Concert review: Yanni holds court in Dubai

He can feel the pulse of his audience on his fingertips. Or so it seemed on Thursday night as Greek pianist, keyboard player, composer and music producer Yanni held court for the first of a two nights’ concert at the Dubai World Trade Centre.

Dressed in a black round-neck t-shirt and spotless white trousers, with matching white sneakers, Yanni was in his elements right from the word go. After making a thunderous entry on to the stage and playing virtually non-stop for the first 15 minutes of the concert, his “Hello Dubai; so I’m back again,” established an almost hypnotic bond with the capacity crowd – a bond that would leave listeners overwhelmed and asking for more, about two-and-a-half hours later, prompting an indulgent “Aren’t you guys going home tonight” from the Greek maestro.

While ‘Santorini’, an all-time favourite with Yanni diehards, set the tone for the night, a generous sprinkling of ‘Truth of Touch’ and ‘Voyage’ from his latest studio album, ‘Truth of Touch’, built the tempo. By the time Yanni hit the opening note for ‘The Rain Must Fall’, the spell was all around that would later reach a fever pitch with ‘Within Attraction’, ‘Swept Away’ and ‘Aria’.

The Yanni brand of “New Age” music has always been extremely high on emotional content. And the Greek great, along with the illustrious musicians of his orchestra, proved it yet again.

After setting the adrenaline rushing, the creator of ‘Nostalgia’ and ‘Acrovali’ suddenly decided to call it a day, only to return to the stage following fervent appeals from a hysteric crowd. But once back, he let the nerves soothe to almost stoic acceptance — like all good things, this concert must also end. What followed thereafter was a little anecdotal account to convey to the audience a message beyond music — that of a dream of a “world without borders”. Fittingly, the concert ended with ‘One Man’s Dream’.

Calm of mind, all passions spent.