Giannis Dragatsis
Giannis Dragatsis ( Greek Γιάννης Δραγάτσης , artist name Ogdontakis (Ογδοντάκης) * 1886 in Smyrna , † 1958 in Athens ) was a Greek Rembetikomusiker and violin players.
Giannis grew up in a musical family and received musical support from an early age. Many of his relatives played in the group I Ogdontakides (Οι Ογδοντάκηδες), which is very well known in Smyrna. He soon developed into a well-known violin player. It cannot be ruled out that many of the early 20th century recordings from Smyrna are based on his notations. He is said to have known more than 65 Dromoi (δρόμοι). Giannis was captured by the Turks during the Greco-Turkish War in 1922, but was spared by the Turkish soldiers because of his fame. In 1923 he went to Greece. Giannis performed in taverns with other musicians from Asia Minor, including Spiros Peristeris, Andonios Diamandidis (Dalgas) and Kostas Karipis. As a composer and violinist, he was in great demand. Besides Dimitris Semsis (Salonikios) he was the best violin player of his time.
Together with Panagiotis Toundas, Stavros Peristeris, Kostas Skarvelis and Dimitrios Semsis, he belonged to a new generation of musicians.
Some of his several hundred recordings, on which he can also be heard as a violinist, have become classics and belong to the repertoire of contemporary artists such as Haris Alexiou and Glykeria .
- 1928: Elenaki (Ελενάκι), Vangelis Sofroniou, Roza Eskenazy , Haris Alexiou
- 1931: Methismenos (Μεθυσμένος), Kostas Roukounas, Samiotaki
- 1932: Tha Metho Ke Tha Ta Spao (Θα μεθώ και θα τα σπάω), Marika Frantzeskopoulou, Politissa ; Haris Alexiou
- 1932: Kamomatou (Καμωματού), Marika Frantzeskopoulou
- 1934: Dio kardies ponemenes (Δυο καρδιές πονεμένες), Rita Abadzi
Like many other musicians from Asia Minor, he found the prohibition of Eastern influences in music during the Metaxas dictatorship to be intolerable and for this reason no longer performed. After the war he did not return to musical life. He only played the violin and gave lessons at weddings and other festivities.
Web links
- Rosa's contemporaries on The Roza Eskenazi homepage . Archived from the original on June 25, 2010. Retrieved September 22, 2013., English
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Dragatsis, Giannis |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Δραγάτσης, Γιάννης (Greek); Ogdontakis (Ογδοντάκης) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Greek violin player and rebetiko interpreter |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1886 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Smyrna |
| DATE OF DEATH | 1958 |
| Place of death | Athens |