Skalkotas Nikos 1904 - 1949 (45)
Skalkotas's most famous work, based on Greek traditional dances, is "36 Greek Dances"
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Nikos Skalkotas (March 8, 1904 - September 19, 1949) was an of the most important Greek composer of the 20th century, with an international impact. He was born in Chalkida in a musical environment, his grandfather was a singer and composer of folk music, his father was a flutist at the Chalkida Philharmonic. In 1910 his family moved to Athens to offer him a better musical education. Nikos graduated from the Athens Conservatory in 1920, receiving the first prize for his performance in Beethoven's "Violin Concerto". In 1921, he left to study in Berlin having secured a number of scholarships and in 1923 he abandoned his career as a violinist and decided to become a composer. However, in addition to studying composition, he also played the violin in orchestras to supplement his income.
In Berlin he had an affair with a German violinist with whom he had 2 children, one of whom died an infant. This relationship was dissolved in 1931 and for a while Skalkotas found himself in a crisis both personal and professional, he did not write anything until 1934. In 1933 and with the rise of Hitler to power he returned to Greece, where he finds closed doors as the music establishment of the country considers him incomprehensible. He manages to find a violin position in the last proportions of the state orchestra and lives isolated from musical events, composing feverishly. In the decade 1935-1945 he composed more than 100 works and some of the most important of his career. In 1946 he married the pianist Maria Pangali and the following year their son Alekos was born. On September 19, 1949 he died unexpectedly from a hernia which he had not diagnosed. Skalkotas was appreciated as a composer after his death, thanks to the initiative of his friends and admirers.