This period, as during the time of the predecessor king, was an important era of music in Mysore, especially for Kannada compositions. The King himself was educated in Kannada, English, Sanskrit, the sciences and was knowledgeable in Tamil and Urdu as well. He was well versed in playing musical instruments including the veena, violin, mridangam, nagaswara, sitar, and harmonium as well as Western instruments such as the saxophone and piano. He encouraged his musicians to compose in the Carnatic, Hindustani and Western styles. During this period, Veena Subramanya Iyer wrote an important treatise on music in Kannada, dealing with both its theoretical and practical aspects, called "Sangeeta Samayasara" which was published in 1915. A very influential musician, academic and composer of this period was Harikeshanallur Dr. L. Muthiah Bhagavatar. A native of Tirunalveli (in modern Tamil Nadu), he was a scholar in Sanskrit and was trained in music by Samabasiva Iyer in Tiruvayyar. He was appointed court musician at Mysore in 1927 and was honoured by kings and notables alike. He was given the title "Gayaka Shikamani" by his patron King Krishnaraja Wodeyar IV. To this famous musician are credited one hundred and eight "Chamundeswari kritis" in Kannada, one hundred and eight "Shivashtottara" compositions in Sanskrit, an important treatise on music in Tamil called the "Sangeeta Kalpadrumam", and a biography in Sanskrit on the life, achievements and contributions of Tyagaraja to Carnatic music called "Srimat Tyagaraja Vijaya". He wrote a total of over four hundred compositions in all, in Sanskrit, Kannada, Telugu and Tamil under the pen name "Harikesha" and started the "Tyagaraja Sangeeta Vidyalaya" ("Tyagaraja School of Music") in 1920. For his accomplishments, he was given the title of "Sangeeta Kalanidhi" by the Madras Music Academy and received an honorary Doctor of Letters degree from the University of Travencore. Muthiah Bhagavatar died in Mysore in 1945 and is considered one of the most important composers of the post- Tyagaraja period.