ATHENS — The Tsakirian family has been making instruments — stringed musical instruments, to be specific — for four generations in Athens, Greece. People who exercise this rare profession are called luthiers, which comes from the French word lute or flute. The profession itself is referred to as lutherie, and the two words are often confused as they look almost alike. The Tsakirians are considered among the best musical instrument makers and repairers in the world, and instruments that they work on include bouzouki, tzoura, baglama, classical guitar, mandolin, lute and oud. Tanya Vehanoush Tsakirian is the latest and fourth generation of master luthiers. Her father Karolos before her, Onnik before Karolos and finally Agop, have all made traditional Middle Eastern instruments for a living.
Tanya’s quest began at the age of 14 when she started visiting her father’s workshop on Saturdays. She continued her studies throughout high school. By the time she entered university, even though she stayed in touch with her father’s workshop, Tanya shifted focus and majored in philosophy and history of science at the University of Athens. As a senior, she had to decide if she wanted to continue along an academic path or instead learn a trade. Not surprisingly, she chose to apprentice with her father, Karolos Tsakirian, and deepen her practical knowledge of making and repairing musical instruments. She fell in love with the craft and never looked back. As luck — or talent — would have it — the first bouzouki that she made was purchased by Kostas Doumouliakas, one of the most famous rebetiko musicians of his generation. Rebetiko is one of the most popular musical forms in the Eastern Mediterranean world, a form that is often described as “Greek blues music” and though it is both jazzy and soulful, rebetiko possesses a distinctive sound all its own. Today some of her work can be found on every continent, including at the Paris Philharmonic or Philharmonie de Paris. Talent runs in the family as Tsakirian’s mother is the world-renowned visual Artist Eozen Agopian.
A One Hundred-Year Old Tradition
The legendary Tsakirian family tradition begun when Agop Tsakirian emigrated from Smyrna in 1922 after the Armenian Genocide and opened the first shop some two years later in Piraeus, now the main port of Athens, at 7 Fokionos street. The neighborhood was a haven for refugees at the time and many Armenian families settled there. Agop learned the art of lutherie from his brother-in-law Aram Papazian, another master luthier from Smyrna. Agop benefitted from the fact that Papazian was well-educated and on good terms with many of the musicians who had escaped Asia Minor. Some of Agop Tsakirian’s clients included Markos Vamvakaris, Yovan Chaous and Udi Hrant Kenkulian. Agop also made Giorgos Batis’s favorite baglama: the story goes that Batis loved his Baglama so much that when he died, he asked to be buried with it!
Agop died in 1973, and his son, Onnik Tsakirian, was already continuing the tradition at his own workshop in downtown Athens, which he opened in 1960. He would go on to make instruments for great bouzouki players like Manolis Chiotis, Giannis Tatassopoulos, and Giannis Angelou. As a matter of fact, Manolis Chiotis was buried with the famous Acropolis bouzouki that Onnik had made for him. Among other honors, in 1966 Onnik received the Gold Medal for master craftsmanship at the Thessaloniki International Expo. In 1970, Onnik immigrated to the United States where he worked for the renowned Fender Guitar Company in Los Angeles, before eventually moving to Astoria, Queens in 1973 where he was later joined by his son Karolos. Like his father, Onnik made instruments for some of the most famous musicians in the world including Stelios Kazantzidis and Stamatis Kokotas. He died at the tender age of 52 and the family business was passed down to his son Karolos Tsakirian, who had also been his apprentice since the age of 14. Karolos ran his shop out of Astoria before returning to Athens and expanding the family business that his father had founded in 1960.
Karolos continued the family tradition with great passion and love for his craft. Some renowned musicians that he made instruments for are Giannis Stamatiou, Lakis Karnezis, Manolis Karantinis, Panagiotis Stergiou, Babis Goles and Vaggelis Korakakis.
