music
Ancient Greece
New Research Disproves Pythagoras’ Music Theory
New research has shown that the tone and tuning of musical instruments has the power to manipulate people's appreciation of harmony, challenging centuries of Western music theory and disproving ancient Greek philosopher Pythagoras' musical theories in at least two...
Canada
Chairman George: The Greek-Canadian Who Became a Singing Superstar in China
A PhD-trained statistician for the federal agency Statistics Canada is an unlikely candidate for becoming a singing sensation anywhere—much less in China. But this is the surprising path the life of Canadian-born George Sapounidis took after 1999, when he...
Culture
Why Greeks Break Plates: The History Behind the Custom
The sound of a plate smashing, shattering loudly as it meets the floor, is distinctive and tends to turn heads in a restaurant. Most of us, startled, think, Oh No! an unfortunate accident has occurred.
But when plates shatter on...
Ancient Greece
The Oldest Song Survived in Its Entirety Is Ancient Greek
The oldest song to have survived in its entirety is a first-century A.D. Greek tune known as the “Seikilos Epitaph.”
The song, the melody of which is recorded, alongside its lyrics, in the ancient Greek musical notation, was found in...
Art
The Laterna, the Iconic Instrument of Greek Street Musicians
Any visitor to Ermou, the main shopping street in Athens, has likely seen Spyros Tarapossos and his laterna, or barrel piano.
The laterna is an automatic piano operated by turning a crank on the side of the instrument. It is...
Celebrities
Grammy Nominations 2024, See the Full List of Nominees
The nominees for the 2024 Grammy Awards were announced today, Friday, November 10th, and SZA is taking the spotlight.
SZA, known for her song "Kill Bill," leads the pack with nine nominations. Other standout nominees celebrating the achievements of young...
Greece
Sofia Vembo, the Singer of Greek Victory
Sofia Vembo – The famous Greek singer of the 20th century, became synonymous with the epic Greek victories against the fascist Italian troops in 1940 and 1941 during the Greco-Italian war along the Albanian front.
Born in Gallipoli in Asia...
Ancient Greece
Who Invented Music? The Search for the Dawn of Song
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No historical evidence exists to tell us exactly who sang the first song, whistled the first tune, or made the first rhythmic sounds that resembled that which we recognize today as music.
By Laura Dallman
The short answer is that no...
Greece
The 1920s Song Inspired by Greek Fruit Sellers That Became a Hit
The song "Yes! We Have No Bananas," which was based on Greek fruit sellers, became an unlikely but timeless hit after it was released for the first time in March of 1923.
The tune was written by Frank Silver and...
Culture
Maria Pentagiotissa, the First Femme Fatale of Modern Greece
The story of Maria Pentagiotissa contains all the elements of an urban legend, yet she was a real person and some consider her to be the first femme fatale in modern Greece.
Maria Daskalopoulou is said to have been born...