Kostas Papadakis (

Kissamos Kissamos ( el, Κίσσαμος) is a town and a municipality in the west of the island of Crete, Greece. It is part of the Chania regional unit and of the former Kissamos Province which covers the northwest corner of the island. The town of Kissam ...

, 1920 – May 2003) was a popular

Cretan Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and ...

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

ist, famous for playing Cretan folk music. He was known by the nickname "Naftis" (Ναύτης) which, in Greek, means sailor. He began playing the violin at age seven. Papadakis played an Italian violin dated back to 1710, when

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and ...

was under

Venetian Venetian often means from or related to: * Venice, a city in Italy * Veneto, a region of Italy * Republic of Venice (697–1797), a historical nation in that area Venetian and the like may also refer to: * Venetian language, a Romance language s ...

occupation. His first public performance took place at a wedding reception when he was ten. From 1959 till 1976 he lived in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and, in 1981, he moved to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

where he stayed for five years. He performed live in numerous musical events and festivals in different countries. Kostas Papadakis first recorded an album in 1938. Throughout his career, he participated in several recordings that included his own compositions. He also published a book in 1989 entitled ''The Cretan Lyre, a Myth'' which supported the idea that the first instrument, used by early Cretan musicians to play Cretan music, was the

and not the

lyre The lyre () is a stringed musical instrument that is classified by Hornbostel–Sachs as a member of the lute-family of instruments. In organology, a lyre is considered a yoke lute, since it is a lute in which the strings are attached to a yoke ...

External links

Musical identities of (Papadakis), by Tullia Magrini
1920 births 2003 deaths Cretan musicians Greek violinists 20th-century violinists People from Kissamos Greek expatriates in the United States Greek expatriates in Australia {{Violinist-stub