Ionian School :
It was through the Ionian islands (which were under Venetian rule and influence) that all the major advances of the western European classical music were introduced to mainland Greeks. The region is notable for the birth of the first School of modern Greek classical music (Heptanesian or Ionian School; Greek: Επτανησιακή Σχολή), established in 1815. Prominent representatives of this genre include Nikolaos Mantzaros, Spyridon Xyndas, Spyridon Samaras, Dionysius Rodotheatos and Pavlos Carrer.[8]
The Church music (Byzantine) of the islands is also different from the rest of Greece, with significant western and Catholic influences on the Orthodox rite.
Greek National School :
Manolis Kalomiris (1883–1962) was the founder of the Greek National School of Music. Born in Smyrna, he attended school in Constantinople and studied piano and composition in Vienna. His work drew influences also from the Greek folk music, poetry (he was an admirer of Kostis Palamas) and myth, aiming to combine the German Romanticism with Greek motives. In 1919 he founded the Hellenic Conservatory and in 1926 the National Conservatoire. Representatives are also Nikos Skalkottas, who drew his influences also from Greek folk tradition, Emilios Riadis and the conductor Dimitris Mitropoulos.[9]