Thanasis Polykandriotis has been recognized internationally as one of the best bouzouki performers, with an important compositional work and countless collaborations with all the greats of the Greek discography.
The son of the popular teacher Theodoros Polykandriotis, it didn't take him long to get involved in music after he took his first guitar lessons at the age of 8.
From the 1960s, when his musical value was revealed in the bouzouki and for the following years he participated in 90% of the Greek discography, with great collaborations and first performances in emblematic works (Kaldaras, Savvopoulos, Loizos, Plessas, Hadjidakis, Theodorakis , Mamagakis, Panou et al.).
In 1971 he performed with Nana Mouschouri and Marinella on the BBC. He then collaborated as a soloist with Manos Hadjidakis. His compositional work began in 1965 and continues to this day with more than 1,000 songs. At the same time he collaborated with all great Greek singers, such as Kazantzidis, Dionysiou, Parios, Marinella, Voskopoulos, Poulopoulos, Glykeria, Ploutarchos, Margaritis, etc.
He has given concerts in the biggest theaters of Europe, America and Australia such as Albert Hall (London), Opera House (Sydney), Kennedy Center, Carnegie Hall (US), Shanghai Concert Hall (Shanghai), Linder Auditorium (Johannesburg) and has taken part in major international festivals.
In 1993 he performed at the Athens Concert Hall with the Hungarian Gypsy Orchestra, performing his own compositions and thus marking a new beginning in his career. In 1995 he recorded 11 of Brahms' 21 dances with the Failoni Orchestra of the Hungarian State Orchestra in Budapest. He composed the Concerto for Bouzouki and Orchestra no. 1 which he performed at the Herodes Atticus Theatre with the State Symphony Orchestra of the Budapest Opera.
He taught at the Technological Educational Institute of Epirus in Arta (2001-2003, 2014-15) and was a Specialist Scientist at the University of Western Macedonia (2005-2008). He also taught for a number of years at the Athens Conservatory, the Athens College Conservatory. He collaborated with the Tirana Radio and Television Symphony Orchestra at the Tirana Opera House. He was a permanent bouzouki player of the Musical Ensembles of ERT Greek Radio-Television (2005-2006).
Thanasis Polykandriotis has been a collaborator of the Philippos Nakas Conservatory since 1996, when he created and taught the "Epomenoi", the famous musical group of 47 young bouzouki performers that took part in the opening ceremony of the Athens Olympic Games. Important appearances with "Next": Concert with the participation of Glykeria at the Athens Concert Hall (2006), Shanghai Concert Hall under the auspices of EOT (2008), Marinella's concert at the Christmas Theater (2022).
He collaborated at the Herodes Atticus Theatre with Dulce Pontes and Paco Pena (2009), gave a concert at the National Theater of Havana in Cuba (2012), presented the Bouzouki Symphonic Concerto at the Linder Auditorium in Johannesburg accompanied by Richard Cock's Johannesburg Festival Orchestra (2014).
He held two-day workshops on the bouzouki at the Michalis Kakogiannis Foundation (2012, 2014) and a seminar at the University of Constantinople (2019). He also recorded with Alain Lefèvre (2021-Warner Classics).
His works and methods he has written are published by Philippos Nakas publications.
He is the person who, since 1991, fought for the recognition of 27 folk traditional instruments with a state diploma, an effort that was realized in 2022. As of 2023, Thanasis Polykandriotis has the responsibility of teaching the instruments of special repertoire of modern Greek popular urban music Bouzouki, Tzoura, Baglama – of the Greek Traditional Music department at the Philippos Nakas Conservatory.