He was born in 1915 in Heraklion, Crete. He studied violin and music theory with Konstantinos Sfakianakis, and advanced music theory, counterpoint and fugue with Marios Varvoglis. In 1944 he started writing music reviews of shows and articles in newspapers (Rizospastis, Avgi, etc.) and magazines (Kallitechnika Nea, Epikaira, Elefthera Grammata, Epoches, Theatro, etc.). He was involved in the musicological research and study of modern Greek art music and Greek folk music, focusing on the Greek traditional instruments. He was the first to connect the rebetiko genre with the tradition of the byzantine music and the demotic song, in his article published in Rizospastis newspaper, (28/1/1947) and, later, in the art review magazine Epitheorisi Technis (1961). He pursued field research in Greece and Cyprus with the Peloponnesian Folklore Foundation, which produced original material included in a series of scientific recordings. He was a member of the Theater and Music Critics Union and the International Musicological Society base in Basel, Switzerland. During the period 1953-1962, he initially collaborated with, and then became Artistic Consultant of, the Greek Folk Dance and Song Company and, later, of the Peloponnesian Folklore Foundation. In 1978, he donated to the Greek State his collection of Greek folk musical instruments, which is the richest collection in Greece and one of the most important collections of its kind in Europe. The Museum of Greek Folk Musical Instruments / Ethnomusicology Research Center, operating both as a research center and as a venue for traditional music related activities, was founded in 1991 in Athens, under his supervision. During 1981-1982, he served as chairman of the GNO Art Committee. In 1991, he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Crete. He was married to Ellie Nikolaidou. He passed away on 14/10/2003. // Last update of the biography: March 2019.