Musician Yanni turns 70 VIDEO

The musician Yanni turns 70 today. The name is the stage name of the Greek composer, keyboardist, pianist and music producer Yannis Chrysomaalis, born November 14, 1954 in Kalamata, Greece.

He has used this short stage name since he was a child. His music is based on jazz, classical music, soft rock, as well as world music, which he mixes in mostly instrumental works. This genre is not well-suited to commercial pop radio and music TV channels, but Yanni is breaking into the international market, performing concerts at monuments of world importance, as well as filming videos broadcast on mainstream TV channels.

His first live album, Live at the Acropolis, released in 1994, produced the second best-selling music video of all time. Other historical places where Yanni has given concerts are the Taj Mahal in India, the Forbidden City in China, the Burj Khalifa in the UAE, the Kremlin in Russia, the fortress “El Moro” in Puerto Rico, the ancient Lebanese city of Byblos, the Roman Theater in Carthage, the Laxmi Vilas Palace in India and even the “Royal Albert Hall” in London.

At least 14 of Yanni's albums reached number one on the Billboard magazine chart. for “Top New Age Album”, and two albums (Dare to Dream and In My Time) were nominated for “Grammy”. By the end of 2011 Yanni has a total concert attendance of over 2 million. performing in more than 20 countries worldwide and amassing over 35 platinum and gold albums worldwide. 20 million copies of his albums have been sold. His compositions are often featured on commercial television programs, mainly as background music for sporting events. He has a film score behind him, as well as music for an award-winning “British Airways” commercial.

Yanni popularized the combination of electronic synthesizers and a full symphony orchestra. He employed musicians of various nationalities and imported a certain amount of exotic instruments, with which he made music called an eclectic fusion of ethnic sounds. He meets people from different cultures and is called a “true global artist”, and his music reflects the concept of “one world, one people”.