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Kostas Skarvelis (Greek: Κώστας Σκαρβέλης) (Constantinople, Ottoman Empire 1880 - Athens, Greece April 8, 1942) was a Greek composer of popular music, οf the genre of rembetiko (ρεμπέτικο) in particular. He also wrote the lyrics for his songs and was an excellent guitar player, having participated in many recordings.
Life Skarvelis grew up in Constantinople (officially renamed to Istanbul in 1930), which at the time still had a significant Greek population. Due to unspecified adversities in his childhood he was unable to attend a greek school, hence lacked basic writing skills. He was nevertheless able to pursue his interest in music and had, by the age of 17, become a very good guitar player. Early in his adulthood he fled the country, never again to return, in order to avoid being drafted into the Turkish Army. He first settled in Alexandria in Egypt and eventually in Athens, Greece some time between 1915 and 1920. Before starting his career as a professional musician, Skarvelis worked as a specialist craftsman in the manufacturing of luxury shoes. Following the defeat of the Greek Army in Asia Minor in 1922 and the expulsion of most Greeks from Turkey (and eventually a formal exchange of populations), Skarvelis was reunited in Greece with many musicians from those areas who arrived as refugees and with whom he shared a musical background. Notable among them: Antonis Diamantidis (Dalgkas), Kostas Karipis, Spyros Peristeris, Rita Abatzi, Grigoris Asikis. It was then that he started his professional career, initially as a guitarist and later as a composer as well. Skarvelis eventually rose to the position of artistic director in the recording industry in 1930. From that position he further influenced the evolution of Greek music. He also helped with the instrumentation and as a guitarist in the recordings of most composers and artists he collaborated with. Skarvelis continued to work as a live guitarist. Among others he worked with, he accompanied the famous Tetras (Markos Vamvakaris, Giorgos Batis, Stratos Pagioumtzis, Anestos Delias) in many of their performances. He died of hunger on April 8, 1942 as a result of the occupation of Greece by the Axis during the Second World War, sharing the fate of hundreds of thousands of Greeks.
Work Skarvelis composed hundreds of songs (recordings exist of over 200 of them). The voices he collaborated with for the recording of his songs include Giorgos Kavouras, Rita Abatzi, Kostas Roukounas, Stellakis Perpiniadis, Marika Frantzeskopoulou, Kostas Tsanakos, Markos Vamvakaris, Apostolos Hatzichristos. Among those, the lion's share belongs to Kavouras. As a lyricist, Skarvelis wrote mostly love songs. Musically, most of them belong to the sub-genre of hasapiko (χασάπικο), of which he explored all variations. His compositions are especially melodical (compared to the leaner style of many other composers of the genre of rembetiko) and his musical signature is very recognisable to listeners familiar with even a small fraction of his work. Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/"
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