“Give a Yanni a try”, says metal-lover Sean Stangland, journalist in Daily Herald, Chicago. “You might just become a fan.”
And more:
“You know his singular moniker. You know his long, flowing hair. You know he plays something like 15 keyboards at once.
He is Yanni. And last weekend, I found out that he is awesome.
The Greek composer and musician played a 2½-hour concert with his 11-piece orchestra last Saturday at Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates to thousands of people. The diverse crowd included a 7-year-old girl who ran up to the stage to shake Yanni’s hand, a middle-aged man who twirled his jacket above his head and was escorted back to his seat by security, and hundreds of women of all ages and ethnicities who screamed, “I love you, Yanni,” between songs.
“I love you, too,” a bemused Yanni said back.
Yanni said lots of things, mostly about love. Love for his bandmates, including Joliet-born drummer Charlie Adams. Love for his parents, both of which inspired beautiful, piano-driven compositions (“Felitsa” and “Until the Last Moment”). Love for the audience and its nearby big city — “I love your pizza!” As his neo-pop-classical-new age-whatever music suggests, Yanni is a hopeless romantic. He’s also a hilarious joy to watch, one hand playing the keys and the other conducting the band with dramatic flourishes.”
Read the complete commentary here.