Greeks mourns leading musicologist
RIPThe Greek musicologist and senior music critic George Leotsakos died this week, aged 89.
Born in Athens, on the 9th of August 1935, he studied with composers Kostas Kydoniatis and Yannis Andreou Papaïoannou, graduating from the Hellenic Conservatory in 1964. A contributor since the early 1970s to the Grove dictionaries (articles on both Greece and Albania), to Pangosmio Viografiko Lexiko [Universal Biographical Dictionary; published by Ekdotiki Athinon in 1983-1988], and to other encyclopedias. He remained an independent researcher until the end of his life. He was the first Western musicologist to visit Albania in 1981, a country isolated at the time, and report on its special musical culture. His most recent work is a ca 700-page monograph on composer Spyros Samaras (1861-1917).
A major figure. If only I could translate his reviews for you.
George Leotsakos was a very kind person and a pioneering scholar of Greek classical music. His training was in composition. In musicology he was essentially self-taught.
When, as a young man, I sought his help in a graduate research project, he was exceedingly generous in sharing his time and knowledge.
Refreshingly, he never seemed to mince words, even on record. RIP