Musical modernism in Greece: An overview

Abstract or Summary:

The chapter offers an overview of the wide array of aesthetic and stylistic strands of musical modernism developed by composers both in Greece and in the Greek diaspora. While modernism became institutionally prominent in Greece in the post-World War II period, this overview also discusses modernist approaches of the first half of the twentieth century, such as Nikos Skalkottas’ unique instance, Dimitri Mitropoulos’ preceding atonal expressionism, and eclectic explorations of timbre, texture, and even philosophical and mystical approaches to music composition by Dimitrios Levidis, Georgios Poniridis, and Charilaos Perpessas. Regarding the second half of the twentieth century, the overview unveils the struggle for publicly accessible serialist processes in early modernist symphonic works by pioneers such as Yannis A. Papaioannou and Yorgos Sicilianos and discusses the combination of tonal and atonal elements in this music. It explores the modernists’ gradual post-1960 turn to ancient Greek sources for inspiration, the achievements of internationally acclaimed composers of the Greek diaspora, such as Iannis Xenakis and Anestis Logothetis, and Jani Christou’s imposing self-contained modernist vision and long posthumous influence. While analytical commentary is made on works that formed the Greek modernist canon, for example within the Hellenic Weeks for Contemporary Music in 1966–76 (the heyday of Greek musical modernism), the chapter also discusses the transformation of modernist ideas in Greek music since 1980, so that their legacy within contemporary Greek musical culture can be further appreciated.

*Abstract from the publisher’s website