Today, we are celebrating the birthday of one of Greece’s greatest female voices. Maria Farantouri was born in Athens on the 28th of November 1947. Her international repertoire, which we are focusing on aboard today’s GME, is truly impressive and includes recordings of protest songs and songs by Bre...
Begleri: small skill toy consisting of one or more beads at either end of a short string. Originally derived from the komboloi, which serves the function of worry beads, flipped around to pass the time. Spyros Zagoraios, Rita Sakellariou, Dimitris Efstathiou, Doukissa, Eleni Vitali, Prodromos Tsaousakis...
The United Nations General Assembly has designated November 25 as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. The premise of the day is to raise awareness around the world that women are subjected to rape, domestic violence and other forms of violence; furthermore, one of the...
Today, we are shedding light on the concept of improvisation, by highlighting some interesting instances of improv vibes with various musical instruments. From the great bouzouki masters to the clarinet of Vassilis Saleas and from the innovators of tradition such as Ross Daly to the jazz endeavours...
Today, we remember a highly significant lyricist who was born on this day, 23 November 1949. And, inevitably, we encounter some of the most beloved melodies of Greek song—melodies that came to carry the dense, layered meanings of his words: Thanos Mikroutsikos, Babis Stokas, Marios Tokas, Miltos Paschalidis, S...
Today, we turn to a major recent loss for Greek song—to a leading songwriter—and to a less illuminated facet of his discography. With Thanasis Papakonstantinou, as well as Vangelis Germanos, with Giorgos Zampetas, with Nikos Xydakis, and with Nikos Kypergos.
The meeting point for tonight’s journ...
From Sotiria Bellou to Mario and from Tzeni Vanou to Giannis Kalantzis, countless folk vocalists have sang about komboloi, this tool of relaxation that has acquired multiple symbolisms in the context of Greek song. Komboloi is a symbol of friendship but also of abandonment when its holder plays with...
Today, we begin a 2-day mini tribute to a typically Greek object that has inspired numerous Greek songs. Worry beads (or “komboloi”) are a string of beads manipulated with one or two hands and, apart from entertaining and relaxing multiple generations of Greeks, they have inspired numerous folk son...
The cities of Greek song – foreign and desolate, lonely or for two, with love or with darkness. The cities of Polyxeni Karakoglou and Katerina Kyrmizi, of Victoria Tagouli and Rita Antonopoulou and Elli Paspala, of Kostas Thomaidis and Kostas Mantzios. “In this city, you left me alone / and I am a t...
Today, we will be stopping at the crossroads of two arts, music and cinema, through selections from Hadjidakis' soundtracks for films such as Blue, Topkapi, America America, Sweet movie and Faccia di spia. This GME broadcast was supposed to be part of our week-long tribute to the 100th anniversary of...
Today, we are celebrating “Polytechneio”, i.e. the uprising of the Athens Polytechnic School on November 14-17, 1973, which marked the struggle against the Greek dictatorship of 1967-74. Our track list includes songs with direct references to the events, as well as others that focus on the themes of ...
Tonight, we welcome a day that symbolises the enduring struggle for democracy—for bread, education, and freedom. A day inseparably linked to the uprising at the National Technical University of Athens and its lasting imprint on collective memory and political expression.
The meeting point for tonight’s jou...
Today, we remember an important composer and thinker who passed away recently and whose absence is deeply felt. A composer with substantial studies and a remarkable body of work, Michalis Grigoriou created dozens of compositions, including works for orchestra; for choir and soloists; chamber music;...
Today, here at GME, we are celebrating lyricist Lefteris Papadopoulos’ 90 years of life, creativity and endless contribution to Greek song. And we are doing that by highlighting his more erotic side, a side replete with powerful images of love, loss and devotion. A moon kissing with the stars, an e...
There are many things that one can say about lyricist, writer and film director Alekos Sakellarios, and we will indeed be saying many things about him and his contribution aboard today’s GME. But for me, Sakellarios is, above all, the one who wrote the lyrics of my favourite song: “In life there are...
This week, we have been celebrating five important poets and lyricists who have left a notable mark on Greek song and today we turn to my number one, the poet whom I consider the greatest not only in Greece but globally, a true master situated at the crossroads of political vision and existential despair....
This week, we have been celebrating five important poets and lyricists who have left a notable mark on Greek song and today we turn to my number one, the poet whom I consider the greatest not only in Greece but globally, a true master situated at the crossroads of political vision and existential despair....
French poet Arthur Rimbaud, who passed away on this day, November 10, 1891, is considered a leading figure of world poetry. Literary critics have pointed to his pioneering role in promoting a variety of aesthetic currents, including symbolism and surrealism. Naturally, Rimbaud has been present in this...
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