Yanni - A self-taught genius

Yanni live in concert

There are a few musicians who are self-taught. It is said that such people have the natural and inborn talent of a musician. Yanni is one of them. Giannis Chroysomallis, popularly known as Yanni, was born in ‘Kalamata’, Greece and is a citizen of the USA. An avid swimmer, he set a national record in the 50 metres event at the age of 14. 

A Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, he decided to be a musician right after his graduation. He shot to fame with his live performance at ‘Acropolis’ with Iranian conductor Shahrdad Rohani and the ‘Royal Philharmonic Orchestra’ of London. It was watched by millions in the USA and the rest of the world. Some of the memorable numbers from the concert are ‘Santorini’, ‘Acroyali (Standing in Motion)’, ‘Aria’ and others. ‘Aria’ was played in the background of the award winning ‘British Airways’ commercial. It is a perfect mixture of contemporary music along with western classical vocals. His music has been used for television promotion of every Olympics held since 1988. His genre of music is termed as ‘New Age’, but he prefers ‘Contemporary Instrumental’. Although, Yanni’s songs are instrumental, except a few, they are loved for their harmony and melody. His song, ‘Acroyali (Standing in Motion)’ sounds like a piece composed by the legendary musician, Mozart. He feels that a lot of contemporary instrumental numbers are inspired by Mozart and Beethoven as they were the legends who have shown the path for new musicians.

He is the first artist to have performed at the ‘Taj Mahal’, India and ‘The Forbidden City’, China. Some memorable pieces from the Taj concert were ‘Adagio in C minor’, ‘Renegade’, ‘Love is all’, ‘Niki Nana’ and others. It was his tribute to one of the most beautiful monuments on earth. His use of unconventional musical instruments like ‘Didgeridoo’, ‘Bamboo saxophone’, ‘Charango’ and others give a unique flavour to his music. His song ‘Playing by Heart’ from the album ‘Ethnicity’ was played by one such instrument. His fans love him for composing his numbers from the heart.

Yanni recently performed at ‘Acapulco’, Mexico and has come out with a new studio recorded album. He has also performed at the ‘Burj Khalifa’ (world’s tallest building, Dubai, United Arab Emirates).