The Athens Conservatoire is the oldest conservatoire in modern Greece. It was founded in 1871 by the Athens Music and Drama Society. Initially, the musical instruments that were taught there were limited to the violin

Violin

The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....

 and the flute

Flute

The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...

, representative of the ancient Greek Apollonian and Dionysian aesthetic principles. Significantly, piano

Piano

The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...

 lessons were not included in the program. In 1881 its new German

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

-taught director Georgios Nazos, in a controversial at that time move, expanded the conservatoire's program by introducing modern Western European-style instruments and theory material.

Among the musicians who have taught at the Athens Consevatoire are Manolis Kalomiris

Manolis Kalomiris

Manolis Kalomiris ), was a Greek classical composer. He was the founder of the Greek National School of Music.-Biography:Born in Smyrna, he attended school in Constantinople and studied piano and composition in Vienna. After working for a few years as a piano teacher in Kharkov he settled in...

, Felix Petyrek

Felix Petyrek

Felix Petyrek was an Austrian composer. He wrote stage works, songs, piano music in a Romantic style....

, Elvira de Hidalgo

Elvira de Hidalgo

Elvira de Hidalgo was a prominent Spanish coloratura soprano, who later became a pedagogue...

, and Yannos Margaziotis

Yannos Margaziotis

Yannos Margaziotis is a Greek violinist with a career as a soloist with several major orchestras and ensembles including the Greek National Opera Orchestra , the Athens State Orchestra, the Royal Danish Orchestra, and the Orchestra of Contemporary Music of the Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation...

. Notables who were taught at Athens Consevatoire include Spyridon Samaras

Spyridon Samaras

Spyridon-Filiskos Samaras was a Greek composer particularly admired for his operas who was part of the generation of composers that heralded the works of Giacomo Puccini...

 (1875–1882), Maria Callas

Maria Callas

Maria Callas was an American-born Greek soprano and one of the most renowned opera singers of the 20th century. She combined an impressive bel canto technique, a wide-ranging voice and great dramatic gifts...

 (1938), Dimitri Mitropoulos (1919), Gina Bachauer

Gina Bachauer

Gina Bachauer , was a Greek classical pianist who toured extensively in the United States and Europe....

, Nana Mouskouri

Nana Mouskouri

Nana Mouskouri , born Ioánna Moúschouri on October 13, 1934, in Chania, Crete, Greece, is a Greek singer who has sold about 300 million records worldwide in a career spanning over five decades, making her one of the best-selling music artists of all time. She was known as Nána to her friends and...

, Dimitris Sgouros

Dimitris Sgouros

Dimitris Sgouros is a Greek classical pianist. He began playing the piano at a young age, and received formal training in Athens, London, and New York. Widely acclaimed for his prodigious musical talent as a boy, Sgouros is one of the world's leading concert pianists...

, Mikis Theodorakis

Mikis Theodorakis

Mikis Theodorakis is one of the most renowned Greek songwriters and composers. Internationally, he is probably best known for his songs and for his scores for the films Zorba the Greek , Z , and Serpico .Politically, he identified with the left until the late 1980s; in 1989, he ran as an...

. Its artistic director is Aris Garoufalis.