Musicians - Mikis Theodorakis

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	Musicians - Mikis Theodorakis

Mikis Theodorakis (Greek: Μίκης Θεοδωράκης) (b. July 29 1925) is perhaps the most important Greek music composer of the 20th century, and one of the most significant in the world. Politically, until the collapse of the military junta in 1974, he identified with the left; in the 1980s he became a member of parliament with the centre-right New Democracy party. He has consistently opposed oppressive regimes. He was born on the island of Chios in Greece, and spent his childhood years in different provincial Greek cities such as Mytilene, Cephallonia, Pyrgos, Patras, and Tripolis. His father came from Crete and his mother from Asia Minor. He has received several offers to serve as President of Greece, but has refused them. He is known internationally for his scores in the Hollywood films, Zorba the Greek(1964) and Serpico(1973).

Biography

The early years, World War II, and first works

Theodorakis' fascination with music began in early childhood; he taught himself to write his first songs without access to musical instruments. In Pyrgos and Patras he took his first music lessons, and in Tripolis, Peloponnese, he formed a choir and gave his first concert at the age of seventeen.

During World War II he was active in the resistance against the fascist Italian and German occupation troops, helping starving children and Jewish refugees; this led to his capture and subsequent torture in Tripolis (1942) and in Athens (1943–1944). During the Greek Civil War he was exiled to the islands of Ikaria and Makronissos, where he was almost beaten to death and twice buried alive.

Later he studied at the Athens Conservatory under Philoktitis Economidis, and at the Conservatory of Paris where he studied musical analysis under Olivier Messiaen as well as conducting under Eugene Bigot. His time in Paris, 1954–1959, was a period of intense artistic creation for him.

His symphonic works of this period, a piano concerto, his first suite and his first symphony, received international acclaim. In 1957 he won the Gold Medal in the Moscow Music Festival. In 1959, Darius Milhaud proposed him for the American Copley Music Prize as the Best European Composer of the Year, after the successful performances of his ballet "Antigone" at Covent Garden in London.

Notable works up to 1960

#Chamber music: Trio for piano, violin, violoncello; Preludes, Little Suite and Sonatina for Piano; Sonatines No.1 et 2 for violin and piano #Symphonic music: "The Feast of Assi-Gonia" (symphonic movement); Symphony No.1 ("Proti Simfonia"); Suites No.1, 2 and 3 for Orchestra; "Life and Death" (for voice and strings); "Oedipus Tyrannos" (for strings), Concerto for Piano #Ballet music: "Greek Carnival"; "Les Amants de Téruel" (The Lovers from Teruel); "Antigone"

Back to Greek roots — recognition

Theodorakis returned to Greece and his roots in genuine Greek music, and with his song cycle "Epitaphios" he contributed to a cultural revolution in his country. With his most significant and influential works based on the greatest Greek and world poetry – "Epiphania", "Little Kyklades", "Axion Esti", "Mauthausen", "Romiossini", and "Romancero Gitan"… – he attempted to give back to Greek music a dignity which he said it had lost. In developing his concept of metasymphonic music, he quickly became recognised internationally, and won acclaim as Greece's greatest living composer.

He founded the Little Orchestra of Athens and the Musical Society of Piraeus, and gave many concerts. He became involved in the politics of his home country, and after the assassination of Gregoris Lambrakis in 1963 he founded the Lambrakis Democratic Youth and was elected its president. Following the 1964 elections, he became a member of the Greek Parliament, associated with the left-wing party EDA.

During 1963, he wrote the basic music theme for the Michael Cacoyiannis film "Zorba the Greek" which, since then, exists as a trademark for Greece in the world art. This music is also known as 'Syrtaki dance'; taken and edited by Theodorakis from an old Cretan traditional dance.

Main works of this period

#Song cycles: "Epitaphios" (Yannis Ritsos); "Archipelagos", "Politia A & B", "Epiphania" (George Seferis, Nobel Prize 1963), "Mauthausen" (Yakovos Kabanellis), "Romiossini" (Yannis Ritsos) #Music for the Stage: "The Hostage" (Brendan Behan); "Ballad of the Dead Brother" (Theodorakis); "Maghiki Poli (Magical City)"; "I Gitonia ton Angelon" (The Angels' Quarter, Kabanellis) #Film scores: "Electra" and "Zorba the Greek" (Michalis Cacoyannis) #Oratorio: "Axion Esti" (Odysseas Elytis, Nobel Prize 1979)

The junta — going underground — imprisonment — banishment

On 21st April 1967 a fascist junta (the Regime of the Colonels) took power in a putsch. Theodorakis went underground and founded the Patriotic Front. The Colonels published Army decree No 13, which banned playing, and even listening to his music. Theodorakis himself was arrested on 21 August 1967 and jailed for five months. Following his release in 1968, he was banished to Zatouna with his wife Myrto and their two children, Margarita and Yorgos. Later he was interned in the concentration camp of Oropos. An international solidarity movement, headed by such figures as Dmitri Shostakovitch, Leonard Bernstein, Arthur Miller, and Harry Belafonte managed to get Theodorakis freed. On request of the French politician Jean-Jacques Servan-Schreiber, Theodorakis was allowed to go into exile on 13 April 1970.

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