Rodanos Stavros
LesvosPlace of birth: Agiasos, Lesvos
Year of birth: 1916
Short biography:
Stavros Rodanos was born on the 8th of July 1916. He was a musician with a background in music theory. He played the clarinet and also sang, on occasion, on songs requested by the audience. He also taught young learners the clarinet, in Agiasos and Ambeliko.
His parents came from Agiasos. His father, Stratis Rodanos, was born in 1880 and died in the mid-1950s. He was a musician with a background in music theory and played with the Rodanos family band, also known as “Annes”, in Agiasos. His main instrument was the trumpet, but he also played the trombone, the euphonium, the santouri and, in the last few years of his career, the guitar.
Other musicians in his family are/were:
• Panagiotis Rodanos, or “Mariouleli”. Stavros’ grandfather (1855-1931). He played the violin.
• Nikos Rodanos. His uncle. He was a carpenter and played the euphonium.
• Charilaos Rodanos. His brother. He was born in 1914. A musician with a background in music theory, whose main instrument was the violin, but also played the mandolin and the guitar.
• Vasilis Rodanos. His brother. Born in 1920. He played the santouri.
The Rodanos band had an extensive repertoire, which included the “traditional” Asia Minor dance tunes that were popular in local weddings and festivals, but also marches, patinades [street tunes], “European” tunes [tango, fox trot, waltz, light music pieces and/or songs, and excerpts from contemporary operettas and operas], and rebetika and dimotika [rural folk] from various areas across Greece: “Not so much serious music, but light music, European, that’s what I liked… […] We played, colour, a lot of colour, serenades. I played them on the clarinet and [on] the guitar.”
As a singer with the band, Stavros Rodanos sang songs from Smyrna, Asia Minor, rebetika and amanedes [traditional vocal songs], and also regularly performed with the choir of the Agiasos Reading Room, and the Church choir: “I have many books and I’ve written songs in them. I mainly sang European songs, rebetika, but I sang them in a folksy way, not so heavy. Smyrnaiika [songs from Smyrna], anatolitika [Eastern songs], syrta, zeibekika, chasapika [traditional Greek songs and dances], tango, amane.”
Stavros Rodanos has played music on several recordings, such as:
On vinyl records:
• «Tragoudia Mytilinis kai Mikras Asias» [Songs of Mytilini and Asia Minor], 1989, Society for the dissemination of National Music (S. Karras): He plays the guitar lute.
• «Tragoudia Mytilinis kai Mikras Asias» [Songs of Mytilini and Asia Minor], Society for the dissemination of National Music (S. Karras): He plays the guitar lute.
• «Mousiki Paradosi tis Lesvou: Melismata stin Agiaso: oi skopoi tis psichis mas» [The Musical Tradition of Lesvos: Songs in Agiasos: the tunes of our souls] 1996, Filoproodos Association of Agiasos in Athens
On Audio CD
• «Mousiki Paradosi tis Lesvou: Melismata stin Agiaso: oi skopoi tis psichis mas» [The Musical Tradition of Lesvos: Songs in Agiasos: the tunes of our souls] 1996, Filoproodos Association of Agiasos in Athens
• «Lesvos Aiolis», Nikos Dionysopoulos (ed.), 1998, Crete University Press
• «Mousika Stavrodromia sto Aigaio [Musical Crossroads in the Aegean]: Lesvos 19th – 20th century» Sotiris Htouris (ed.), 2000, Exandas – Ministry of the Aegean – University of the Aegean
On tape:
• «Giannis Vounatsos», 1985. Dances of Lesvos. Edited by G. Vounatsos
Other formats:
• « Aegean ΕΡ, Νο. 80», Film Reel (30’1). Songs and tunes of Mytilini.
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