Live At The Acropolis

Performer: Yanni
Artist: Royal Philharmonic Orchestra; Karen Briggs
Engineer: Andy Rose
Producer: Yanni
Distributor: Sony Music Distribution (

Notes: LIVE AT THE ACROPOLIS is available in CD and DVD versions in the boxed set YANNI: THE PRIVATE YEARS, which also includes the CDs IN MY TIME, REFLECTIONS OF PASSION, IN CELEBRATION OF LIFE and DARE TO DREAM. Personnel includes: Yanni (piano, keyboards); Shardad Rohani (conductor, violin); Karen Briggs (violin); Julie Homi, Bradley Joseph (keyboards); Ric Fierabracci (bass); Charlie Adams (drums); Michael "Kalani" Bruno (percussion). Recorded live at the Herod Atticus Theatre, Athens, Greece on September 25, 1993. Personnel includes: Yanni, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Recorded live at the Acropolis in Athens, Greece on September 24th, 1993. Includes backstage footage and interviews with Yanni. Personnel: Yanni (vocals, guitar); Karen Briggs , Shardad Rohani (violin); Julie Homi, Bradley Joseph (keyboards); Ric Fierabracci (bass guitar); Charlie Adam (drums); Michael Bruno (percussion). It's no surprise that Yanni is most identified with this amazingly powerful experience (also presented as one of PBS' most popular concerts ever), because it seems like the musical project he was most destined to make. After making millions stateside, he returns to the historic ancient Acropolis of his Greek homeland to share his sweeping music with his countrymen. One of the most impressive aspects of Yanni in this live setting is the way his beautiful piano passages blend with the occasional boom of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (conducted by Shardad Rohani). Whereas it's easy to complain that his studio recordings are overly reliant on synthesized strings, here it's the real deal. "Santorini" epitomizes the musical balance, opening with several minutes of percussive string fanfare, then allowing Yanni to be simply expressive on the acoustic piano as the orchestra tones down and provides a caress of accompaniment. "Until the Last Moment" flows along tenderly with the same effect. Even songs like "Keys to the Imagination," which are played on synth, are taken to more emotional levels with the dramatic swells of the orchestra. The concert features its share of familiar tunes ("Swept Away," "Reflections of Passion"), but surprises in spots with more drawn out, thoughtful dishes of exotica like "Acroval/Standing in Motion," which begins with atmosphere and chime effects, then evolves into an adventurous orchestral and synth explosion more ambitious than anything Yanni has attempted on his studio recordings. The sticker on the original disc release also informs listeners that it's recorded in 48-track digital sound. The same sticker calls it the event of a lifetime. It's an amazing concert, but more the core event of Yanni's life and career than anyone listening to this recording. ~ Jonathan Widran Yanni has enjoyed sensational success over the past several years with his lush, densely layered, new age orchestrations. But the Greek keyboardist/composer's overtly romantic musings achieve a bold new dimension when augmented by a full symphony orchestra, and some of the more rhythmic elements in his music, previously masked under a wall of synthesizers, come to the fore--and the resulting music is much closer to progressive rock (and his own native roots) than new age. Thus we have distinctly Greek rhythmic cycles (in seven) keying the variations on the opening "Santorini" and "Keys To The Imagination," richly colored by percussion fanfares and instrumental breaks--demonstrating that the breadth of Yanni's music and his interest in popular forms is greater than many of his diehard fans have grown to expect. And on an arrangement like "The Rain Must Fall," Yanni frames his boleroesque piano shadings against a mysterious backbeat and fretless bass, which soon develops into--of all things--an R&B-styled slap bass groove. But those fans drawn to the purely lyric side of Yanni's art won't be disappointed by the composer's programming on YANNI LIVE AT THE ACROPOLIS. Such keyboard-inflected fantasias as "Reflections Of Passion," "One Man's Dream" and "Until The Last Moment" illustrate Yanni's sentimental yearnings, while the Oriental flourishes of "Swept Away" demonstrate why he's achieved such an immense following among adult contemporary listeners.

One of modern instrumental music's most distinctive and popular composers, Yanni popularized the combination of synthesizers and full-scale symphony orchestra. The Greek performer combined his musical abilities with a flair for flamboyant visuals, coming across like a more dignified, New Age version of Liberace. His mix of music and spectacle made him a star in the 1990s.

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