Panajiotis Toundas

Who was Panajiotis Toundas?

Panagiotis Toundas 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 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.

After the Destruction of Smyrna he went to Athens. In 1924 he became director of the local annex of Odeon Records. He worked with all the major record labels 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 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, Roza Eskenazi and Rita Abatzi. He also worked with the prominent composer, conductor and singer Giorgos Vidalis. He died on May 23, 1942 in Athens.