Panagiotis Toundas ( el, Παναγιώτης Τούντας; 1886– 23 May 1942) was a Greek composer of the early 20th century. He is probably the most famous representative of the "Smyrna School" and made a notable contribution to the creation of the rebetico style music in Greece. He was born in

Smyrna Smyrna ( ; grc, Σμύρνη, Smýrnē, or , ) was a Greek city located at a strategic point on the Aegean coast of Anatolia. Due to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence, and its good inland connections, Smyrna rose to promi ...

and from a young age he learned to play the mandolin. In the early 20th century became a member of the ''Smyrneiki Estudiantina''. He joined many groups and traveled a lot, especially to the

Greek diaspora The Greek diaspora, also known as Omogenia ( el, Ομογένεια, Omogéneia), are the communities of Greeks living outside of Greece and Cyprus (excluding Northern Cyprus). Such places historically include Albania, North Macedonia, parts of ...

. After the

Great fire of Smyrna The burning of Smyrna ( el, Καταστροφή της Σμύρνης, "Smyrna Catastrophe"; tr, 1922 İzmir Yangını, "1922 Izmir Fire"; hy, Զմիւռնիոյ Մեծ Հրդեհ, ''Zmyuṙno Mets Hrdeh'') destroyed much of the port city of ...

he went to

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

. In 1924, he became director of the local annex of

Odeon Records Odeon Records is a record label founded in 1903 by Max Straus and Heinrich Zuntz of the International Talking Machine Company in Berlin, Germany. The label's name and logo come from the Odéon-Théâtre de l'Europe in Paris. History Straus a ...

. He worked with all the major

record labels A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produc ...

in Greece and was responsible for the most recordings of the era. In 1931 he assumed the position of art director for Columbia Records and

His Master's Voice His Master's Voice (HMV) was the name of a major British record label created in 1901 by The Gramophone Co. Ltd. The phrase was coined in the late 1890s from the title of a painting by English artist Francis Barraud, which depicted a Jack Russ ...

until 1940. He worked with many musicians and many of his rebetiko songs were sung by well-known singers, such as Stelios Perpiniadis,

Kostas Roukounas Konstantinos (Kostas) Roukounas ( el, Κώστας Ρούκουνας) (Principality of Samos, 1903 – Athens, 11 March 1984) was a Greek singer. His repertoire included both "traditional" (''δημοτικά'') and "popular" songs (''λαϊκά' ...

, Roza Eskenazi and

Rita Abatzi Rita Abatzi (also spelled Abadzi; el, Ρίτα Αμπατζή) (1914 – 17 June 1969) was a Greek ''rebetiko'' musician who began her career in the first part of the 1930s. She was born in Smyrna (now Izmir), in the Aidin Vilayet of the Ottoman ...

Death

Panagiotis Toundas died on 23 May 1942 in

Refernences

External links

* 1886 births 1942 deaths Rebetiko musicians Greek male songwriters Smyrniote Greeks Greek art directors Greek bouzouki players Greek mandolin players Date of birth unknown Musicians from İzmir Emigrants from the Ottoman Empire to Greece {{Greece-composer-stub