Mikis Theodorakis

Mikis Theodorakis (Μίκης

Biography

The early years — WW II — 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.

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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.

Related Topics:
World War II - Fascist - Italian - German - Torture - Athens - Greek Civil War

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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.

Related Topics:
Paris - Olivier Messiaen - 1954 - 1959

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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.

Related Topics:
Piano concerto - Suite - Symphony - Moscow - Darius Milhaud - American Copley Music Prize - Ballet - Antigone - Covent Garden - London

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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.

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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.

Related Topics:
Gregoris Lambrakis - 1963 - 1964

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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.

Related Topics:
21st April - 1967 - Junta - Regime of the Colonels - Took power in a putsch - 21 August - 1968 - Zatouna - Oropos - Dmitri Shostakovitch - Leonard Bernstein - Arthur Miller - Harry Belafonte - Servan-Schreiber - 13 April - 1970

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Main works under the dictatorship

• Song cycles: "O Ilios ke o Chronos" ("Sun and Time", Theodorakis); "Ta Laïka"("The Popular Songs", M. Elefteriou); Arcadies I-X; Songs for Andreas (Theodorakis); "Nichta Thanatou" ("Nights of Death", M. Elefteriou)
• Oratorios: "Ephiphania Averoff" (Seferis), "State of Siege" (Marina-Rena Hadjidakis), "March of the Spirit" (Angelos Sikelianos), "Raven" (Seferis, after Edgar Allan Poe)
• Film score: "Z" (Costa-Gavras).

Exile — resistance

In exile, Theodorakis fought for four years for the overthrow of the colonels. He gave thousands of concerts worldwide as part of his struggle for the restoration of democracy in Greece, met Pablo Neruda and Salvador Allende, Gamal Abdel Nasser and Tito, Igal Alon and Yasser Arafat, François Mitterrand and Olof Palme. For millions of people, he became a universal symbol of resistance against dictatorship.

Related Topics:
Pablo Neruda - Salvador Allende - Gamal Abdel Nasser - Tito - Igal Alon - Yasser Arafat - François Mitterrand - Olof Palme

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Main works written in exile

• Song cycles: "Lianotragouda" ("18 Songs for the Bitter Fatherland", Yannis Ritsos); "Ballades" (Manolis Anagnostakis)
• Oratorio: "Canto General" (Pablo Neruda)
• Film scores: "The Trojan Women" (M. Cacoyannis); "State of Siege" (Costa-Gavras); "Serpico" (S. Lumet)

Return to Greece — activism — prolific writing

After the fall of the Colonels, Theodorakis returned to Greece on 24 July 1974 to continue his work and his concert tours, both at home and abroad. At the same time he participated in public affairs. He was elected several times to the Greek Parliament (1981–1986 and 1989–1993) and for two years, from 1990 to 1992, he was a minister in the government of Konstantin Mitsotakis. He was then appointed General Musical Director of the Symphony Orchestra and Chorus of Hellenic Radio and Television for another two years.

Related Topics:
24 July - 1974 - 1981 - 1986 - 1989 - 1993 - 1990 - 1992 - Mitsotakis

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Theodorakis has always combined an exceptional artistic talent with a deep love of his country. He is also committed to heightening international awareness of human rights, of environmental issues, and of the need for peace. It was for this reason that he initiated, together with the renowned Turkish musician and singer Zülfü Livaneli, the Greek–Turkish Friendship Society. Theodorakis is Doctor honoris causa of several universities, including Montreal, Thessaloniki, and Crete, and was nominated for the Nobel Prize for Peace in 2000. Currently he lives in retirement, publishing on music, culture, and politics. But on important occasions he never hesitates to take a position, as in 1999, opposing NATO's Kosovo war, and in 2003 against the Iraq War. In 2005, he was awarded the "Russian International St Andrew the First Called Prize" and the "IMC UNESCO International Music Prize".

Related Topics:
Zülfü Livaneli - Doctor honoris causa - Nobel Prize - 2000 - 1999 - NATO - Kosovo war - 2003 - Iraq War - 2005

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Main works after 1974

• Song cycles: "Ta Lyrika", "Dionysos", "Phaedra", "Beatrice in Zero Street", "Mia Thalasssa" ("A Sea Full of Music"), "Os archeos Anemos" ("Like an Ancient Wind"), "Lyrikotera" ("The More-Than-Lyric Songs"), "Lyrikotata" ("The Most Lyric Songs"), "Erimia" ("Solitude")
• Music for the Stage: "Orestia" (dir.: Spyros Evangelatos); "Antigone" (dir.: M. Volanakis); "Medea" (dir.: Spyros Evangelatos)
• Film scores: "Iphigenia" (M. Cacoyannis), "The Man with the Carnation" (N. Tzimas)
• Oratorios: "Missa Greca", "Liturgia 2", "Requiem"
• Symphonic music and cantatas: Symphonies no 2, 3, 4, 7, "According to the Sadducees", "Canto Olympico", Guita Rhapsody (1996), Cello Rhapsody (1997)
• Operas: "Kostas Karyotakis", "Medea", "Elektra", "Antigone", "Lysistrata".