The last three years of Skalkottas' life were played out against the background of Greece's descent into the brutal chaos of civil war. Despite the conflicts and the disintegration going on around him, things were going quite well for Skalkottas - he got married, and now concentrating on tonal music, he at last began to hear his pieces performed in Athens. But his ill-starred life ended, two days before the birth of his second son, just as he had begun to find happiness and recognition. Given the way he had been marginalised since his return to Greece, there were several overly sentimental tributes to him by members of the establishment after his death. Donald Macleod explores the final tragic chapter of Skalkottas' life. Show less