Giorgos Zervos

He was born in Cairo, Egypt, in 1947 and moved to Athens in 1961. He studied advanced theory and piano at the Hellenic Conservatory and the Orpheion Conservatory, and composition with Yiannis Ioannidis. In 1981, he went to Paris for postgraduate studies at the University of Paris I-Pantheon-Sorbonne. There, he studied musicology and music aesthetics with Michel Guiomar and Daniel Charles, and composition with Iannis Xenakis. In 1982, he obtained his D.E.A. postgraduate degree with a thesis titled "Mathematical Processes in the Works of Bartók and Xenakis." In 1995, he was awarded a doctorate from the Department of Music Studies at the University of Thessaloniki with a dissertation on "The Crisis of the Theme in the Works of the Second Viennese School Composers: Schoenberg, Berg, Webern." His works have been performed in Greece, Cyprus, as well as in Italy (Florence 1981, Naples 1987), Bulgaria (Sofia 1985), France (Cannes 1987, Orléans 1987), the USA (Boston University 1991, University of Louisiana 2004), among others. His works have been recorded by the Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation, and he has received commissions for musical compositions from the Third Program, the Goethe Institute, the Municipality of Heraklion, OMMA, and others. In 1982, he won the first prize in the chamber music competition organized by the Ministry of Culture with his work "String Quartet No. 1." His compositions are published by the publishing house K. Papagrigoriou - Ch. Nakas, and his works have been recorded by Warner ("Eros and Psyche," 1999) and "Agora" ("Study for String Quartet," 2000). Alongside composition, he is also involved in musicological research. He has written articles on 20th-century music in Greek and international journals (Musicology, Mousika, Musik und Ästhetik, Revue Esthétique, Arts 8, etc.), has given lectures, and participated in numerous conferences in Greece and abroad (Center for Hellenic Studies Berlin, Berlin, 1999, Konzerthaus Berlin 2000, Symposium "Arnold Schoenberg and Greek Composers - in memoriam Iannis Xenakis," at the Arnold Schoenberg Center, Vienna, 2002, Conference on "The Value of Music Today," co-organized by the journal "Musicology" and the Goethe Institute, Athens, 2002, International Musicology Conference of the journal Musicology in collaboration with the Athens Concert Hall for the centenary of Theodor W. Adorno's birth, 2003, etc.). In 2002, two of his books were published by K. Papagrigoriou - Ch. Nakas, titled: "Schoenberg, Berg, Webern: The Crisis of Music Through the Crisis of Theme and Forms" and "Nikos Skalkottas and the European Tradition of Early 20th Century Music." Giorgos Zervos is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Music Studies at the University of Athens, where he teaches analysis, 20th-century music, and composition.