Sofia Labropoulou (GRC)

Sofia Labropoulou is a kanun player, composer and improviser. Her musical oeuvre combines Greek and Mediterranean folklore, classical Ottoman music, Western medieval music and experimental and contemporary music. As a soloist, she collaborates with leading international composers, musicians and orchestras. 
The kanun is an oriental box zither without a fingerboard which is used in Greek, Arabic and Turkish art music which arrived in Europe in the 12th century, where it was probably the main instrument of the Moors. It is considered the forerunner of the European zither. Small levers are used to shorten or lengthen the strings, creating microtones and achieving pitches that are even smaller than the semitones commonly used in Western European music.