Palamas, and
Nikos Kazantzakis, he set himself the life goal of establishing a Greek "national school" of music, based on the ideas of the
Russian national composers, on western musical achievements and on modern Greek folk music, poetry and myth. He thus founded in 1919 the
Hellenic Conservatory and in 1926 the
National Conservatoire. At the same time, he served as the General Supervisor of
military bands in the country. He wrote three
symphonies and five
operas, one
piano concerto and one
violin concertino, other symphonic works,
chamber music and numerous songs and piano works. He held various public posts and was elected member of the
Academy of Athens. He died in 1962 in Athens. == References ==