TRIBUTE TO STELLA HASKIL

101 years since her birth
Stella Haskil, born in Thessaloniki in 1918, is one of Greece’s finest singers, who is gradually being ‘rediscovered’. She started her career before the Second World War and, despite being Jewish, was able to perform through the Occupation, using just her first name. After the war, she lived in Athens. Haskil died in 1954 at just 36 years of age.
The greatest composers of popular and rebetiko music wrote songs for her, including Vassilis Tsitsanis, Apostolos Kaldaras, Manolis Chiotis and Markos Vamvakaris. She recorded over 130 songs that have become classics, such as Nychtose choris fengari, Akrogialies deilina, Arapiko louloudi, Kapoia mana anastenazi, Mes’ sti hasapiki agora, Paliose to sakaki mou.
Tomer Katz, ‘ambassador’ of Greek rebetiko and popular music in Israel, last year performed in Jerusalem with his band Perach Adom a special show dedicated to Stella Haskil. It is now being performed in her birthplace of Thessaloniki, in collaboration with excellent local rebetiko musicians.
The performance includes Stella Haskil’s wonderful rebetiko repertoire as well as the moving yet mostly unknown story of her life.