Sokratis Sinopoulos
Sokratis Sinopoulos is a contemporary master of the lyra, a bowed instrument dating back to the Byzantine era. He has collaborated with a variety of international artists, equally comfortable crossing genre boundaries between jazz and classical, while always incorporating the folk traditions of Greece and the Eastern Mediterranean. Born in Athens in 1974, he studied Byzantine music and classical guitar as a child, before switching to the lyra in 1988.
Sokratis entered the ECM world as accompanist to Charles Lloyd and Maria Farantouri’s on Athens Concert, the acclaimed 2011 live recording captured at the Herod Atticus Odeon (“the lyra of Socratis Sinopoulos enters, a yearning, sweet sound of extraordinary poignance” – Thomas Conrad, Stereophile). He subsequently appeared on the label as part of Eleni Karaindrou’s ensemble on 2014’s Medea – music created to accompany performances at the Ancient Theatre of Epidaurus. A second [...]
Sokratis Sinopoulos is a contemporary master of the lyra, a bowed instrument dating back to the Byzantine era. He has collaborated with a variety of international artists, equally comfortable crossing genre boundaries between jazz and classical, while always incorporating the folk traditions of Greece and the Eastern Mediterranean. Born in Athens in 1974, he studied Byzantine music and classical guitar as a child, before switching to the lyra in 1988.
Sokratis entered the ECM world as accompanist to Charles Lloyd and Maria Farantouri’s on Athens Concert, the acclaimed 2011 live recording captured at the Herod Atticus Odeon (“the lyra of Socratis Sinopoulos enters, a yearning, sweet sound of extraordinary poignance” – Thomas Conrad, Stereophile). He subsequently appeared on the label as part of Eleni Karaindrou’s ensemble on 2014’s Medea – music created to accompany performances at the Ancient Theatre of Epidaurus. A second appearance performing Eleni’s music followed with 2018’s Tous des oiseaux.
In 2010, Sokratis formed his quartet with pianist Yann Keerim, bassist Dimitris Tsekouras, and drummer Dimitris Emmanouil. The group’s debut Eight Winds was released in 2015, the follow-up on ECM followed with Metamodal in 2019. “Music that ranges from pastoral to exhilarating, makes for a genuinely intoxicating album, and one that will delight many listeners no matter where their musical roots herald from…” – Uk Vibe.
A duo recording of Sokratis with pianist Yann Keerim is out in Fall 2025
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