Portrait of an artist

Maria Katinari

Who is Maria Katinari?

Maria Katinari was born in Chania (Crete). Her first acoustical impressions were eastern sounds and Minor Asiatic nursery songs of their grandparents. She grew up in a family, where music was always present.

Her father, Antonios Katinaris was a well-known, very successful composer and a highly gifted Bouzouki-artist.

Her mother, Maria Rippi, likewise an artist in the service of the music, was in her youth successful as a singer of current and traditional Greek music. Like Maria Katinari, Maria Rippi was originated also from an artist family with her father, Maria Katinaris grandfather, a well-known musical multi-talent, connected at his time to the outstanding singer Rosa Eskenazi in music business and friendship.

In such a manner familiar "preloaded" Maria Katinari began very early to continue the family tradition.

At the age of thirteen years she joined a rock band, in order to sing. A priori she concealed it before its parents. The artistic soul, paired with juvenile love to risks drove her just 16 years old to travel singing through Europe during the school vacations . The Netherlands, England and Germany are some her stations.

Later, magically attracted by the city of the light , Paris, she continued kinematics of the human body studies there and continued further studies at fine art schools.

Back in Athens she continued her education with actor’s classes, classical and jazz dance. Education hunger drove her to finally to Cairo, in order to study for three years the classical and traditional Arab music there.

What does Maria Katinari do?

The multiple artistic training the variety of studies gave her the ability to be successful as musician and as an actress. She switches between the music scene and the theatre stages without loosing her focus to her artistic ambition.

She has the power to provoke enthusiasm in rock clubs enthusiastic, to interpret Rembetiko music in a most authentic style and to sing Greek and international music on large stages successful. Despite this wide framed musical repertoire she retains her singular musical style and character. 

She sang together with world wide well-known Greek artists, like the famous Stratos Dionisiou, the legendary Georgios Zampetas, Dimitris Mitropanos, Giannis Parios, Panos Gavalas, Poly Panou, Kaiti Grey, Rita Sakelariou, Anna Vissi and others.

In the Rempetiko music scene she works with musicians like Bambis Goles, Georgios Ksintaris, Bambis Tsertos, and last but not least Antonis Repanis.

Some of her highlights, concerts with the famous national orchestra of Greek music by Stavros Ksarhakos with the musical leading of the composer Vasilis Dimitriou or cultural music transmissions of the Greek television like "Αφιερώματα στό ρεμπέτικο και κοινωνικό τραγούδι" (translation : Dedicatet to the Rempetiko and society song) prove her musical talent.

She produced on several extraordinary successful music productions with well-known Greek artists gaining very popular hits.

Considered to be almost classical is her timeless, over years successfully sold, third CD Album, titled "Αν ήμουν άντρας " (translation: If I would be a male), which argues by music in the style of the Minor Asiatic music from Smyrna with the topic of the liberation of woman in the time between the world wars 1920 to 1937 (produced by the Greek label M.B.I.).

She is considered as consistent warrior of her attitude to music, which regards the song as a expression of the singer’s soul. She is always on the creative search for possibilities to express her love to music.