WSEAS Transactions on Acoustics and Music
Print ISSN: 1109-9577
Volume 12, 2025
Comparative Study of Vassilis Tsitsanis and Manolis Hiotis: Evolution of Greek Popular Music through Innovation and Emotion
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Abstract: This paper explores the artistic and cultural significance of two leading figures in Greek popular music: Vassilis Tsitsanis (1915–1984) and Manolis Hiotis (1920–1970). Through a comparative analysis of their musical style, technical innovations, and sociocultural influence, the study highlights how Tsitsanis reshaped the rebetiko genre into a more accessible and emotionally resonant form of popular music, while Hiotis modernized and internationalized the laïko tradition through instrumental virtuosity and harmonic sophistication. Their contributions represent two complementary forces: Tsitsanis’s lyrical humanism and Hiotis’s technical modernization. Together, they shaped the identity of 20th-century Greek music.
Keywords:
Vassilis Tsitsanis, Manolis Hiotis, Greek music, rebetiko, laïko, cultural heritage, musical innovation
Pages: 1-4
DOI: 10.37394/232019.2025.12.1