Greek Music Express

Sarantis Alivizatos is the lyricist of the acute erotic feeling. This intensity of desire is depicted in a direct manner, linguistically, without too many abstract meanings and concepts. His anthems of erotic attraction have been performed by sensual voices such as Constantina and Themis Adamantidis. Σαράντης Αλιβιζά...

Sotia Tsotou became known primarily as the one who wrote the grand hits of singer-songwriter Costas Hatzis, but her career includes many other important songs and collaborations. Her art stands out for her intelligent use of words, social criticism and the depiction of profound philosophical meanings....

This week, we explore the contribution of five lyricists to popular, folk song, also known as ‘laiko’ in Greek. Lefteris Hapsiadis, who sadly passed away on October 2 at the age of 69, belongs to a broader generation of talented lyricists who wrote songs using a simple and solid language replete wit...

The heroic struggle of the Greek army against the fascist invaders was soon followed by the Axis Occupation of the country and the Resistance to Nazi forces. We remember the fallen heroes of the 1940-1944 period through a mix of songs about the Greco-Italian war and the anti-fascist struggle of the...

Several Greek films were produced about the Greco-Italian war – in fact, this was a kind of fashion in the early 1970s under the dictatorship. Today’s track list draws primarily from two films, Lieutenant Natasha, and The teacher with the Golden Hair, with soundtracks by Costas Kapnisis and Nikos Mam...

A panorama of rebetiko songs written during the Greco-Italian war and the Nazi Occupation, the harshest period of modern Greek history. We are listening to a dedicated collection of covers of such ‘protest’ songs performed by George Dalaras, as well as to originals by the grand masters of the genre, fro...

On 1 May 1944, 200 Greek communists were executed by the Nazi Occupation authorities at the firing range of the Kaisariani suburb. This criminal act was a reprisal for the killing of a German general by Greek Resistance forces. In 2017, renowned director Pantelis Voulgaris offered a moving account of...

This week, we celebrate the “Ohi Day”, i.e. the rejection by Greek dictator Metaxas of the ultimatum made by Italian dictator Mussolini, the start of Greece’s participation in World War II, the counterattack against the invading Italian forces and the resistance during the Nazi occupation. Today, we re...

Folk, popular or “laiko” song – this is the voice of the people, the struggle of those hit hard by destiny, the cry of the bouzouki and of robust voices such as Lakis Halkias, Giorgos Tzortzis and Stamatis Kokotas. Wine here is a kind of medicine to soothe the pain inflicted by love and by the socie...

The theme of wine is present not only in the traditional and folk repertoire, bur also in modern songwriting, rock and contemporary renditions of tradition. From mega-stars like Eleonora Zouganeli and Costis Maravegias to pioneering bands like Social Waste and Villagers of Ioannina City and established...

The term ‘rebetiko’ refers to the urban popular music of the Greek people, especially those of the poorest strata, that flourished up until the 1950s and was later rediscovered through the so-called rebetiko revival. This synthesis of European, traditional Greek, Byzantine and Ottoman music bec...

The light song is a genre that flourished in Greece in the first half of the 20th century, influenced by French and Latin American songs and characterised by intense theatricality and romanticism. Even though these songs are now considered outdated, they constitute an important part of Greek music...

This week, we take the finest product of Greek culture (music) and blend it with the finest product of the Greek land (wine) to produce a tribute to Greek songs about wine! Our starting point, today, is the art song genre and its greatest voices, from Eleni Vitali to Dimitra Galani, who sang the...

Elytis meets Dimitris Lagios and Michalis Tranoudakis Odysseas Elytis was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1979 for “his poetry, which, against the background of Greek tradition, depicts with sensuous strength and intellectual clear-sightedness modern man's struggle for freedom a...

Tasos Leivaditis Tasos Leivaditis is a superb poet whose (largely unacknowledged) genius inspired a series of songs and albums. We will be primarily exploring the setting of his poetry to music by composer George Tsagaris, an endeavour that reveals the tremendous political and humanistic...

Kostas VarnalisA poet whose pioneering work renews not only the linguistic but also the ideological models and contexts of Greek poetry. Varnalis was sent to internal exile for his ideas, took part in the resistance movement against the German Occupation and was awarded the Lenin Peace Prize in...

Dimitris Papadimitriou’s Cavafy With his album “An Alexandrian on an Alexandrian”, Dimitris Papadimitriou delivered a colossal work of 18 songs and six instrumentals inspired by the poetry of Constantine P. Cavafy. The encounter of Papadimitriou with Cavafy is hardly surprising, since both ...

Constantine P. Cavafy x 3 According to Encyclopaedia Britannica, Cavafy is “one of the most important figures not only in Greek poetry but in Western poetry as well”. Naturally, he has been a favourite among Greek composers too, who have turned to his poetry multiple times in search of inspiration. Tod...