Traditional music and dance
If every Greek territory tells a page of national history, what does Corfu tell? Well, for example, that the Ionian Islands were never under Ottoman occupation, but rather under Venetian rule for 400 years between the 14th and 18th centuries, so the local songs are essentially based on the Western European style. Mainly located in Lefkada, Zakynthos or Kefalonia, these "kantads" are short songs about love or daily life, accompanied by mandolin and sometimes by male choirs. An excellent representative of this art to be listened to in priority is Fotis Aleporos, whose stentorian voice marries the mandolin in an often poignant alliance. In the summer, during the feasts of the patron saints of the islands or of the Assumption, you will have the opportunity to attend traditional songs, especially during the panygiria (feasts in homage to the Virgin, panagia in Greek).
These celebrations are also an opportunity to see the traditional Ionian dances such as Lefkaditiko, performed in a circle, or the well named Corfiote, danced in pairs, all in grace and lightness. It is more than common to see also syrtos, the Greek dance par excellence of which each region cultivates its own variant, or ballos, a couple's dance featuring a game of seduction. Every August, Lefkada is transformed into a great choreographic center during the Folklore Dance Festival, an international meeting of folklore dances and music inviting dozens of groups from around the world.
Popular music
In addition to the traditional music specific to each region, Greece shares three main musical pillars: dimotiko, rebetiko and laïko. Dimotiko is the oldest popular Greek song. It is commonly divided into two movements, the akritic, dating from the ninth century, and the klephtic, common throughout the Ottoman occupation (from the end of the Byzantine period to the beginning of the Greek Revolution of 1821). The dimotiko is a good way to hear all the main instruments of the country's folk music: the lira (an emblematic fiddle of Crete), the gaida (bagpipe), the laouto (Greek lute), the tambouras (another Greek lute) or the daouli (drum)...
The Greek genre par excellence (classified as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity) is the rebetiko. Popular music dating from the early 1960s, this "Greek blues" is the song of the uprooted, the excluded, the marginalized, born in the underground cafes of Athens and Thessaloniki. It tells the story of the daily life made of poverty, pain, hunger or drug addiction of the "Micrasiates", these Greek refugees expelled from Asia Minor in 1922. A very beautiful music full of spleen which knew its hour of glory in the hands of Vassilis Tsitsanis, Markos Vamvakaris or Marika Ninou.
The third great Greek trend, the laïko, appeared in the years 1950 and 1960. Meaning "popular", laiko is pop music in the most literal sense of the word and a descendant of rebetiko. The term has evolved over time and is now used to describe modern Greek pop music as a whole, even variety. The emblematic figures of the genre are Stelios Kazantzidis, Manolis Angelopoulos, Manos Hatzidakis, Nana Mouskouri, Melina Mercouri or Dionysis Savvopoulos, Charis Alexiou and Nikos Papazoglou.
Classical music
Greek classical music began with Manolis Kalomiris (1883-1962), the national Bartok who worked to establish a Greek national school of music. But internationally, the most prestigious name in the field is by far Mikis Theodorakis (born 1925). Famous author of the music of Zorba the Greek, we know less his five operas, four ballets and seven symphonies crossed by a powerful writing, full of grandiose and excess. And it would be unfair to speak of Greek classics without mentioning Mitropoulos, Callas and Xenakis. Dimitris Mitropoulos (1896-1960), the Mahler of the country, was an astonishing pianist, an outstanding personality and a demanding conductor. Maria Callas, "La Callas", was a magnificent soprano who thrilled crowds both on and off the stage. Yannis Xenakis (1922-2001) was a great research musician, famous for his work on electroacoustics to which modern music owes a great deal. Now, outside of Greece, it is undoubtedly the work of Teodor Currentzis that is the most talked about. He is known as the "enfant terrible of classical music" and is renowned for his radical, even sulphurous interpretations. He is very popular in Russia, where he has collaborated with the National Philharmonic of Russia, the St. Petersburg Philharmonic and the Bolshoi Theatre. As for soloists, Leonidas Kavakos is a virtuoso Greek violinist who is sought after by orchestras and Dimitris Sgouros is a pianist considered by many (including Arthur Rubinstein) as one of the greatest.
You will never guess how many philharmonic orchestras there are in Corfu... No less than 18! The island owes this music love to its four centuries of Venetian domination, during which it absorbed many European influences. In fact, it was in Corfu that the first opera was performed on Greek soil, in 1733, at the Teatro di San Giacomo (destroyed in 1943). It was Gerona, Tiranno di Siracusa by Johann Adolph Hasse, one of the masters of Venetian opera. The origin of the philharmonic orchestras in Corfu dates from 1837, during the protectorate. While the British refused to allow orchestras to play for Orthodox celebrations, the Corfu Philharmonic Society was created by the Corfu people. This association was so successful that little by little other associations were founded. Today there are about twenty of them, most of them made up of amateur but passionate musicians. The philharmonic orchestras of Corfu are particularly famous for their performances during the Easter celebrations.
During the British protectorate, it was Nikolaos Chalikiopoulos Mantzaros who created the first music school in Greece. Mantzaros had many famous students in the country, including Spyros Xyndas, the author of the first Greek opera. By the way, Mantzaros is none other than the composer of the Greek national anthem (and twenty-four symphonies).
If it is very common to hear and be able to listen to classical music in Corfu in any season, let's mention the Zeidoros Cultural Center in Kapsali, a beautiful building from 1650 housing a theater for 250 people and programming a lot of classical music.
