What needs to be clarified from the outset is that, in Levidis’s case, as with other Greek composers, we are not dealing with an ordinary musician. The fact that Levidis has not attained the position he deserves in the consciousness of the music-loving public is neither strange nor a new phenomenon. But let’s take things from the beginning. Dimitrios Levidis was born in Athens in 1886. He studied at the Lottner and Athens Conservatories, followed by studies in Lausanne and Munich. There he was fortunate to have Felix Mottl as a teacher, among other excellent musicians.

His compositional abilities became apparent quite early when he won the “Franz Liszt” prize (1908) for his Romantic Sonata for piano, Op. 16. Levidis must have believed, and rightly so, that Greece at that time was not the right place for a composer’s talent to develop. For this reason, after a brief stay in Greece, he returned to France where he settled. In fact, he enlisted in the French Army as a volunteer during World War I, which enabled him to obtain French citizenship.

His compositional activity continued unabated, and many of his works were performed in Paris and elsewhere. A composer clearly influenced by his French surroundings, he never ceased to include Greek ideas in his works. Even the great conductor Koussevitzky included Levidis’s works in his programs. The composer’s career was continuously on the rise, and it is no coincidence that he was the first composer to write for Maurice Martenot’s new musical instrument, the ondes Martenot. This may be a fact not widely known to the public involved in art music. Of course, nowadays few know this musical instrument (ondes Martenot), but at that time it was considered a truly pioneering invention.

Levidis decided to return to Greece in 1932, and it seems he must have regretted it later. He began teaching music at the Hellenic Conservatory and was later appointed to the Philharmonic and other public sector positions. In 1934, he decided to found the Faliro Conservatory.

Levidis’s compositional work in the years before the Occupation and World War II appears to decline. This conclusion can be drawn by reading the entry included in the Dictionary of Greek Music, Volume 3, pp. 462-464 by Takis Kalogeropoulos. During the years of the Occupation, however, the composer Levidis seems to have produced at a better pace. His works from that period and the years immediately after the War can be characterized as Greek and belonging, more or less, within the framework of the National School of Music. Of course, his writing remains incurably French (post-impressionistic, one might characterize it), but the meanings are purely Greek. At the recent Greek Music Festivals, we had the good fortune to hear his work Op. 61 titled The Return to the Enslaved Homeland for mezzo-soprano and orchestra, which was first performed on 1945-04-08, an emotionally charged time, and which includes the first notes of the national anthem.

It is important to mention that Levidis served as a member and president of the Union of Greek Composers from 1945 to 1947.

In 1947, he decided to return to France, where he resided until 1948. His attempt to relocate, it seems, was made to give a new impetus to his career. Unfortunately, this was not achieved, and Levidis returned to Greece where he died, completely isolated from the musical life of his country, in 1951. His works, those that were not lost (as many of his compositions must be considered lost, at least until further notice), are currently housed in the National Library.

As we saw above, Levidis was a thoroughly worthy member of the Greek music community. The composer who wrote the first work for ondes Martenot, the composer who served as president of the Union of Greek Composers and whose works have been heard in the best halls of Paris, is currently, fifty years after his death, receiving a commemorative mention and a commemorative performance of one of his works during the Greek Music Festivals. It is astonishing if there are even a hundred people in Greece who have heard Levidis’s work for ondes Martenot; if nothing else, this work should be presented with some frequency as it is unique in its kind.

Remembering Levidis or Nezeritis or Varvoglis or all the Greek composers who truly toiled to contribute something to the cultural life of this country should not be a nostalgic look at the past, nor should it depend on the goodwill of a few. The preservation of our cultural heritage (which, of course, includes music) is the responsibility of the younger generations. Levidis and his music offered work that is very little recognized today, not to say at all. Opportunities to change this exist; it simply requires a lot of work, well-trained scientists and performers, and institutions that will provide the guarantees for music to develop. We want to believe that we are on the right track.

DIMITRIOS LEVIDIS: OFFICIAL DISCOGRAPHY
From the “Archive of Greek Composers THOMA TAMVAKOU”

1. UNIVERSITY OF CRETE PUBLICATIONS (code: P.E.K. 11, CD, 1999)
Sonata Op. 16, in one movement, for piano
(also known as: “Erste Griechische Romantische Sonate”) (1908)
Natalia Mirosnikova (piano)
Note: also includes piano works by Kalomiris, Kamilieris, I. Liveralis, Samaras and Spinellis

2a. CULTURAL OLYMPIAD
(no code, 12-CD box set, 2004. Greek edition)
2b. CULTURAL OLYMPIAD
(no code, 12-CD box set, 2004. English edition)
“Divertissement” for orchestra (1911). Found on the 2nd disc
ERT National Symphony Orchestra / Alkis Baltas
Note: also includes works by 38 Greek composers