[
In late 2021, Yanni began to offer ]non-fungible token
A non-fungible token (NFT) is a unique digital identifier that is recorded on a blockchain and is used to certify ownership and authenticity. It cannot be copied, substituted, or subdivided. The ownership of an NFT is recorded in the blockchai ...
s.
Influences, music and concerts
Musical Influences
From childhood, Yanni accepted a wide variety of musical styles, listening to radio stations from Northern Africa, Arab countries, and Europe. He observed that "there were no ''rock'' stations or ''classical'' stations— each station would just play everything." Yanni's music is said to reflect his encounters with cultures around the world and embody his philosophy of "one world, one people." In this vein, ''Booth Newspapers
MLive Media Group, originally known as Booth Newspapers, or Booth Michigan, is a media group that produces newspapers from the state of Michigan in Cleveland, Ohio. Founded by George Gough Booth with his two brothers, Booth Newspapers was sold ...
' '' Jeffrey Kaczmarczyk perceived the eclectic inspirations of Yanni's music to be an element of his success: Yanni's "Middle Eastern and Oriental scales and mixed meters sound just exotic enough to entice his middle-of-the-road fans, but not so authentic as to mystify folks who grew up with a backbeat, so you can't lose it," adding that certain songs "leave you with a sense that you've just heard a bit of a steel drum or a Greek bouzouki or a Japanese koto or possibly all three."
Yanni's musical influences include music from Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East, as well as classical, rock and roll, and electronic music. Yanni explained that the 1970s, with its new technology and electronic instruments, were particularly influential at that stage in his career, and that even recently his ''Truth of Touch'' album (2011) was started by experimenting with new sound designs. Having been exposed to classical music very early in life—listening to Bach at age 8—he counts several classical pianists and composers among his influences, citing Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...
as a favorite and Chopin as "No. 2 favorite." Yanni mentioned being influenced not only by classical composers like Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...
and Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach (German: �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety of instruments and forms, including the or ...
, but also rock and roll bands such as Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1968. The band comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist-keyboardist John Paul Jones (musician), John Paul Jones and drummer John Bonham. With a he ...
, the People!
People! was an American one-hit wonder rock band that was formed in San Jose, California in 1965. Their greatest chart success came with their summer hit single "I Love You". The song, written by The Zombies bass guitarist Chris White, rose ...
, and Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler, and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. After adopting the Black Sabbath name in 1969 (the band ...
.
Yanni explained that "the most influence I've ever had from music was doing (soundtracks for) movies... mostly instrumental music," mentioning his love for the work of Jerry Goldsmith
Jerrald King Goldsmith (February 10, 1929July 21, 2004) was an American composer, conductor and orchestrator with a career in film and television scoring that spanned nearly 50 years and over 200 productions, between 1954 and 2003. He was consid ...
and John Williams
John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (November 15, 2022)Classic Connection review, ''WBOI'' ("For the second time this year, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic honored American composer, conductor, and arranger John Williams, who w ...
. ''The Augusta Chronicle
''The Augusta Chronicle'' is the daily newspaper of Augusta, Georgia, and is one of the oldest newspapers in the United States still in publication. The paper is known for its coverage of the Masters Tournament, which is played in Augusta.
Hist ...
's'' Kelly Jasper noted that most of Yanni's music is instrumental, indicating that Yanni surmised that the lack of lyrics is what allowed his music to become popular internationally. Yanni went on to say, "There are no lyrics in my music for the most part, so the whole message is transmitted through the rhythm, melody, and sounds, and I think that has to do with crossing all the borders and being able to go to different countries." "It is very difficult, if not impossible, to lie
A lie is an assertion that is believed to be false, typically used with the purpose of deceiving or misleading someone. The practice of communicating lies is called lying. A person who communicates a lie may be termed a liar. Lies can be int ...
with instrumental music because it deals in emotions only." He has also said that words operate in a different area of the brain, and lyrics "tend to put a song into a box."
However, Yanni performed with four vocalists in the forefront in ''Yanni Voices
''Yanni Voices'' (also released in Spanish as ''Yanni Voces'') is the twelfth studio album and fifth live DVD by Yanni, released on Yanni/Wake label in 2009.
Background
This was Yanni's first studio release in six years. In collaboration with pr ...
'' (2008–2009), and performed with vocalists on tours and in the '' Live at El Morro, Puerto Rico'' concerts (December 2011) and CD/DVD (2012). In late 2011 Yanni remarked that he tends to prefer instrumental music "because it's more open, but the human voice too can be the most expressive instrument known to man. There is power to it." Referring to his creative experiences on the 2009 ''Voices'' project, Yanni explained that "while most of the music I write is instrumental, I love to use the human voice as another instrument."
Music genres distinguished from the "new age" spiritual movement
While Yanni has said that new age is "a spiritual definition more than a musical definition," his music is said to be "adopted by" the New Age movement
New Age is a range of spiritual or religious practices and beliefs that rapidly grew in Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise definition difficult. Although many scholars consid ...
as it gained mainstream momentum. His music is also called ''contemporary instrumental'' and has been described as "an instrumental blend of fusion-jazz, world music, classical, and soft rock." However, at least as early as 1988, Yanni was said to shun labels such as "Greek" and "new age," emphasizing that "when someone says new age music, I think of something that you put on in the background while you're vacuuming the house. I don't want to relax the audience; I want to engage them in the music, get them interested." Distinguishing his work from what others have called ambient mood music, Yanni pointed out in 1994: ''"New age'' implies a more subdued, more relaxed music than what I do. My music can be very rhythmic, very energetic, even very ethnic."
In 2012, Yanni remarked that he has never liked putting art into categories or assigning labels, adding that he always composed music "to honestly reflect the lessons learned and the experiences I have shared throughout my life." For example, Yanni's university study of psychology
Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...
influenced his music: "When I create music, it is a reflection of my soul, my experiences in life and my relationships with other people and cultures. Psychology, and understanding who we are as people in this world, is present in almost every creative thought I have."
Unconventional career track
The genre of Yanni's music made it unsuitable for most commercial radio or for music television
Music television is a type of television programming which focuses predominantly on playing music videos from recording artists, usually on dedicated television channels' broadcasting on satellite, cable, or streaming platforms.
Music televis ...
. In 2012 Yanni expressed the importance of PBS
The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...
to his career, saying that the network "always allowed me to present my music without any censorship or influence, and encouraged me to be the artist that I am," and had been "a great part of my career for over 20 years."
Yanni took an unconventional path to recognition, for example, by risking his personal fortune to fund historic-monument events such as his 1993 Acropolis concerts, by producing specials on public television, by creating alone in his home-built studio, and by performing many of his own production duties—thus by-passing the conventional music industry. In 2000, ''The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
's'' David Segal wrote that Yanni was "a living metaphor for 'success on your own terms,' the dream of every American with an idea that is either ridiculed or ignored."
Music
In an early-career review in the ''Dallas Times Herald
The ''Dallas Times Herald'', founded in 1888 by a merger of the '' Dallas Times'' and the '' Dallas Herald'', was once one of two major daily newspapers serving the Dallas, Texas ( USA) area. It won three Pulitzer Prizes, all for photography, an ...
'' in the late 1980s, Yanni's concert with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra was described as "exhilarating, moving and inspiring." In 1995, ''The Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
' '' Don Heckman wrote that Yanni's music is "based on sweeping romantic melodies underscored with energetic Mediterranean rhythms." More analytically, the ''Hartford Courant
The ''Hartford Courant'' is the largest daily newspaper in the U.S. state of Connecticut, and is advertised as the oldest continuously published newspaper in the United States. A morning newspaper serving most of the state north of New Haven and ...
's'' Steve Metcalf "deconstructed" Yanni's music as being "from a harmonic standpoint, constructed of materials found in a lot of late-19th, early 20th century classical music. It is essentially tonal, tinged with mild whiffs of dissonance here and there, sometimes rhythmically frisky, graspable on first listening, and self-evidently mood-inducing. There are two basic moods to Yanni music: struttingly heroic with martial overtones, and dreamily contemplative... A kind of peaceful, easy-feeling link between pop music and classical music."
More recently, Allmusic
AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
's Mark Deming characterized Yanni's compositions and performances as having "a pronounced sense of drama, dynamics, and romanticism," writing that Yanni has a "commanding performance style." Rob Garratt wrote in ''The National'' that Yanni "breaks all the rules" in producing music "typically in two modes – poundingly heroic or reflectively ambient."[ In 2012 Howie Grapek remarked in '']The Palm Beach Post
''The Palm Beach Post'' is an American daily newspaper serving Palm Beach County in South Florida, and parts of the Treasure Coast.
On March 18, 2018, in a deal worth US$42.35 million, ''The Palm Beach Post'' and '' The Palm Beach Daily News' ...
's'' ''PBPulse'' that "there are few modern-day composers with a unique sense of music and style which is truly their own. To compare new-age music with classic rock is a stretch, but for Yanni, it is possible. This Greek composer marries contemporary new-age spirituality with today's pop attitudes and delivers a unique sound." Yanni popularized the combination of electronic music synthesizers with a full scale symphony orchestra.[
Having been called a "true global artist,"][ Yanni has employed musicians of various nationalities, and has incorporated a variety of exotic instruments from around the world from an Australian didgeridoo to a Peruvian charango, to perform with his classical orchestra, rock rhythm section, and electronic keyboards.] His music is described as "an eclectic fusion of ethnic sounds, from Native American chants to African rhythms and Asian harmonies." Before his 2015 concerts at the Egyptian Pyramids Yanni said that emotions are the same throughout the world, and that his predominantly instrumental music can communicate those emotions with people everywhere because it bypasses language.[
'']The Morning Call
''The Morning Call'' is a daily newspaper in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1883, it is the second-longest continuously published newspaper in the Lehigh Valley, after '' The Express-Times''. The newspaper is owned by Alden Global Capital ...
's'' John L. Moser wrote that "trends come and trends go," but that Yanni's music "seems to defy trends and... feels like it's music for all time." Moser interviewed the composer, asking if he intentionally tries to create "something that's going to last forever as opposed to something that's just going to sell 1 million copies right away," Yanni replied that "There's no way you can create art to last forever... so you can't have that in your mind." Instead, describing his creative process, Yanni explained that his knowledge of music and instruments and his experience in different cultures is a "primordial soup that comes together and it shows itself and it appears. And it's fluid. It's effortless."
Yanni's popularity with the public and his success on public television have contrasted sharply with views of some critics.[ The more extreme criticisms include statements that Yanni's music is "aural wallpaper... lacking in substance"][ or characterizing Yanni as a "no-talent poseur" whose music has little intellectual weight,] while his fans' opinions have been paraphrased as calling Yanni a "highly original artist whose profound spirituality has created a unique kind of music." In this regard, one commentator wrote in 2019 that Yanni's songs are "hazy and undefinable" and "unstructured in the traditional way", paraphrasing Yanni's statement that listeners' responses depend on the degree to which they "invest themselves in the music", which has a "relentless focus on feeling rather than hooks".[
Yanni claims to have had ]perfect pitch
Perfect commonly refers to:
* Perfection; completeness, and excellence
* Perfect (grammar), a grammatical category in some languages
Perfect may also refer to:
Film and television
* ''Perfect'' (1985 film), a romantic drama
* ''Perfect'' (20 ...
since childhood. He continues to use the "musical shorthand" that he developed as a child rather than employ traditional musical notation
Musical notation is any system used to visually represent music. Systems of notation generally represent the elements of a piece of music that are considered important for its performance in the context of a given musical tradition. The proce ...
, and hires someone to perform what he calls the "tedious process" of making conventional written charts for orchestra members. Even so, since music is an auditory domain, Yanni must train the musicians in what cannot be conveyed in that writing.
Concerts and live streaming
''The Palm Beach Post
''The Palm Beach Post'' is an American daily newspaper serving Palm Beach County in South Florida, and parts of the Treasure Coast.
On March 18, 2018, in a deal worth US$42.35 million, ''The Palm Beach Post'' and '' The Palm Beach Daily News' ...
's'' Howie Grapek remarked about an April 2012 performance that the show was not a one-man keyboard show, but spotlighted individual long solos showcasing the band members' talents, and that Yanni "loves giving them the opportunity to shine individually." ''Booth Newspapers
MLive Media Group, originally known as Booth Newspapers, or Booth Michigan, is a media group that produces newspapers from the state of Michigan in Cleveland, Ohio. Founded by George Gough Booth with his two brothers, Booth Newspapers was sold ...
' '' Jeffrey Kaczmarczyk commented that Yanni "has great sidemen – always has." Further, Yanni expands sound variety by using multiple interchangeable keyboards that are interconnected so that playing one keyboard can cause other keyboards to play corresponding notes emulating different instruments.[
Yanni's concerts, known for their lighting and other technical aspects,] require more than 2,000 timing cues for a show's lighting.[ Yanni's longtime lighting designer remarked in 2013 that the lighting is critically timed to Yanni's music itself, accommodating its variety of ]time signature
A time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, and measure signature) is an indication in music notation that specifies how many note values of a particular type fit into each measure ( bar). The time signature indicates th ...
s, further observing that since Yanni plays mostly theatrical venues rather than arenas, the lighting can include subtle moves and color. The lighting also emphasizes band members' solos, as well as specific moments in the concerts.
Commenting on Yanni's "great lighting" on the stage and "plenty of reverb in the audience," ''Booth Newspapers
MLive Media Group, originally known as Booth Newspapers, or Booth Michigan, is a media group that produces newspapers from the state of Michigan in Cleveland, Ohio. Founded by George Gough Booth with his two brothers, Booth Newspapers was sold ...
' '' Jeffrey Kaczmarczyk remarked that a Yanni concert "can be an intoxicating experience."[
In early 2017 Yanni began his "An Evening in Conversation with Yanni"][ or "An intimate Conversation with Yanni"][ tour in which audience questions and on-stage participation guided the show, and Yanni played a piano without a band.][ In May–June 2019, Yanni performed a multi-night residency at New York’s ]Lunt-Fontanne Theatre
The Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, originally the Globe Theatre, is a Broadway theater at 205 West 46th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S. Opened in 1910, the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre was designed by C ...
, two videos for which topped ''Billboard's
''Billboard'' (stylized in lowercase since 2013) is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation. The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events and styles related to the ...
'' Top Facebook Live
Facebook is a social-network service website launched on February 4, 2004, by Mark Zuckerberg. The following is a list of software and technology features that can be found on the Facebook website and mobile app and are available to users of ...
Videos chart[ before other Yanni videos topped the same chart in October][ December 2019,][ and February 2020.][
]
Honors, awards and distinctions
In addition to performing at venues such as Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London, England. It has a seating capacity of 5,272.
Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres ...
(London; 1995 & 2014), Yanni has performed at such world landmarks as the Acropolis of Athens
The Acropolis of Athens (; ) is an ancient citadel located on a rocky outcrop above the city of Athens, Greece, and contains the remains of several Ancient Greek architecture, ancient buildings of great architectural and historical significance, ...
(Greece; 1993), the Taj Mahal
The Taj Mahal ( ; ; ) is an ivory-white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the river Yamuna in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India. It was commissioned in 1631 by the fifth Mughal Empire, Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan () to house the tomb of his belo ...
(Agra, India; 1997), the Forbidden City
The Forbidden City () is the Chinese Empire, imperial Chinese palace, palace complex in the center of the Imperial City, Beijing, Imperial City in Beijing, China. It was the residence of 24 Ming dynasty, Ming and Qing dynasty, Qing dynasty L ...
(Beijing, China; 1997), the Burj Khalifa
The Burj Khalifa (known as the Burj Dubai prior to its inauguration) is a megatall skyscraper in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. With a total height of 829.8 m (2,722 ft, or just over half a mile) and a roof height (excluding the antenna, but inc ...
(the world's tallest building; Dubai, United Arab Emirates; 2011), the Kremlin
The Moscow Kremlin (also the Kremlin) is a fortified complex in Moscow, Russia. Located in the centre of the country's capital city, the Moscow Kremlin comprises five palaces, four cathedrals, and the enclosing Kremlin Wall along with the K ...
(Moscow, Russia; 2011), the Castillo San Felipe del Morro
Castillo San Felipe del Morro (English language , English: Promontory Castle of Saint Philip), most commonly known as ''El Morro'' (The Promontory), is a large Medieval fortification, fortress and citadel in the Old San Juan historic quarter of ...
("El Morro" UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
World Heritage Site
World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...
, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, U.S. territory; 2011), the ancient city of Byblos
Byblos ( ; ), also known as Jebeil, Jbeil or Jubayl (, Lebanese Arabic, locally ), is an ancient city in the Keserwan-Jbeil Governorate of Lebanon. The area is believed to have been first settled between 8800 and 7000BC and continuously inhabited ...
(UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
World Heritage Site
World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...
, Lebanon; 2013),[ the Roman Theatre of Carthage (Tunis, Tunisia; 2014),][ ]Laxmi Vilas Palace
The Lakshmi Vilas Palace (Gujarati language, Gujarati: લક્ષ્મી વિલાસ મહેલ) in Vadodara, Gujarat, India, was constructed in 1890 by the Gaekwad dynasty, Gaekwad family, a prominent Maratha Empire, Maratha family, ...
(Vadodara, India; 2015),[ the ]Egyptian pyramids
The Egyptian pyramids are ancient masonry structures located in Egypt. Most were built as tombs for the pharaohs and their consorts during the Old Kingdom of Egypt, Old and Middle Kingdom of Egypt, Middle Kingdom periods. At least 138 identi ...
and Great Sphinx of Giza
The Great Sphinx of Giza is a limestone statue of a reclining sphinx, a mythical creature with the head of a human and the body of a lion. Facing east, it stands on the Giza Plateau on the west bank of the Nile in Giza, Egypt. The original sh ...
(Egypt, 2015),[ the ]Amman Citadel
The Amman Citadel () on Citadel Hill () is an archaeological site on an L-shaped hill towering over Downtown Amman, in the central part of the capital of Jordan.
The Amman Citadel is considered to be among the world's oldest continuously inh ...
(Jordan, 2016),[ the ]Prambanan
Prambanan (, , Javanese script, Hanacaraka: ꦫꦫꦗꦺꦴꦁꦒꦿꦁ) is a 9th-century Hindu temple, Hindu Candi of Indonesia, temple compound in the Special Region of Yogyakarta, in southern Java, Indonesia, dedicated to the Trimurti, Trimūr ...
Temple (Indonesia, 2019)[ and ]Al-'Ula
al-Ula (), officially AlUla, is an ancient Arabian oasis city and governorate located in Medina Province, Saudi Arabia, northwest of the city of Medina. Situated in the Hejaz, a region that features prominently in the history of Islam as well ...
(UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
World Heritage Site
World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...
, Saudi Arabia; 2019).[
Rising in popularity with the new age music boom of the 1980s and 1990s, Yanni's music became more well known through adult alternative radio airplay, appearances on public television and in television commercials, as well as international music tours.] Yanni's music has been used in television shows and televised sporting events, including the British Open (golf)
The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...
,[ the ]U.S. Open (golf)
The United States Open Championship, commonly known as the U.S. Open, is the annual open national championship of golf in the United States. It is the third of the four men's major golf championships, and is on the official schedule of both the P ...
,[ the Super Bowl, ''Wide World of Sports'', U.S. Open tennis championships, the Tour de France, the World Figure Skating Championships, and the Olympic Games.][ He also composed music for ABC's ''World News Now.''][
Yanni's "Acroyali/Standing in Motion" was determined to have the "]Mozart effect
The Mozart effect is the theory that listening to the music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart may temporarily boost scores on one portion of an IQ test. Popular science versions of the theory make the claim that "listening to Mozart makes you smarter" or ...
" by the ''Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine
The ''Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine'' is a peer-reviewed medical journal. It is the flagship journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, located in London, with full editorial independence. Its continuous publication history dates back to ...
'' (April 2001) because the composition is similar to Mozart's K 448 in tempo, structure, melodic and harmonic consonance and predictability, characteristics thought to decrease seizure activity and to enhance spatial-temporal performance.
During Yanni's October 2011 tour of China, Yanni became the first Western
Western may refer to:
Places
*Western, Nebraska, a village in the US
*Western, New York, a town in the US
*Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western world, countries that id ...
artist to be invited to adopt a giant panda
The giant panda (''Ailuropoda melanoleuca''), also known as the panda bear or simply panda, is a bear species endemic to China. It is characterised by its white animal coat, coat with black patches around the eyes, ears, legs and shoulders. ...
(bear) cub at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding
The Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding (or simply Chengdu Panda Base) is a government-funded non-profit breeding and research institute for giant pandas, red pandas, and other rare animals, located in Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
Cheng ...
, a "privilege... usually reserved for countries rather than personalities
Personality psychology is a branch of psychology that examines personality and its variation among individuals. It aims to show how people are individually different due to psychological forces. Its areas of focus include:
* Describing what per ...
." "Officials from the research base invited the musician to adopt the animal, saying their decision was made from the inspiration and harmony that derives from his music." Yanni named the panda "Santorini," also the name of a Greek island
Greece has many islands, with estimates ranging from somewhere around 1,200 to 6,000, depending on the minimum size to take into account. The number of inhabited islands is variously cited as between 166 and 227.
The largest Greek island by ...
, explaining that the Greek word ''irini'' means 'peace'."
In February 2013, Yanni and Celine Dion
Céline Marie Claudette Dion (born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Power Ballads", Dion's powerful, technically skilled vocals and commercially successful works have had ...
were the first non-Chinese artists invited to perform (separately) in China at the CCTV Spring Festival Gala
The ''CMG New Year's Gala'', formerly known as the ''CCTV New Year's Gala'', also known as the ''Spring Festival Gala'', and commonly abbreviated in Chinese as ''Chunwan'' (), is a Chinese New Year special produced by China Media Group (CMG). It ...
, a CCTV
Closed-circuit television (CCTV), also known as video surveillance, is the use of closed-circuit television cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place on a limited set of monitors. It differs from broadcast television in that the signa ...
televised event with an annual audience of 700 million.
''Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
'' named Yanni their No. 5 "new age album artist of 2016".[ He was named to the same list in 2014 (No. 6), 2012 (ranked No. 5), 2011 (No. 1), 2010 (No. 4), 2009 (No. 3), 2007 (No. 4), and 2006 (No. 4).][
Yanni's albums '' Dare to Dream'' (1992) and '']In My Time
''In My Time'' is the ninth studio album by Greek keyboardist and composer Yanni, released on the Private Music label in 1993. This album is a gentler collection of piano-focused pieces. The album attained Music recording sales certification, Pla ...
'' (1993) received Grammy Award
The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...
nominations for Best New Age Album."
The PBS specials ''Live at the Acropolis'' and ''Tribute'' received Emmy Award
The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...
nominations for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Lighting Direction (Electronic) for a Drama Series, Variety Series, Miniseries, Movie or Special, in 1994 and 1998, respectively. Lee Rose and David "Gurn" Kaniski Lighting Designers.
At least sixteen Yanni albums peaked at No. 1 in ''Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
's'' "Top New Age Album" category, more than anyone except Jim Brickman and Mannheim Steamroller.[
In addition to earning a B.A. in psychology in 1976 from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities,] Yanni received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from the same institution on May 6, 2004.
Charitable and humanitarian activities
Yanni has had a collaborative relationship with the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS)
The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...
in its fundraising efforts since the early years of his career, reportedly raising more than $13 million for that organization. The ''Yanni Live at El Morro, Puerto Rico
''Live at El Morro, Puerto Rico'' is the fourth live album by Yanni, released on the Yanni/Wake label in 2012. The two concerts were performed outdoors on the grounds of Castillo San Felipe del Morro, El Morro castle in San Juan, Puerto Rico i ...
'' production (2012) was Yanni's tenth collaboration with PBS.
Yanni has assisted the conservation efforts of the World Wide Fund for Nature
The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) is a Swiss-based international non-governmental organization founded in 1961 that works in the field of wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment. It was formerly named th ...
(the World Wildlife Fund, WWF), sponsoring a symbolic "Panda
The giant panda (''Ailuropoda melanoleuca''), also known as the panda bear or simply panda, is a bear species endemic to China. It is characterised by its white coat with black patches around the eyes, ears, legs and shoulders. Its body is ...
Adoption Kit" program in which he guaranteed $50,000 in donations. Yanni has also been a spokesman for NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...
.
Yanni has performed concerts in troubled areas of the world, such as in Tunisia[ one week after the July 17, 2014, terrorist attack that killed 14,][ and in Egypt to convey an image of stable security after the ]Egyptian Crisis (2011–14)
''Egyptian'' describes something of, from, or related to Egypt.
Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to:
Nations and ethnic groups
* Egyptians, a national group in North Africa
** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of year ...
but between whose two Great Pyramids concerts occurred the October 31, 2015, terrorist downing of Metrojet Flight 9268
Metrojet Flight 9268 was an international chartered passenger flight operated by Russian airline Kogalymavia (branded as Metrojet). On 31 October 2015, at 06:13 local time EST (04:13 UTC), the Airbus A321-231 operating the flight exploded ...
in the Sinai Peninsula.[
]
Autobiography
Yanni's autobiography, ''Yanni in Words,'' co-authored by David Rensin, was published in February 2003, coinciding with the release of his ''Ethnicity
An ethnicity or ethnic group is a group of people with shared attributes, which they Collective consciousness, collectively believe to have, and long-term endogamy. Ethnicities share attributes like language, culture, common sets of ancestry, ...
'' album. The book became a ''New York Times'' best seller in the nonfiction category on March 2, 2003.
Discography
Original studio albums
Studio albums
Live albums
* ''Live at the Acropolis
''Live at the Acropolis'' is the first live album and concert film by the Greek keyboardist, composer, and producer Yanni, released on March 1, 1994, on Private Music. It was recorded at the Herodes Atticus Theatre in Athens, Greece during his ...
'' (1994)
* ''Tribute
A tribute (; from Latin ''tributum'', "contribution") is wealth, often in kind, that a party gives to another as a sign of submission, allegiance or respect. Various ancient states exacted tribute from the rulers of lands which the state con ...
'' (1997)
* ''Yanni Live! The Concert Event
''Yanni Live! The Concert Event'' is the third live album by Yanni. It was recorded live at the Mandalay Bay Events Center, Las Vegas on November 6, 2004, and released in August 2006 as a CD and concert film on DVD. The album peaked at No. 1 on ...
'' (2006)
* '' Live at El Morro, Puerto Rico'' (2012)
* '' The Dream Concert: Live from the Great Pyramids of Egypt'' (2016)
References
Bibliography
* Yanni with David Rensin, ''Yanni in Words'', Miramax Books / Hyperion, New York, 2003.
* Winters, Kelly
''Yanni'' biography (2004)
Cengage Learning
Cengage Group is an American educational content, technology, and services company for higher education, K–12, professional, and library markets. It operates in more than 20 countries around the world.(June 27, 2014Global Publishing Leaders 2 ...
's Gale Publishing.
archive
External links
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*
*
*
*
* , and ; official YouTube channel. Song is "Aria" (recently called "Ode to Humanity")
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yanni
1954 births
20th-century Greek male musicians
20th-century Greek classical composers
20th-century classical pianists
21st-century Greek classical composers
21st-century Greek classical pianists
Concert band composers
Electronic composers
Greek classical musicians
Greek electronic musicians
Greek emigrants to the United States
Greek keyboardists
Living people
New-age composers
New-age pianists
New-age synthesizer players
People from Kalamata
Private Music artists
University of Minnesota College of Liberal Arts alumni
Virgin Records artists
Windham Hill Records artists