Early Years (1920-1951)
Yorgos Sicilianos was born in Athens on August 29, 1920, into an upper-class family rich in artistic influences. His mother was an amateur pianist, and his father—who passed away before his birth—had studied music in Brussels alongside economics. The premature death of his father profoundly marked Sicilianos’s childhood, casting a shadow over his early years. His mother, deeply grieved at the age of 25, wore black mourning clothes until he turned eight. Together, they frequently visited his father’s grave in silence, fostering in Sicilianos a deep sense of introspection and an affinity for dramatic expression. These formative experiences became a wellspring for the emotional depth and reflection that would characterize his music.
A significant figure in his upbringing was his uncle, Dimitrios Sicilianos, a diplomat and art enthusiast. Dimitrios envisioned a diplomatic career for his nephew and insisted that he pursue legal studies. Obediently, Sicilianos enrolled at the University of Athens Law School in 1939. However, his true passion lay elsewhere. After three years of studying law, upon reaching adulthood in 1941, he decided to abandon this path and dedicate himself entirely to music.
Immediately afterwards, he began formal music studies, starting with lessons in theory under Constantinos Sphakianakis (1890–1946) from 1941 to 1942. Sphakianakis, an inspiring teacher and musician, became a crucial mentor, deepening Sicilianos’s determination to pursue music. Recognizing his potential, Sphakianakis introduced him to composer Marios Varvoglis (1885–1967), who was teaching at the Elliniko Odeion. Sicilianos studied under Varvoglis during 1943 and 1944.
By the time of Greece’s liberation in October 1944, Sicilianos was already enrolled at the Athens Conservatory, studying under Georgios Sklavos (1886–1976). He completed his studies there in December 1949, earning diplomas in Harmony, Counterpoint, and Fugue. These achievements established a strong foundation for his future as a composer.
During this period, Sicilianos began composing his first student works, which he later grouped under a single category he referred to as Opus 1. These early attempts reflected an effort to assimilate techniques within the Romantic tradition rather than seeking originality in expressive means. His engagement with the National School of Music emerged slightly later, as evidenced by his Prelude and Dance, Op. 5 (1948) and The Little Vlach & Hasapiko Dance, Op. 5 No. 2, coinciding with the gradual development of his aesthetic beliefs that would dominate his work until 1953.
A defining work of this phase was Apocalypse of the 5th Seal, Op. 7 (1951), inspired by a visit to Mount Athos. This composition exemplified his efforts to bridge Byzantine ecclesiastical chant and Greek folk song, reflecting his vision for the future of Greek music at the intersection of these traditions.
Studies Abroad (1951-1956)
In 1951, Sicilianos was accepted into the class of the distinguished Italian composer and teacher Ildebrando Pizzetti (1880–1968) at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome. He graduated in 1953 with a diploma in composition. During his time in Italy, while continuing to develop his musical style based on his earlier goals, he encountered the music of Béla Bartók and the composers of the Second Viennese School. His classmates included Reginald Smith Brindle (1917–2003), Franco Donatoni (1927–2000), and Frédéric Devreese (1929–2020).
Pizzetti, a prominent conservative musician of his generation, was firmly opposed to modernism, which limited Sicilianos’s ability to evolve his musical language in that direction during his lessons. However, he formed an artistic circle with Smith Brindle and Donatoni, exposing them to modern musical idioms through concerts, scores, and theoretical texts. Sicilianos also met Luigi Dallapiccola (1904–1975), a leading figure of the avant-garde movement in Italy and a pioneer of serialism. Dallapiccola’s work and ideas influenced Sicilianos, encouraging him to explore serialist techniques that would later become a feature of his compositional style.
In the first work Sicilianos composed after completing his studies in Italy, Concerto for Orchestra, Op. 12 (1954), he employed the twelve-tone technique for the first time in the third movement, also incorporating references to Bartók’s music. This piece marked the beginning of his second creative period, characterized by experimentation and engagement with contemporary musical trends, lasting approximately 25 years.
From the winter of 1954 to 1956, Sicilianos broadened his musical education by auditing composition classes at renowned institutions in Europe and the United States. In Paris, he attended Tony Aubin’s composition class at the Conservatoire de Paris (1953–1954). In the United States, supported by a Fulbright Scholarship, he audited classes at Harvard University under Walter Piston (1894–1976), at the Tanglewood Summer Festival under Boris Blacher (1903–1975), and at the Juilliard School in New York under Peter Mennin (1923–1983) and Vincent Persichetti (1915–1987).
In 1955, while in the United States, Sicilianos met the renowned conductor Dimitris Mitropoulos (1896–1960). This meeting was facilitated by letters of introduction from musicologist Avra Theodoropoulou (1880–1963) and Kaity Katsogianni. Prior to Sicilianos’s arrival in New York, Theodoropoulou had sent Mitropoulos a copy of Sicilianos’s Concerto for Orchestra, Op. 12. Mitropoulos responded warmly, praising Sicilianos’s potential but noting that the piece was too lengthy for a debut performance.
During his stay in New York, Sicilianos was granted the rare opportunity to attend Mitropoulos’s rehearsals with the New York Philharmonic at Carnegie Hall. For about three months, he closely observed the conductor’s artistry, gaining invaluable insights into orchestration and interpretation. Sicilianos later remarked that during this period, he learned more than years of studying with the greatest teachers at conservatories could have taught him.
Impressed by his potential, Mitropoulos commissioned Sicilianos to compose a symphonic work for a debut performance with the New York Philharmonic. Sicilianos completed his Symphony No. 1, Op. 14 (1956), in New York and dedicated it to Mitropoulos, who premiered the piece at Carnegie Hall in March 1958.
Return to Greece (1956-1980)
In 1956, Sicilianos returned to Greece permanently. The following year, he married historian Elly Yotopoulou, and in 1960, they welcomed their son, Linos-Alexandre, marking a new chapter in his personal life.
Upon his return to Greece, Sicilianos found a fragmented cultural landscape lacking commonly accepted creative benchmarks. Prominent Greek composers like Nikos Skalkottas were still marginalized and viewed as “black sheep” by those adhering to traditionalist norms. Facing a choice between conforming to existing academic traditions or forging an individual musical language, Sicilianos chose the latter, even though it meant his work might be misunderstood by the broader public. He believed that art should ultimately connect with and speak to humanity.
During this period, his works began to be performed in Greece, earning him recognition as one of the most promising young composers of his generation. Between 1957 and 1960, he composed music for two ballets and two productions of ancient drama. The first ballet, Tanagraea, Op. 17 (1957), was commissioned by dancer Theodora Dragoumi-Vlastou for her solo recital. The second, The Bacchantes, Op. 19 No. 1 (1959), was composed for the Hellenic Ballet of Rallou Manou, a leading figure in the Greek artistic scene. He also composed incidental music for Euripides’s Iphigenia in Tauris (1958) and Herakles (1960), staged by the National Theatre of Greece as part of the Athens and Epidaurus Festivals.
These works marked a shift in Sicilianos’s exploration of “Greekness,” moving away from Byzantine and folk traditions toward classical antiquity. His engagement with ancient drama would continue in his later works and become closely linked to his lifelong aesthetic pursuits.
Alongside works with a programmatic character, Sicilianos continued to reflect deeply on the evolution of his musical language. This contemplation found expression in String Quartet No. 3, Op. 15, which he worked on between 1957 and 1961. This piece, his first to be entirely based on the twelve-tone technique, was later transcribed for string orchestra with percussion under the title Synthesis, Op. 21 (1962).
The Third Quartet represents a significant milestone in Sicilianos’s career. It earned him third prize at the Concours International de quatuor à cordes de la ville de Liège in Belgium (1962). However, when it premiered in Greece in its revised form later that year, it divided critical opinion. These reactions reflected broader divisions within Greek musical life at the time between conservative and progressive camps.
In January 1960, Sicilianos was appointed Director of Music Broadcasts at the National Radio Foundation (EIR). In this role, he focused on raising the profile of Greek music. He inaugurated the first public concerts by the EIR Symphony Orchestra and organized Greece’s first national composition competition broadcast on the radio. This competition recognised Patterns and Permutations (1960) by Jani Christou (1926–1970), a pioneering work in contemporary orchestral music.
Sicilianos, along with Tatsis Apostolidis (1928–2009), aimed to establish an independent symphony orchestra at EIR, staffed by full-time musicians. They faced challenges from the Athens State Orchestra’s management, which refused to allow their musicians to participate in EIR’s public concerts. Despite obstacles, they managed to proceed with concerts through government intervention. In 1960, EIR hired Austrian conductor Franz Litschauer under contract to elevate the orchestra’s performance. Efforts were made to hire talented musicians from the Athens State Orchestra, offering them exclusive employment agreements with higher salaries.
Tragically, just as contracts for the independent orchestra were about to be signed in the autumn of 1960, the Director-General of EIR, Pyrros Spyromilios (1913–1961), passed away from a heart attack. His successor chose not to approve the contracts, effectively ending Sicilianos’s vision of an independent orchestra. Disillusioned, he resigned as Director of Music Broadcasts a few months later. He then accepted the position of Secretary-General of the Supreme Musical Council (1963–1964), but this role also proved short-lived as the council was disbanded by the government.
From the early 1960s, there was a concerted effort to promote avant-garde music in Greece, in which Sicilianos played a leading role. In 1964, the Greek branch of the International Society for Contemporary Music (ISCM) was established, followed in 1965 by the Greek Society for Contemporary Music. Sicilianos was a founding member and vice-president of both organizations (1964–1968 and 1965–1969, respectively). These societies organized the Weeks of Contemporary Music (1966–1968, 1971, 1976), featuring numerous commissions and premieres of new works.
During this favourable period for contemporary music, Sicilianos embarked on a new phase in his creative journey. Starting with the Concerto for Cello and Orchestra, Op. 22 (1963), and continuing with the Variations on Four Rhythmic Themes, Op. 24 (1963), he explored integral serialism, particularly through the organization of pitch and rhythm. His next work, Stasimon B, Op. 25 (1964), based on a text from Euripides’s “Iphigenia in Tauris”, combined these techniques with his interest in ancient drama. In Perspectives, Op. 26 (1966), Sicilianos experimented with an unconventional arrangement of orchestral instruments, creating the effect of moving sonic masses and exploring space as an expressive medium. These works were selected to represent Greece at ISCM International Festivals.
With String Quartet No. 4, Op. 28 (1967), Sicilianos reached a peak in his approach to pre-compositional planning and strict serial organization of material. This work reflected the composer’s anger and frustration with the military dictatorship that seized power in Greece in 1967. Aligning himself with other intellectuals who opposed the regime, Sicilianos publicly expressed his dissent, using his music as both a creative outlet and a form of resistance.
In his next work, Epiklesis, Op. 29b (1968), based on a text from Aeschylus’s “Persians”, Sicilianos employed the Erasmian pronunciation for the first time as a method of delivering a text in ancient Greek. He believed this choice resolved issues of rhythm and form while fully utilizing the acoustic quality of the original words as primary musical material.
The 1960s also saw Sicilianos composing the Eight Children’s Miniatures, Op. 23 (1963), as a private celebration of his son’s third birthday. Though not initially intended for public performance, the piece gained popularity, capturing moments from his son’s early childhood.
From 1971 to 1972, with the support of a Ford Foundation grant, Sicilianos travelled to international music institutions, visiting Munich, Cologne, Paris, London, and New York. In Paris, he developed material in an electronic music studio that he later used in incidental music for Euripides’s Medea (1973) and the ballet Parable, Op. 34 (1973).
Following the fall of the dictatorship in Greece, Sicilianos was appointed Director of Music Programming at the Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT) but held the position for only three months due to the delicate political situation. In 1976, he was appointed to the Artistic Committee of the Greek National Opera (1976–1979) and later served on its Board of Directors (1980–1981).
During this period, his compositions began to combine rigorous pre-compositional planning with freer compositional processes. Notable works include Etudes Compositionnelles, Op. 32 (1974), Paysages, Op. 36 (1975), exploring indeterminacy, and Schemata, Op. 39 (1976), incorporating open forms and improvisation. In 1976, he composed Antiphona, Op. 40, scored for string orchestra, brass, and timpani, exploring the spatial dimension of musical performance with an unconventional stage arrangement.
Sicilianos concluded the second period of his creative journey with two operas: The Lady in the Moonlight, Op. 41 (1977, revised as Op. 43 in 1979), based on Yannis Ritsos’s “Moonlight Sonata”, and The Fire, Op. 42 (1978), based on the poem by Maro Papadimitriou adapted by the composer.
Later Period (1980-2005)
In 1980, he composed Mellichomeide, Op. 44, based on fragments of Sappho’s poetry. This work marked a conscious shift toward a more accessible idiom, beginning the third period of his compositional career. He distanced himself from intense exploration of contemporary expressive means, selectively incorporating elements from his accumulated experience.
In 1981, Sicilianos was elected President of the Union of Greek Composers (UGC), a position he held until 1989. Sicilianos continued to compose significant works during this period. The Sonata for Violin and Piano, Op. 45 (1981), was inspired by texts by Yannis Ritsos and George Seferis. Pantoum, Op. 46 (1982), based on poetry by Seferis, and the Concerto for Violin and Orchestra, Op. 51 (1987), inspired by Samuel Beckett’s monologue “That Time”, showcased his engagement with literary works influencing form and expressive content.
In 1983, he fulfilled a long-held desire to compose music based on the Cassandra passage from Aeschylus’s “Agamemnon.” The resulting work, Cassandra, Op. 47, was a tragic cantata set to the original Ancient Greek text. Initially believing its performance would be unattainable in Greece during his lifetime, it was recorded in 1985 and premiered at the Athens Festival in 1986. The Bulgarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and Choir, under the baton of Byron Fidetzis, performed the work with mezzo-soprano Yolanda di Tasso and bass Giorgos Pappas as soloists.
Other notable works from this period include the Concerto for Piano and Orchestra, Op. 52 (1989), and Six Fantastic Pieces, Op. 54 (1993), based on poetry by C. P. Cavafy. These compositions underscored a profound engagement with universal human questions, reflecting the depth of his artistic vision in his later years.
Sicilianos was also deeply involved in efforts to reform music education in Greece. In 1982, he joined a team of composers, musicologists, and teachers to draft legislation aimed at reforming music education at the secondary and higher levels. Although their proposal was appreciated, a decade passed without progress. Later efforts led to the creation of the Ionian University’s Department of Music in Corfu.
In the 1990s and early 2000s, Sicilianos continued to compose works like String Quartet No. 5, Op. 53 (1991), and the Quintet for Piano and Strings, Op. 61 (2001), inspired by “The Grand Inquisitor” from Fyodor Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov.His penultimate work, Seven Mystic Songs, Op. 62 (2004), for bass-baritone and orchestra, is set to poetry by Umberto Saba, Giuseppe Ungaretti, and Salvatore Quasimodo.
Sicilianos’s final composition, Timbres, Op. 63 (2004), a sextet for piano, violins, viola, cello, and double bass, was premiered posthumously on May 7, 2005, by the New Hellenic Quartet. The group’s leader, Georgios Demertzis, had previously initiated the recording of most of Sicilianos’s chamber works, a project completed just a few years before the composer’s death.
Throughout his career, Sicilianos received numerous honours and awards, including the Cavaliere dell’Ordine al merito della Repubblica Italiana (1962), the Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (1990), the Herder Prize [Gottfried-von-Herder-Preis] (1991), and the “Irini G. Papaioannou” Prize of the Academy of Athens (1994). In 1999, he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the Department of Music Studies at the University of Athens.
Yorgos Sicilianos passed away on March 29, 2005.
In 2013, his book titled On Music [Για τη Μουσική] (2011) received an award from the Union of Greek Theatre and Music Critics.
Sicilianos is remembered as one of the most significant Greek composers of the post-war generation, whose dedication to his art and commitment to authenticity left a lasting impact on contemporary Greek music. His journey through music was both a burden and a gift, one that he embraced fully throughout his life, leaving behind a rich legacy that continues to inspire.