Nikos Xilouris

Nikos Xilouris
Nikos Xylouris
Νίκος Ξυλούρης
Background information
Born July 7, 1936(1936-07-07)
Origin Anogeia, Crete, Greece
Died February 8, 1980(1980-02-08) (aged 43)
Occupations Composer, singer
Notable instruments
Lyra (Cretan)

Nikos Xylouris (Greek: Νίκος Ξυλούρης; 7 July 1936 – 8 February 1980), nicknamed Psaronikos (Greek: Ψαρονίκος, 'Fish Nick'), was a Greek composer and singer from the village of Anogeia in Crete and also the older brother of two other great musicians of Cretan music, Antonis Xylouris or Psarantonis (Greek: Ψαραντώνης) and Yiannis Xylouris or (Psaroyiannis) (Greek: Ψαρογιάννης). He was part of the movement that brought down the Greek military Junta of 1967[citation needed]. His songs and music captured and described the Greek psyche and demeanor, gaining himself the title the archangel of Crete.

Psaronikos is a nickname as it is customary for people in Anogeia to have. His grandfather was Psarantonis. His grandfather kept company with a group of 5-6 men who stole from the Turks. As he was the fastest runner in the group, when they met with Turks he was running very fast and he could catch all of them as if they were fish. So, first he was given the name Fishturk (Greek: 'Ψαρότουρκος') and then the nickname Psarantonis. That is how all family male members after him were nicknamed Psaronikos, Psarogiorgis, Psarantonis etc ( this is explained by Psarantonis, Nikos Xylouris' brother in an interview presented on his homepage).

He acquired his first lyra at the age of twelve and displayed potential to play local folk music. Xylouris was 17 years of age when he started performances at Kastro folk music-restaurant in Heraklion.

A turning point in Nikos Xylouris' career occurred with a recording in 1958. He first performed outside Greece in 1966 and won the first prize in the San Remo folk music festival. In 1967 he established the first Cretan Music Hall, Erotokritos, in Heraklion. The recording of Anyfantou in 1969 was a big success. Xylouris soon started performances in Athens, which became his new permanent residence, at the Konaki folk music hall.

During the early 1970s, Xylouris' voice becomes identified not only with Cretan music but also with the new kind of artistic popular music that emerged as well-known composers such as Giannis Markopoulos, Stavros Xarhakos, Christodoulos Halaris and Christos Leontis wrote music on the verses of famous Greek poets among which stand out Nikos Gatsos, Yannis Ritsos, Giorgos Seferis, Kostas Varnalis and Dionysios Solomos. In 1971, Xylouris is awarded by the Academy Charles Cross of France for his performance in the Cretan Rizitika songs album with G. Markopoulos.

He died in 1980 from a brain tumor.

See also

External links


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Nikos — (Νίκος) is a common given name in Greece and Cyprus. It originates from Greek Nikolaos, which means victory of the people .[1] Although used as a proper first name, Nikos is also a popular nickname of the original Nikolaos (Greek) or Nicholas… …   Wikipedia

  • List of Greeks — This is a list of Greek people. Actors/actressesAncient period*Metrobius *ThespisModern period*Alekos Alexandrakis *Criss Angel *Jennifer Aniston *Yannis Bezos *Michael Chiklis *Cybele *Georges Corraface *Jacques Damala *Rika Diallina *Lavrentis… …   Wikipedia

  • Cretan lyra — Lyra Λύρα Various models of the Cretan Lyra at the Museum of Greek Traditional Instruments, Athens. String instrument Other names Cretan lyra/lira, Aegean lyra …   Wikipedia

  • Music of Crete — For Hindu goddesses representing the constellation Pleiades, see Kṛttikā. Music of Greece General topics Ancient • Byzantine • Néo kýma • Polyphonic song Genres …   Wikipedia

  • List of Greek composers — List of composers from Greece:* Costas Andreou * Nikolas Asimos * Pavlos Carrer * Chaostar * Nikos Christodoulou * Giannis Christou (1926–1970), 20th century classical and meta serialist composer * Yiannis Chrysomallis (1954 ), new age composer * …   Wikipedia

  • Great Greeks — infobox Television show name = Great Greeks caption = format = Documentary runtime = creator = narrated = Alexis Papachelas country = Greece network = Skai TV first aired = January 2009 num seasons = num episodes = list episodes = imdb id = Great …   Wikipedia

  • February 8 — Events* 421 Constantius III becomes co Emperor of the Western Roman Empire. *1575 Universiteit Leiden founded, and given the motto Praesidium Libertatis . *1587 Mary, Queen of Scots was executed at suspicion of having been involved in the… …   Wikipedia

  • July 7 — The terms 7th July, July 7th, and 7/7 (pronounced Seven seven ) have been widely used in the Western media as a shorthand for the 7 July 2005 bombings on London s transport system. In China, this term is used to denote the Battle of Lugou Bridge… …   Wikipedia

  • Rethymno Prefecture — Infobox Pref GR name = Rethymno name local = Νομός Ρεθύμνου flag reg = periph = Crete capital = Rethymno population = 86,532 population as of = 2005 pop rank = 40th pop dens = 57.8 popdens rank = 23rd area = 1,496 area rank = 44th postal code =… …   Wikipedia

  • Giannis Markopoulos — (born 18 March 1939) is a Cretan Greek composer. BiographyHe lived in Ierapetra Crete until he left high school in 1956 to study music in Athens and begin a career in composition. His compositions have been significant in shaping modern classical …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”