Armen Anassian, violinist and conductor of Yanni's orchestra for Tribute, conceded that he had some doubts about the artist's plans to perform at India's Taj Mahal and China's Forbidden City: "To be honest, a few years ago when he was talking about it, the idea was so amazing. I myself was very skeptical, understandably so. But the truth is, it happened. We did it."Anassian describes Yanni as "very optimistic" and has observed that "nothing really fazes him."That outlook carries over naturally to his music. "I don't think it's a goal, per se. He's very honest with his own feelings. His music really comes from the heart. He writes music with ease, the music comes out with relative ease. The feel-good portion of the music is a by-product. It coincides with what the people love to hear."
After negotiating the demands of gaining permission to perform at the Taj Mahal and Forbidden City in 1997, breaking up with Linda Evans in early 1998, and completing a long world tour later in 1998, Yanni halted his music career.Yanni later related that he had become depressed, and returned to Greece to live with his parents for three months before traveling the world.He didn't do an interview for two years, later explaining, "I traveled. I wanted to see other people's ideas of life, get out of the American dream.
In 2000, after the two-year hiatus Yanni released If I Could Tell You, his first studio album in seven years. The album sold 55,000 copies in its first week, and landed at No. 20 on the Billboard charts, his highest debut to date.
The music in Yanni's 2003 album Ethnicity represented many of the world's cultures, Yanni saying it uses ethnicity to reflect the color and beauty of a multicultural society.The album was released near the publication date of Yanni's autobiography, Yanni in Words. The ensuing Ethnicity tour would become the fourth largest concert tour of the year ranked by Billboard Magazine.
On October 23, 2003, Yanni performed a keyboard instrumental version of the The Star-Spangled Banner before Game 5 of the 2003 World Series.
On May 6, 2004, the University of Minnesota conferred upon Yanni the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters.
The live album and video Yanni Live! The Concert Event (2006) became Billboard's fourth best selling New Age album of both 2006 and 2007.
For the first time in his career, Yanni brought vocalists to the forefront in the Ric Wake collaboration Yanni Voices, the artist's first studio album in six years.PBS broadcast video of a November 2008 Voices Acapulco concert weeks before the album's March 24, 2009 release by Walt Disney Records' Disney Pearl imprint, the album release preceding a tour produced by Pearl's Buena Vista Concerts division.The album went on to become Billboard's second best selling New Age Album of 2009 and fifth best selling New Age album of 2010.
The album Yanni Mexicanisimo, released in November of Mexico's bicentennial year 2010, was a tribute to that country through Yanni's collaborative interpretation of its folk music.It involved collaboration with singer-songwriter Pepe Aguilar and singer-actress Lucero.It became the #7 selling New Age album of 2011.
2010s: New sound designs; touring the world again
Yanni onstage with his orchestra and vocalists during the 2012 An Evening with Yanni tour. While performing, Yanni divides his time among two decks of electronic keyboards and an acoustic piano, and conducts his orchestra.
The Yanni Live in South America tour included September 2010 performances in Chile, Argentina, and Brazil, and a November 2010 performance in Puerto Rico.
The Truth of Touch album was released in February 2011, and went on to become the top-selling New Age album of 2011.Yanni's first studio album of new material since Ethnicity eight years earlier, Truth of Touch's varied content reflected contemporary instrumental, electronic and cinematic influences, and crossed over into popular, new age and world music.Though Yanni said that Truth of Touch was started by experimenting with new sound desi.Three of fifteen tracks on the predominantly instrumental album included vocals from respective Yanni Voices vocalists.
Tour performances in Mexico (January 2011) and Panama (February 2011) were followed by a 43-stop tour of Canada and the United States.In September-November 2011, Yanni toured fifteen stops in Eastern Europe and Asia,including performances in China, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand, Dubai, Oman and Russia.
As with Yanni's earlier concerts at the Acropolis, the Taj Mahal, and Royal Albert Hall, Yanni's December 2011 concerts at El Morro castle in Puerto Rico were the subject of a PBS special, with corresponding CDs and DVDs being produced.
The five month long An Evening with Yanni tour began in March 2012, starting in Mexico (2 stops), and continuing to the United States (66 stops) and Canada (14 stops).
Yanni's 2010-2012 tours included new vocalists, distinct from the 2008–2009 Yanni Voices vocalists.