The musical bridge between Greece and Turkey proved once again to be vibrant, enduring, and deeply creative during an evening that transformed the stage of Bahcesehir University into a meeting point for two intertwined musical traditions.
Close collaborators of Stavros Xarchakos — musicians Grigoris Vasilas and Giorgos Nikopoulos — presented a program dedicated to Greek folk and rebetiko music. The event was organized by musician Ivi Ntermantzi, whose longstanding cultural work in Istanbul and across Turkey has focused on bringing the two musical cultures closer together.
The concert also marked a natural continuation of the music seminars held in recent years in Assos, the historic coastal town facing the Greek island of Lesbos. The seminars, curated artistically by Ntermantzi and featuring Vasilas and Nikopoulos, have evolved into a unique platform for cultural exchange.
Speaking to the Athens-Macedonian News Agency, Vasilas explained that the Istanbul appearance grew out of a collaboration spanning nearly 25 years with Turkish musician and composer Cengiz Onural.
The strong audience turnout reflected Turkey’s growing fascination with Greek folk music and rebetiko. According to Vasilas, the Greek bouzouki has become a particular attraction for Turkish musicians because of its distinctive technique and its sharper, more forceful sound compared with related Turkish instruments.
Yet the connection extends far beyond technique. Shared cultural memories and centuries of musical interaction — especially along the Aegean coastlines — continue to shape both traditions.
Education remains central to that exchange, with the annual week-long Assos seminars drawing participants from across Turkey and abroad, including France, while increasingly focusing on the works of iconic Greek composers such as Papaioannou and Tsitsanis.
