Award-winning composer Yanni hopes to ‘open hearts’ in Amman

AMMAN — Renowned Greek composer and pianist Yanni hopes his music will open people’s hearts in his first ever concert in Amman on Sunday.

“There is an expression in English, cooler heads will prevail. It is very important to me to come to a country and have a positive effect,” he told The Jordan Times in an interview on Saturday. 

Yanni said he was excited to play for a Jordanian audience for the first time. 

 “I feel I know [the] Jordanian people. There is a connection. They understand my music; I understand their spirits, and this has been so for 20 years,” the award-winning musician said.

“I used to meet people all over the world and they told me I have to come to Jordan, [that] your culture is so sweet and people are very special and different; Jordan is very special place,” he added. 

Yanni will play at Amman’s Citadel, and said it was important for the music to fit the prestige of the site. 

“I appreciate that Jordan gave me the chance to perform at the Citadel. It is a jewel,” he said. 

“The Citadel is a very important symbol in Jordan… for the culture of the country and I have to present music that is appropriate for the monument, for the culture and for the country. It is a very difficult thing to do, but if you do it correctly it is [more] powerful than playing in a theatre, or anywhere.”

Commenting on the role of technology in music, Yanni said that while technological developments have made it easier to work in a studio, real music comes from the heart.  

“Your heart, soul and life experience writes music. That’s where music comes from. Technology is [just] a tool.”