He was for many years director of the Institute of Musicology at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, and he is widely regarded as one of the greatest German musicologists.
[1] Georgiades grew up as a dedicated pianist, making advanced studies at Athens Conservatoire, and completing his education in Munich (1930–1935) under Carl Orff.
[2] He did structural engineering studies at Athens Polytechnic, specializing in the building of bridges.
[citation needed] According to some colleagues, "In his work as a musicologist also, he succeeded in forming many unexpected links" – with the philosophy of Heidegger and Gadamer for instance – or in establishing musical connections between Classical Antiquity and the Modern Era, between Greek and German music, or between non-European and Central European music.
[1] In June 1935 he obtained his PhD in Munich, under the supervision of Rudolf von Ficker, with a thesis on the development of polyphony in the Middle Ages.