The music of Greece is as diverse and celebrated as its history. Greek music separates into two parts: Greek traditional music and Byzantine music. These compositions have existed for millennia: they originated in the Byzantine period and Greek antiquity; there is a continuous development which appears in the language, the rhythm, the structure and the melody. Music is a significant aspect of Hellenic culture, both within Greece and in the diaspora.
The music of Crete, also called kritika, refers to traditional forms of Greek folk music prevalent on the island of Crete in Greece. Cretan traditional music includes instrumental music, a capella songs known as the rizitika, "Erotokritos," Cretan urban songs (tabachaniotika), as well as other miscellaneous songs and folk genres.
Budapest has long been an important part of the music of Hungary. Its music history has included the composers Franz Liszt, Ernő Dohnányi, Zoltán Kodály and Béla Bartók and the opera composer Ferenc Erkel.
The Celtic Connections festival started in 1994 in Glasgow, Scotland, and has since been held every January. Featuring over 300 concerts, ceilidhs, talks, free events, late night sessions and workshops, the festival focuses on the roots of traditional Scottish music and also features international folk, roots and world music artists. The festival is produced and promoted by Glasgow Life. Donald Shaw, a founding member of Capercaillie, was appointed Celtic Connections Artistic Director in 2006.
Greek traditional music includes a variety of Greek styles played by ethnic Greeks in Greece, Cyprus, Australia, the United States and other parts of Europe. Apart from the common music found generally in Greece, each region of Greece contains a distinct type of folk music that originated from the region due to their history, traditions and cultural influences.
Arianna in Creta is an opera seria in three acts by George Frideric Handel. The Italian-language libretto was adapted by Francis Colman from Pietro Pariati's Arianna e Teseo, a text previously set by Nicola Porpora in 1727 and Leonardo Leo in 1729.
Helena Vondráčková is a Czech singer whose career has spanned five decades.
Xirosterni is a village and a community located in the Apokoronas region close to the northwest coast of the island of Crete, Greece, in Chania regional unit. The community consists of the settlements Xirosterni and Litsarda. It is approximately 25 kilometres (16 mi) from Chania.
Kostas Papadakis was a popular Cretan violinist, famous for playing Cretan folk music. He was known by the nickname "Naftis" (Ναύτης) which, in Greek, means sailor. He began playing the violin at age seven. Papadakis played an Italian Guarnerius violin dated back to 1710, when Crete was under Venetian occupation. His first public performance took place at a wedding reception when he was ten. From 1959 till 1976 he lived in the United States and, in 1981, he moved to Australia where he stayed for five years. He performed live in numerous musical events and festivals in different countries.
Thanassis Skordalos was a musician from Crete, noted for playing the lyra, the bowed string instrument of Crete and most popular surviving form of the medieval Byzantine lyra.
Candiacervus is an extinct genus of deer native to Pleistocene Crete. Due to a lack of other herbivores, the genus underwent an adaptive radiation, filling niches occupied by other taxa on the mainland. Due to the small size of Crete, some species underwent insular dwarfism, the smallest species, C. ropalophorus, stood about 40 centimetres (16 in) at the shoulders when fully grown, while other species were relatively large and comparable in size to mainland deer species. Some species are noted for their peculiar, elongate club-shaped antlers, though other species have more normal antlers.
The Chemirani ensemble is a notable Persian classical music ensemble.
Alekos Karavitis was a Cretan lyra player.
Antonios "Antonis" Xylouris, nicknamed Psarantonis, is a Greek composer, singer and performer of lyra, the bowed string instrument of Crete and most popular surviving form of the medieval Byzantine lyra.
Dariush Talai plays both the Tar and Setar.
The Cretan lyra is a Greek pear-shaped, three-stringed bowed musical instrument, central to the traditional music of Crete and other islands in the Dodecanese and the Aegean Archipelago, in Greece. The Cretan lyra is considered to be the most popular surviving form of the medieval Byzantine lyra, an ancestor of most European bowed instruments.
Giorgos Xylouris, also known as Psarogiorgis, is a Cretan laouto player and singer.
Hrysoula Stefanaki is a Greek singer and musician, born in Heraklion, Crete, Greece, best known for her performances with David Nachmias on Greek retro songs such as "Tango Notturno", "Blue Haven", "The Last Waltz" etc.
Bustan Abraham was an Israeli band playing mostly instrumental music, which existed between 1991 and 2003. Its name means "Abraham’s garden"; the reference to the common ancestor of both Jewish and Islamic traditions intending to imply a unifying theme. The band was called a pioneer in the realm of world music.
Yiorgos Kaloudis is a Greek cellist and Cretan lyra player.
