Legendary Greek composer Stavros Xarchakos surprised a crowd at a Greek taverna on the island of Syros on the weekend by jumping in to offer his guidance to a group of young men and boys playing the bouzouki and guitar at a nearby table.
The young musicians, unaware of how lucky they were were guided by a highly energetic Xarchakos, 83, who directed them playing old “laika” favorites such as ‘Frangosyriani’ written by the legend of rebetiko Markos Vamvakaris in 1935.
A video shared on social media, recorded by one of the diners has already become viral both because of how talented the boys were but also in honour of the composer who led the orchestra with great enthusiasm and vigor.
Originally from Mani, Xarchakos was born in Athens, where he studied at the Athens Conservatoire. From 1963 at which time he composed music for the theatre and movie industry. He became close with lyricist Lefteris Papadopoulos and singer Nikos Xylouris.
In 1967, he went to Paris to study with Nadia Boulanger. He lived in Paris for four years and then studied with David Diamond at the Juilliard School of Music in New York. He served as director of the National Orchestra of Greek Music.
While he mainly composed in the style of Greek popular music, Laïka, Xarchakos also composed in the classical music genre.
He has had 42 music albums while his music has been used in 21 movies and 15 TV productions. Internationally, he is known as the composer for the Rembetiko film score, composing the music for the Werner Herzog film Signs Of Life and the 1983 BBC TV mini-series, The Dark Side of the Sun.
Watch the video here: