The work of composer Giannis Andreou Papayiannou, simply referred to by many of his students in the Higher Theoretical Studies and Composition as "Teacher" with all the weight of the word, holds a notable position in the modern Greek musical creation.

Post-war, Papayiannou was a pioneer in the dissemination of atonality and twelve-tone technique in Greece, although a large part of his work is grounded in tonal idioms. Musicologist Xenia Theodoridou presents the tonal chamber music works of the composer, written from 1936 to 1962, in relation to elements of his life and artistic personality, mainly during his youth and early maturity, as well as with references and comparisons to his other works and the historical context of their creation, both Greek and foreign.

The work of Papayiannou reveals itself to the researcher as diverse, sensitive, and with selective tendencies drawing from romantic classicism, impressionism, national style searches in traditional and Byzantine music, as well as from contemporary idioms, while also showcasing timeless stylistic constants, such as motivic and thematic economy and form organization, the element of programmability, and archetypal searches for Greekness.

The continuous effort for creative responses that align with the demands of the times, as these are felt in Greece and internationally, leads him to create musical works that enrich and renew the modern Greek repertoire of the genre, which constitute a valuable legacy of modern Greek music.