Yanni & the brief respite

You need to be a little adventurous to watch a concert at a place where preparations are under way for possible flooding.
And adventurous is as good a description as any of the fans who turned up for Tuesday night’s “Yanni in Concert” at the Impact Arena in Nonthaburi province, large parts of which were already under water before the start of the concert. Muang Thong Thani, which houses Impact, was still dry, though a series of brick barriers about 50 centimetres high had been newly built at the concert hall’s entrances on the ground floor. People entering the hall had to step over the barriers.
In the car park of nearby Challenger Hall, just opposite the arena, workers were busy building brick walls about 1.5 metres high at all the doors. Walls of sandbags were also being constructed at entrances connecting the car park to the hall. Staff at the venue were assigned to be on the lookout for water to ensure timely warning and evacuation, if necessary, according to a PR official of the concert organisers BEC-Tero.
The concert started on time - rare for any public performance in Thailand and most of the 5,000-strong audience was already inside the venue. That may seem like a small number for a show by an international musician, but given the flood situation and the general lack of enthusiasm for instrumental music in Thailand, it was a good turnout.
Yanni emerged on stage to enthusiastic applause, and he acknowledged the warm welcome with a wai. He greeted his audience in Thai: “Hello Bangkok. I am happy to come back again.” The Greek-born American composer and pianist promised his audience to “bring you peace and keep you out of your problems” during the concert.
He managed to keep his promise too, with the audience responding as though they didn’t have a care in the world. Yanni, playing the piano, synthesiser, and keyboard (sometimes two of them simultaneously), produced enchanting and joyful music with the help of a band of instrumentalists and a few singers. And Yanni appeared to be impressed by the audience’s reaction. At one point, he remarked: “You give us back 100 times what we give you.”
The sound of operatic voices was added to “Nightingale”, which was composed for Yanni’s Tribute concert at Beijing’s Forbidden City in 1997, and “Ode to Humanity” (which is better known as “Aria”).
The numbers performed at the concert were a combination of acoustic and electronic instruments – some focusing more on the former, some on the latter, and others on both. His music is frequently described as “new age” although he prefers the term “contemporary instrumental”.
The concert featured highlights from Yanni’s best-selling albums including “Santorini”, “Nostalgia”, and “Keys to Imagination” from his second album in 1986, which was released two years after the first album, as well as some from his latest album “Truth of Touch”.
Born Yiannis Hrysomallis, 56-year-old Yanni also performed songs he dedicated to his mother, “Felitsa”, and his Greek hometown, “Acroyali”.
Almost all of the instrumentalists on stage were highlighted from time to time during the concert – the violinists, the harpist, the keyboardist (not Yanni), the drummer, the horn player – with their solo performances. The solo that excited and entertained the audience most was performed by drummer Charlie Adams in “Marching Season”. The drummer, wearing footballer attire of a Thailand League team (BEC-Tero Sasana FC), exhibited his exceptional skills while playing with the delighted audience. Harpist Victor Espinola also wowed the audience with his unusual playing of the harp – in a rapid-fire fashion and with the harpist dancing and the instrument occasionally being raised in the air.
Some ticketholders were unable to make it, either because their homes were already or on the verge of being flooded and Yanni expressed his sympathy to these and to the many others who are affected by the severe flooding in Thailand. “Despite all the problems and hardships in the world, I will never lose my faith in humanity. I will pray for you.”
This was Yanni’s second concert in Bangkok – he first performed here 18 years ago in 1993. Towards the end of the latest concert, he playfully said, “Welcome back next year”. When asked by some shouting viewers if he would return for another show, he responded, “I promise.” His fans – particularly those who missed the latest concert due to the floods – are no doubt keeping their fingers crossed he keeps his promise and that they won’t not have to wait for another 18 years for his next concert in Thailand.
Yanni’s two hours on stage was successful in keeping his audience entertained and making them temporarily forget about the threat of flooding. And luckily, the concert venue was safe from flooding that night.