Posts Tagged ‘Yanni’

Yanni-Wake Entertainment has a very special event just beginning, with a live video chat between Yanni and fans to climax this extraordinary event taking place in an aired-live forum on March 16th. The folks at yanni.com are currently collecting questions, and then posting them in new videos every day until the open forum on March 16th.

Wouldn’t you like to have the opportunity to ask your favorite music celebrity a personal question related to their music? According to yanni.com, people from across the globe are turning in their questions for Yanni’s personal reply at this very minute. In fact, there are still several days for you to send in your questions early before the main event is broadcast live!

This live video chat event from Yanni-Wake Entertainment will be hosted by the award-winning, American news anchor and media personality Lauren Sanchez. In addition to answering many fan questions, Yanni also plans to share details on his upcoming concert tour and new album, “Truth of Touch.” Here are the specific details;

Visit yanni.com or go directly to their news page for complete live chat details, and to see videos of questions in the days before March 16th.

On March 16 you can access the Live Video Chat webcast by clicking on this link; LiveStream.com/OfficialYanni or by clicking on our banner above. You can submit your questions early to: Ask@Yanni.com. The Live Video Chat will air at 1:00 pm (EDT) Eastern Daylight Time.

Banner courtesy yanni.com.

Before the release of Yanni’s new album Truth Of Touch on February 8th there is a free Listening Party going on at AOL Music.

So what are you waiting for – head over to AOL to stream the full album. And while listening, check out our world exclusive review of the album. NewAgeMusicWorld.com / NewAgeMusic.nu were the first to publish a review of this album.

Enjoy!

Chances are everyone reading my pre-release Truth Of Touch album review today is well acquainted with the man we identify simply as Yanni, and if you are like most people you can vividly recall the very first time you viewed a televised Yanni concert. Now, can’t you just remember the exhilaration you felt while watching this charismatic gentleman touch the lives of people from all nationalities with his music ?

Truth Of Touch is truly a passionate reflection of what Yanni does best which is create a personal interaction with an audience through his extraordinary music abilities, and just like those powerful memories of yesteryear the close societal bond is shared by virtue of his magnificent studio version of 15 songs with an over hour long symphony of refined harmony.

Truth Of Touch is a Contemporary Instrumental & Electronic arrangement likewise creating a genuine fascination for a multitude of people by being an original composition and direct expression from Yanni himself. This enthusiasm is not surprising since his last original arrangement Ethnicity from 2003 happens to be an excellent and successful album so it may explain why Truth Of Touch is so highly anticipated among his enthusiastic fan base, along with a vast multitude of people searching for outstanding music that greatly surpasses the everyday ordinary.

Yanni is conceivably the greatest influential musician of our time, and while his exceptional abilities as a gifted composer and keyboardist by themselves are a valid testament to his universal appeal, when you factor in the remarkable musicians and vocalists by his side and personal “One World, One People“ vision, the collective inspiration he creates pay tribute to a universal and heartfelt music experience.

Yanni Live at the Acropolis began his historic rise to stardom and likely the first time you witnessed his grand entrance onto the world stage since 500 million people from 65 countries have viewed this top fundraising program for PBS. The album sold 7 million copies worldwide and the music video sold over 1 million copies to become a top selling music video, second only to the Thriller Video by the late Michael Jackson.

If you regularly watch the Olympic Games then you know his music scores are presented during international television broadcasts of the Olympic Games since 1988. He has 35 platinum and gold albums internationally and received 2 Grammy Nominations in the Best New Age Album category, for In My Time and then Dare to Dream, but perhaps of greater importance to Yanni himself are his fans, since after a temporary departure Yanni made a celebrated return to concert tours and producing music due in part to the personal letters from his dedicated fan base requesting encore performances.

In fact his global presence has remained strong following earlier days where over 2 million people in more than 20 countries attended a Yanni concert, some of which were held in culturally significant locations like the Tribute Concert venues held at the Taj Mahal in India & The Forbidden City in China, where viewership reached a television audience of 250 million people.

Truth Of Touch can be defined by the Contemporary Instrumental, Electronic and Cinematic influences, but what makes this new release special like earlier albums are a wide array of influences, crossing over into Popular, New Age and World music domains. Truth Of Touch ( Title Song ) begins a memorable introduction to a lavish cascade of midrange keyboard and string sequences set in time to energetic orchestration crescendos and intense timpani drum beats, giving you your first positive affirmation this is indeed an authentic composition from Yanni. The boldly decisive first song is satisfying to the senses by the majestic intonation, just like the reverberation keyboard melody united with higher octave twinkling notes heard in Echo Of A Dream.

Seasons has a lighter keyboard sequence at the onset, changing in dramatic fashion during every refrain by articulated electronics, strings and xylophone notes. Backed by rhythmic heartbeat percussion, Seasons progresses into a heartening song of inspiration. Voyage is a fine excursion reaching epic qualities at times where the lighter prelude is forerunner to a spectacular sound adventure created by strings and woodwind orchestration. Suspended by steady percussion, the full instrumentation creates a wonderful sensation of depth.

The World ethnicity percussion rhythms and accents with ever changing intervals of harp and cello create a beautiful tribal effect in Flash Of Color, and true again by the voice of a child set in instrumental counter time during I’m So. The finely pronounced orchestra and percussion rhythms are a bold source of vibrant energy presented in the upbeat melodic theme of Vertigo. The vocal melodies with rich orchestrations on Can’t Wait and Secret are definitively two of the more serene songs on the album. Elegant and passionate, the soprano vocalist delivers her romantic lyrics in a graceful emotive voice which is certain to be a popular collection of contemporary songs for many people.

O Luce Che Brilla Nell’Oscurita is exquisitely imaginative given the theatrical piano, light choir and opera concerto in a harmonious adaptation where the tenor vocalist proclaims his warm and moving declaration of sentiment direct from the heart.

Long Way Home has an air of sophistication yet the vigorous piano melody has a peaceful atmosphere at times too, changing from light to more dynamic expressions along the way. Mist Of A Kiss reveals intricate percussion rhythms having a steadfast effect in the timing of piano chord phrasing, like the piano and percussion cadence heard in the song Nine. Yanni & Arturo begins with a light trumpet and piano prelude while transitioning into exuberant poetry in motion when glorious soprano vocals and intricate percussion rhythms set the progressive tempo for an improvisational style trumpet solo during which the highest octave notes are reached then extended with astounding precision and clarity.

Truth Of Touch is a studio composition of pure refinement, giving one a beautiful impression exactly like the inspiring concert recollections of yesteryear. The prodigious caliber of musicians Yanni enlists for his projects is boldly demonstrated on what I feel is his greatest instrumental music composition yet. Perhaps you can tell by now his newest release made me reflect on the personal exhilaration I first felt upon my introduction to his music, and it did inspire me today. With that said, I am certain you too will find the qualities in Truth Of Touch are genuine, unforgettable and yes, simply Yanni !

Visit yanni.com and truthoftouch.com to sample or purchase and read the latest news and concert tour dates in 2011. For pre-release album orders and gift items visit the Yanni Store then read earlier articles on our page dedicated to Yanni.

Photo copyright – courtesy yanni.com. Big Stock Photo copyrights Acropolis – sborisov and the Taj Mahal – pius99.

One of the most exciting aspects of being a review publicist is having the opportunity to receive and then listen to a new album that has not yet been released to the public. In this case my recent mailing happens to be a Truth Of Touch CD from Yanni. I will be publishing my review for Truth Of Touch here at NewAgeMusicWorld.Com & NewAgeMusic.nu soon, but I wanted to take a moment and give our visitors my first impression.

After listening to Truth Of Touch many times over for days now, I can tell you that Yanni and the musicians in accompaniment have succeeded in producing one of the finest albums to date! Perhaps Yanni said it best in his official Truth Of Touch YouTube video when he said everyone will be “pleasantly surprised “ regarding his newest release which is available for pre – purchase now, and has an official release date of February 8th 2011.

This new and original composition from Yanni has cutting edge Electronics, along with the exceptional Contemporary Instrumentals by accomplished musicians of fame he judiciously selects during every concert and studio album production. Earlier I wrote about two instrumental performers in a Tribute album article, which was my favorite album until today ! Below is an admirable travel around the world YouTube video presenting the full length song called Voyage and then we invite you to read our pages dedicated to Yanni.

My review will be published weeks prior to the album release date and I do hope to have an interview with Yanni too so visit us again soon. For pre – release album orders, news, and concert venues visit yanni.com and truthoftouch.com.

Photo copyright – courtesy yanni.com

I am certain the recent article by B.T. Fasmer informing you about The original Truth Of Touch release from Yanni has created some excitement for our visitors. It certainly has for us ! After going to the official Yanni truthoftouch.com website for pre – release samples, then reading the fan comments at his YouTube videos section and their excitement, I can say in all honesty the anticipation level is exceptionally high and this original composition from Yanni is creating quite a sensation.

It’s easy to see why people are excited since even the Truth Of Touch samples are magnificent !

You are invited to find out why this epic release from Yanni coming February 8, 2011 will be a must have release for a multitude of people worldwide. Voyage from Truth Of Touch is featured in the video below, plus everything you need to know is available at yanni.com with info and song samples from the album for your listening pleasure at truthoftouch.com.

Yanni tells us his thoughts about Truth Of Touch, then sample the related videos after the song below.

The new year has lots in store for Yanni fans! On February 8th the first album of all new material composed by Yanni himself since 2003  will be released (last album was Ethnicity). The title is Truth Of Touch. The album will contain 13 songs, and a complete track listing can be found here. 

By clicking here you can sample the new album:

We are promised “The Return of Yanni As We Know Him” And WOW, what a feast this is turning out to become! These first clips shows truly that Yanni is back in shape, and ready to give us breathtakingly beautiful, larger-than-live music for those special moments.

And in connection with the release, a lot of products have been made available at the Yanni Store. Here you can buy t-shirts, umbrellas and posters.

Truth Of Touch will for sure be one of next year’s major titles, and we can – from what we have heard so far – say that it will be a worthy return from Yanni.

After having just completed his critically acclaimed 50 city tour in the USA and Canada, Yanni returns to Mexico for his first concert tour in over 5 years.

He will be touring four cities, October 11–20, 2009. Here are the venues:

• Puebla Auditoria Siglo XXI 10/11/09
• León Poliforum 10/15/09
• Guadalajara Auditorio TELEMEX 10/16/09
• Mexico City Auditorio Nacional 10/19/09

Like on the US tour, Yanni will be joined by “The Voices” crew; Nathan Pacheco, Chloe, Ender Thomas and Leslie Mills, who will give a new life to some of Yanni’s classical compositions with voices that will leave the audience awestruck. And in Mexico City, they will be joined by special guests José José, Lucero and Cristian Castro.

According to Yanni.com the maestro himself says: “This is the best show that I have ever toured with and I can’t wait to share it with the great music fans of Mexico”.

For our many Mexcian readers and listeners; you can buy your tickets here.

We have previously reported how Yanni’s recent concert in at Nationwide Arena, Columbus, was totally trashed by a reviewer, calling the show “a soup of overwrought sound washing over an increasingly stupefied audience”. But other reviewers have a quite different opinion about the show. Serene Dominic for the Arizona Republic writes:

It is my duty to inform you that having held no predetermined love for Yanni going into Sunday’s concert at Jobing.com Arena, this was a brilliantly staged, wonderfully played concert event, on par with something you’d see in Vegas by some other one-named artist.

She also notes an interesting truth:

But while we remember Michael Jackson and how his music has touched the world, let’s not forget that just behind Jackson’s The Making of Thriller, the biggest-selling music video of all time, there is Yanni Live at the Acropolis. Nine million units sold.

Read the rave review here. The ending about “old and new” Yanni is hysterical

Sadly there aren’t many books about new age music, but below are my reviews of the books I have found about this topic. Two books are about the genre itself, while there are three artist autobiographies.

The international guide to new age music (1998)

The book called The international guide to new age music by Henk N. Werkhoven is the most ambitious work about this genre. The book came out 10 years ago, and no new editions have so far been released. But it is still a nice resource for everyone who is into new age music. It contains a heartfelt foreword by Henk N. Werkhoven, and then a nice introduction to the genre by Steven Halpern. I don’t agree with the selection of artists though. Major artists like Enya, Enigma, Tangerine Dream or Mike Oldfield are not even mentioned here, and they were just as important 10 years ago. It is almost like creating a guide to classical music and not mentioning Mozart or Bach… But I understand Werkhoven’s focus on dedicated new age music artists and labels, as a contrast to major pop artists. And that’s ok. It is still a good guide, because the artists here are indeed some of the finest.

In this book you will find biographies and discographies to artists like William Ackerman and Suzanne Doucet. The parts about record labels and radio programming are also interesting (but a little outdated of course). The included CD, with music by Cusco, Deuter and others, is very good.

Since The international guide to new age music is 10 years old, you can get the book and CD for a few dollars. A good buy indeed. Available through Amazon.

There is also a book released in 1989 called The New Age Music Guide: Profiles and Recordings of 500 Top New Age Musicians by Patti Jean Birosik. On Amazon is a presentation of it (scroll down). I haven’t read that one yet (but I will!) 

Changeling (2007)

Mike Oldfield released his autobiography in 2007 on Virgin Books entitled Changeling. Here Mike tells about his childhood with an alcoholic mother and his social difficulties. But also about how he discovered music and became a guitarist (and bassist) in various bands from a young age. He also played together with his talented siblings, Terry and Sally.

The most interesting part of the book is when Mike writes about the creation of Tubular Bells (no big surprises there). Richard Branson was the only one who believed in this long and unusual album, and he gave Mike studio time. The incredible success of Tubular Bells was the beginning of Virgin Music.

Mike also tells about his psychological problems and the backside of fame and money. The book is not very detailed when it comes to Mike’s creative side, but you get a feeling that this is an artist with a big passion for his work. For Oldfield’s many fans, this book is a great read.

Here is the book on Amazon.

Yanni In Words (2003)

Yanni’s autobiography from 2003 is called Yanni In Words. Here the Greek maestro tells his story, about how he was as a young boy, as a student and later as a musician. Success is never easy, and this was also the case for Yanni. The famous shows at Taj Mahal and Acropolis demanded a lot of work. It is also interesting to read about how he works with music, and it is obvious that he is a hard working musician.

Yanni has never been happy with his New Age Piano Player image, and I agree with him; he is almost like a classical composer. To label his music as New Age stuff is perhaps wrong. But anyway, Yanni In Words is a great read!

That’s it! Do you know about any other books about new age music? Write a comment about it.

On pittsburghlive.com is a presentation of Yanni’s upcoming concert in Pittsburgh, PA, on May 12th. There is a also small interview with the artist.

You can get tickets here.

Boston.com has a review of Yanni’s concert on Agganis Arena last Sunday. It is not entirely positive, but still the reviewer, Marc Hirsh, gives this conclusion:

At the heart of it all was Yanni, smiling broadly amid the pan-global pop music he created in the hopes of making everyone happy.

Read the review here.

Yanni’s US Tour is well under way. Now, for a limited time only, you can buy two tickets for the price of one! 

To see the cities that are currently participating in this promotional offer, go here.

If you want to read a review of the show, you’ll find that on the blog Shake That Salt. It is very positive indeed.

The recent announcement by BT Fasmer about the upcoming Yanni concert scheduled May 13 2009 in New York led to some great discussion with a good friend of mine about the past live Tribute concert program which aired on PBS in long ago 1997. There is a good chance newagemusic.nu readers saw this past televised concert also since it is estimated that a half billion people around the world have watched or heard of Mr. Yanni Chryssomallis. Our discussion wasn’t about the man himself, but of the extremely talented musicians who accompany and perform solos during the concert tours.

Both individuals are well respected accomplished musicians with American born Karen Briggs, often described as the Lady in Red, a master violinist who performed with Yanni for 13 years, plus numerous single and orchestra concert appearances, one album, and movie soundtrack to her credit.

Venezuelan born Pedro Eustache specializes in the flutes and woodwinds section, having two albums and a multitude of appearances with other renown musicians and composers worldwide, also playing a variety of instruments in many popular movie soundtracks. Pedro also regularly toured with Yanni for 10 years. Both artists are diverse and relentless in their pursuit of perfection in their chosen field of music and well worth a visit to their individual websites to learn more about some of the past and present day extraordinary musicians who make up the major concert headliner most often known simply as Yanni.

The official yanni.com website is also a great place to visit for news, the past but memorable Tribute Concert Album just mentioned, all discography and the vast number of live concert tour dates presently available in the United States.