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Michail "Mikis" Theodorakis (Greek: Μιχαήλ "Μίκης" Θεοδωράκης [mixaˈil ˈmicis θeoðoˈracis]; 29 July 1925 – 2 September 2021) [1] was a Greek composer and lyricist credited with over 1,000 works.
Sep 2, 2021 · Mikis Theodorakis, the renowned Greek composer and Marxist firebrand who waged a war of words and music against an infamous military junta that imprisoned and exiled him as a...
- Works Encapsulated World of Greek Music
- Mikis Theodorakis’ Trials — and Torture — Transformed Into Art
- Early Life of Greece’s Greatest Composer of The Modern Era
- Joined Greek Resistance in 1942
- After Second Torture, Sent to Prison Camp on Makronisos
- Music Merged with Politics For Mikis Theodorakis
- Elected to Parliament as Member of United Democratic Left Party
- Continued to Compose Even After Arrest During Colonels’ Regime
- Theodorakis’ Life Encapsulated Man’S Struggle For Freedom
- Free at Last
Mikis Theodorakis produced a staggering number of musical works, encompassing both symphonic music and most predominantly Greek folk music,from which he drew most of his inspiration, making it famous the world over. His ability to compose music which conveyed emotion and struggle is perhaps best displayed in his composition “The Ballad of Mauthause...
Mikis Theodorakis suffered a great deal for his early idealism, even enduring torture multiple times, beginning when he was captured during the Italian occupation. He was later imprisoned and exiled for his beliefs, even after he had achieved acclaim as a composer. But like all great creators, he transformed all his painful experiences into tremend...
Mikis Theodorakis was born on the island of Chios on July 29, 1925. But his most salient characteristic, that of the restless spirit which no shackles could ever contain, was perhaps derived from his Cretan descent. For most Greek people, Theodorakis was seen as a revolutionary who spoke through both his actions and his music. For the rest of the w...
It was 1942; and in addition to being completely devoted to his music, young Theodorakis had also already joined the Greek Resistance, fighting the Nazis. The composer was only 18 when he was arrested for the first time, during a demonstration on March 25, 1943. The occupying Italian forces brutally tortured the young man; but this was only the fir...
Eventually Mikis Theodorakis was arrested, was tortured again, and then sent into exile on Greece’s Ikaria Island. He was later transferred to Makronisos, a barren island which was made into a camp for political prisoners. The prisoners were known to suffer torture and had to endure unimaginable living conditions. The inmates called it a “death cam...
Upon his return to Greece in 1960, Theodorakis’ music became political, in line with his leftist ideology. He had already taken the long poem “Epitaph” by Yiannis Ritsos and put it to music. He now turned to writing folk songs, composing dozens of songs which still echo in the minds of the Greek people. Theodorakis founded the “Athens Small Symphon...
However, politics was still equally high on the agenda for the great composer. After the assassination of leftist Grigoris Lambrakis, the group “Lambrakis Youth” was founded and Theodorakis was elected its president. At the same time, Theodorakis was elected as a member of the United Democratic Left (EDA) Party in Parliament. April 21, 1967 was a b...
Still, despite the horrendous events he was living through, Mikis Theodorakis never ceased to compose music, continually sending his compositions abroad so that they would not be lost. The singers Maria Farantouri and Melina Merkouri, who were both self-exiled in Paris, sang his songs to tell the world of the terrible events unfolding in Greece. Th...
Theodorakis declared “Nothing is more necessary and valuable to man than freedom. If you don’t have food, if you don’t have education, if you don’t have comforts, you suffer. If you don’t have freedom, you don’t exist. Because then you don’t count as man. “What is freedom? Freedom is responsibility. It is to be responsible. It is to have at every m...
In 1974, after the fall of the dictatorship, the composer finally felt free to return to Greece. Greeks were hungry not only for freedom but for Theodorakis’ music as well, which had been banned during the seven years of the colonels’ regime. He gave many concerts in Greece and abroad and was again placed on his rightful pedestal as one of the most...
Sep 2, 2021 · Mikis Theodorakis, the celebrated composer best known for the music from the 1964 film Zorba the Greek, has died in Athens aged 96. Theodorakis was in the resistance to the Nazi occupation of...
Sep 2, 2021 · Greek composer and politician Mikis Theodorakis has died. He was 96 years old. His music for Zorba the Greek was full of joy — but his own story was much more complicated.
Sep 2, 2021 · Composer Mikis Theodorakis, whose music crossed international boundaries in his captivating score for the film " Zorba the Greek", died on Thursday, plunging Greece into three days of mourning.
Sep 2, 2021 · Mikis Theodorakis, the beloved Greek composer whose rousing music and life of political defiance won acclaim abroad and inspired millions at home, has died at his home in Athens.
