Panayiotis Toundas - Revision history

Lazarus at 20:56, December 11, 2005

2005-12-11T20:56:31Z

Lazarus at 20:47, December 11, 2005

2005-12-11T20:47:54Z

Lazarus at 13:21, November 22, 2005

2005-11-22T13:21:29Z

Lazarus at 13:21, November 22, 2005

2005-11-22T13:21:11Z

Lazarus at 13:19, November 22, 2005

2005-11-22T13:19:01Z

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'''Panayiotis Toundas''' was born in [[Smyrna]] in 1885/1886. His family were fairly wealthy. From an early age he learned to play the Mandolin, as well as other instruments. Around the turn of the century he joined "The Politakia" - a Smyrna ensemble run by Sideras. He worked alongside the greatest musicians in [[Asia Minor]] including Ogdhondakis, Papasoglu and Spiros Peristeris.

Toundas started to compose songs from around 1910. Many of his songs were recorded and became hits prior to 1922, and he was instrumental in defining the Smyrnaic sound. He also toured extensively in Egypt, Africa and Europe. He came to [[Athens]] in [[1923]] and lived in the [[Nea Smyrni]] area.

At first Toundas worked as a Mandolin player in Taverns but in 1924 he became a director of ODEON record company. His first composition to appear on 78RPM in Greece was "Smyrnia" in 1924 sung by the tenor Misailidi. Toundas' compositions became very popular and were leased to all the foreign record labels.

In [[1929]], Toundas discovered [[Roza Eskenazi]] singing in TSITSIFIES and he arranged for Roza to record some sides, kick starting her recording career. They continued to work together successfully throughout the 1930s.

In [[1931]], Toundas became director of the Columbia label. His songs continued to be amongst the most popular and he worked with the greatest musicians and singers of the day. From 1934, Toundas began to use [[bouzouki]] and [[baglama]] in recordings of songs. He continued his illustrious career through to [[1941]] when the Germans entered Athens.

Toundas died on May 23|23 May]] [[1942]] in his house in Nea Smyrni. He was survived by his wife and one daughter, but I don't know if he has surviving descendants today.

Toundas ongoing popularity is shown not only in the ongoing re-releases of his orginal recordings, but also in the esteem in which he is held by Greek musicians today. His songs have been re-recorded by [[Haris Alexiou|Alexiou]], [[Glykeria]], [[Giorgos Dalaras|Dalaras]] etc.

When interviewed in [[1972]], Roza said that Toundas was the greatest composer of them all and she acknowledged his part in her story "If it weren't for Tountas, there would be no 'legendary Roza'".

[[Category:Rebetiko|Toundas, Panayiotis]]
[[Category:Composers|Toundas, Panayiotis]]
[[Category:1942 deaths]]

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 [[Category:Rebetiko|Toundas, Panayiotis]]
-[[Category:Music Composers|Toundas, Panayiotis]]
+[[Category:Songwriters|Toundas, Panayiotis]]
 [[Category:1942 deaths]]

← Older revision		Revision as of 13:21, November 22, 2005
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		+	[[Image:Toundas.jpg\|thumb\|200px\|left\|Panayiotis Toundas]]
	'''Panayiotis Toundas''' was born in [[Smyrna]] in 1885/1886. His family were fairly wealthy. From an early age he learned to play the Mandolin, as well as other instruments. Around the turn of the century he joined "The Politakia" - a Smyrna ensemble run by Sideras. He worked alongside the greatest musicians in [[Asia Minor]] including Ogdhondakis, Papasoglu and Spiros Peristeris.		'''Panayiotis Toundas''' was born in [[Smyrna]] in 1885/1886. His family were fairly wealthy. From an early age he learned to play the Mandolin, as well as other instruments. Around the turn of the century he joined "The Politakia" - a Smyrna ensemble run by Sideras. He worked alongside the greatest musicians in [[Asia Minor]] including Ogdhondakis, Papasoglu and Spiros Peristeris.

@@ Line 10: / Line 10: @@
 In [[1931]], Toundas became director of the Columbia label. His songs continued to be amongst the most popular and he worked with the greatest musicians and singers of the day. From 1934, Toundas began to use [[bouzouki]] and [[baglama]] in recordings of songs. He continued his illustrious career through to [[1941]] when the Germans entered Athens.
-Toundas died on May 23|23 May]] [[1942]] in his house in Nea Smyrni. He was survived by his wife and one daughter, but I don't know if he has surviving descendants today.
+Toundas died on [[May 23|23 May]] [[1942]] in his house in Nea Smyrni. He was survived by his wife and one daughter, but I don't know if he has surviving descendants today.
 Toundas ongoing popularity is shown not only in the ongoing re-releases of his orginal recordings, but also in the esteem in which he is held by Greek musicians today. His songs have been re-recorded by [[Haris Alexiou|Alexiou]], [[Glykeria]], [[Giorgos Dalaras|Dalaras]] etc.