Greek composer and violinist Evanthia Reboutsika was born November 6, 1958. She grew up in Kato Achaia Patron together with her brother Ploutarchos and her sisters Maria and Ioanna. Their father was the owner of a movie theater. Evanthia learned how to play the violin at the age of 6 at the Conservatory of Patras. Later, the three sisters and their brother put together a string ensemble and toured throughout Greece and abroad. In 1970 Evanthia relocated to Athens where she completed her studies at the Athens and Hellenic Conservatories under the guidance of some of the finest tutors in Greece.
As a violinist, she worked with many important Greek composers and singers. In 1979 she graduated from Ecole Normale De Music of Paris and returned back to Greece. In 1992, she composed the album “Sti limni me tis paparounes” for Kristy Stasinopoulou, together with the composer Panayiotis Kalantzopoulos. In 1995 she came in contact with Yiannis Kotsiras, a promising singer back then, and with Panayiotis Kalantzopoulos and lyricist Aris Davarakis they wrote songs for the album “Athoos enochos”.
Evanthia continued her partnership with Yiannis Kotsiras in his second album where Evanthia composed the entire album “Mono ena fili” and Eleni Zioga wrote the lyrics. “Mono ena fili” was highly successful, certified double platinum. In the meantime she composed the music for various TV series such as “Esi apofasizeis”, “Prodosia”, “Athina Thessaloniki”, “Aithousa tou thronou”, “Petrina Liondaria” and many others.
Her following album was primarily instrumental, released in 1998, titled “To asteri kai I efchi.” It features collaborations with singers such as the soprano Sonia Theodoridou, Elli Paspala and Caroline Lavelle. Even though instrumental records are not very popular in Greece the album became gold.
In May 2000 she released e “Mikres istories”, another mainly instrumental album that featured vocalist Eleftheria Arvanitaki on two of the songs, with lyrics by Lina Nikolakopoulou and Eleni Zioga. Soprano Mariana Rigaki performed an aria. “Ine diki mas I zoi mas” came out in December 2000. It was the third time she collaborated with Yiannis Kotsiras. Aris Davarakis wrote the lyrics.
Selected Discography:
To Asteri Ki Evhi (Warner, 1998)
Mikres Istories (Sony Greece, 2000)
Ine diki mas I zoi mas (2000)
Voice of the Aegean Sea (Cantini, 2004)
Babam Ve Oglum, soundtrack (Cantini, 2006)
A Touch of Spice (Cantini, 2006)
The Danse of the Stars (Cantini, 2008)
Ulak (Cantini, 2008)
Notias, soundtrack (Feelgood Records, 2015)
1968, soundtrack (Feelgood Records, 2017)
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.
