In this seminar, we will explore basic techniques of the Cretan laouto, working on repertoire from different regions of Crete. We will focus on the idiomatic differences of each area and study how the laoutist adapts their playing according to the local style. Special emphasis will be placed on the music of eastern Crete and the interpretation of kontylies. Prerequisite: basic knowledge of the instrument.
Giannis Linardakis – Cretan Lute: From Basic Principles to Local Idioms
Type of seminar: Open – Instrument-focused
Participant level: Basic knowledge of the instrument
Score reading: Not required
Teaching hours: 5–6 hours/day
BIOGRAPHY
Giannis Linardakis was born in Peristeri, Attica, in 1984 and is originally from Chamezi, Sitia. He began playing music as an amateur from a young age, and in 2008, he started focusing on the Cretan laouto, attending various seminars while also being largely self-taught.
Through the study of Crete’s various local musical idioms, he placed special emphasis on the role of the laouto in the music of Eastern Crete. He apprenticed with veteran musicians from the Sitia region, with his main influence being Giannis Stavroulakis (Kantaris) from Chamezi.
In 2012, he began working as a professional musician, and since 2018, this has been his full-time occupation. He has participated in numerous musical performances with the traditional music and dance school “Chorodeion,” the Lyceum Club of Greek Women of Sitia, and others. He has collaborated with many well-known musicians such as Manolis Papadakis, Manolis Moschakis, Antonis Leontidis, Haris Panagiotakis, Giorgos Psarakis, Michalis Kontaxakis, Haris Bakas, Giorgos Skordalos, Nikos and Manos Epitropakis, Vassileia Kavvousanou, and more. In 2021, he contributed to Antonis Leontidis’s album "Kryfo" ("Hidden").