Vasilis Tsitsanis (1915-1984) is generally acknowledged as one of the greatest icons of Greek music. Born of the Rebetiko tradition, over the many years of composing his music evolved into the more popular music form ‘laiko’. He is attributed with revolutionising the sound of Greek music with his special blending of modal and byzantine melodies with western harmonies and traditional rhythmic patterns from which an intricate and rich sound emerged. He was a prolific composer. For every one song that other composers wrote, Tsitsanis wrote ten. His imagination and creativity knew no bounds and his songs have become anthems of Greek culture. Even today they are played daily over the radio and people of all ages listen to them and sing along as a part of daily life.

We have done previous tributes to the music of Tsitsanis, where we have focused on his more classic and popular songs. In this performance, where we will be covering the different periods of Tsitsanis’ life, from pre-war to post-war and beyond, we have decided to unearth some songs that may not be so well known but deserve to be heard as much as any of his other songs. Perhaps he was the victim of his own success, in that certain songs of his were just so popular (as they deserved to  be) that people just listened to them and forgot about the countless other beautiful songs that he wrote. Of course, some of the classics will be in there, too. We hope you will join us on this journey of discovery,  celebrating the man and his music, as we set off on another year of wandering through the streets, modes, words and characters of the Rebetiko life.