Michael "Mikis" Theodorakis, Greek songwriter and composer, has written over 1000 songs. He is born on the Greek island of Chios, July 29, 1925 but spent his childhood years in various provincial Greek cities. His father, a lawyer and a civil servant, was from the small village in Crete and his mother, Aspasia Poulakis, was from an ethnically Greek family in what today is Turkey. He was raised with Greek folk music and was influenced by Byzantine liturgy.
Theodorakis's fascination with music began in early childhood. He taught himself to write his first songs without access to musical instruments. In Patras and Pyrgos he took his first music lessons, and in Tripoli, Peloponnese, he gave his first concert aged 17. He went to Athens in 1943, and became a member of a Reserve Unit, and led a troop in the fight against the British and the Greek right. During the Greek Civil War he was arrested, sent into exile on the island of Icaria then deported to the island of Makronisos, where he was tortured and twice buried alive.
Apology: The video originally shared (Best Melodies, 1975) is no longer available. Below, some listening pleasures:
Mikis Theodorakis - Strose to stroma sou & Zorba (live,2005). Accessed July 29, 2024.
The very best of Mikis Theodorakis. Accessed July 29, 2024.
Songs of Struggle by Mikis Theodorakis. July 29, 2024.
During the times he was not obliged to hide, not exiled or jailed, he studied at the Athens Conservatoire from 1943 to 1950. He finished his studies and took his last two exams "with flying colours" in 1950. He went to Crete, where he became the "head of the Chania Music School" and founded his first orchestra.
Theodorakis scored for the films Zorba the Greek (1964), Z (1969), and Serpico (1973). He composed the "Mauthausen Trilogy" also known as "The Ballad of Mauthausen", described as the "most beautiful musical work ever written about the Holocaust" and possibly his best work. He was awarded the Lenin Peace Prize. Theodorakis is viewed as Greece's best-known living composer.
Link:
The original sirtaki Zorbas - Miki Theodorakis. Uploaded by ilioskaimple. Accessed July 29, 2017. This dance is part of Greek culture... sirtaki, among other folk dances. The music was composed for the movie Zorba the Greek by Theodorakis, a a well-known and loved Greek composer.
Image Credit:
Mikis Theodorakis. Wikimedia Commons. Accessed July 29, 2017
Video Credit:
Mikis Theodorakis - best melodies (1975). Youtube, uploaded by Djuki San. Accessed July 29, 2017.
Resource:
Mikis Theodorakis. en.wikipedia.org. Accessed July 29, 2017.
(c) July 29, 2017. Updated July 29, 2024. Tel. Written for Inspired Pen Web. All rights reserved.
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