The memory of Mikis Theodorakis was honored on Red Square in Moscow

The memory of Mikis Theodorakis was honored on Red Square in Moscow, according to a video published by the Russian Embassy in Athens.

“I’m not a hero. Heroes die young. I am a citizen who fulfills my duty, ”Mikis Theodorakis once said in an interview. And so it happened. He exhausted his whole life “to the bottom”, leaving this world at the 96th year of his life.

The Greek military band “Theseus” reportedly dedicated its performance to the composer, and his portrait was placed on the Greek national flag, against the backdrop of the Kremlin.

“Sad news about the death of the great composer hurt the hearts of not only the inhabitants of Greece. Mikis Theodorakis has completed his earthly journey, but his music will live in our hearts, ”it was reported.

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=215780460528676

As “Russian Athens” wrote earlier, the brilliant Greek composer Mikis Theodorakis died in her 96th year of life in the capital of Greece in her own apartment.

“I’m not a hero. Heroes die young. I am a citizen who fulfills my duty, ”Mikis Theodorakis once said in an interview. And so it happened. He exhausted his whole life “to the bottom”, leaving this world at the 96th year of his life.

From his apartment on the top floor of a building with huge panoramic windows and a view of the Acropolis, he commented in his own way on everything that worried him: culture, politics, social life.

“How can we live the measured years? You have to taste them, exhausting them (…) ”- said Mikis Theodorakis in an interview, and this was his daily life.

Theodorakis’ works touch the hearts of all peoples, all the oppressed, persecuted on earth. Mikis Theodorakis is a musical genius who made a decisive contribution to the cultural revival of post-war Greece. This cultural contribution has always been intertwined with the struggles and pains of the Greek people (…). The melodies and songs have been nurtured by the great works of leading national poets. In difficult times, in the days of the hard struggle of the country’s people against fascism, against capitalism, imperialist wars and interventions, military coups, he was among the first.

Mikis comes from Chios, who conquered the world
Mikis Theodorakis was born in Chios on July 29, 1925. His father, George Theodorakis Bizanachos, came from the village of Galatas (Chania), and his mother, Aspasia Pulakis, was from Chesme (Asia Minor). The parents met in Asia Minor shortly before the Asia Minor Catastrophe. Mikis Theodorakis spent his childhood in various cities of the Greek province such as Mytilene, Ioannina, Argostoli, Pyrgos, Ilia, Patras, and especially Tripoli, Arcadia, due to the frequent travels of his father, a civil servant.

From childhood, the boy showed interest and love for music, he began to compose his first songs, not yet knowing how to play musical instruments. At the age of 17, he organized a choir in the Peloponnesian city of Tripolis.

During World War II, Theodorakis participated in the Resistance Movement. He was captured by the Nazis and tortured.

During the civil war in Greece (1946-1949), the composer was sent into exile on the island of Ikaria, and then placed in a concentration camp on the island of Makronisos, where he was also tortured and beaten.

In 1950 he graduated from the Athens Conservatory, class of composition under Philoktitis Ikonomides. Then from 1954 to 1959, at the Paris Conservatory, he studied musical analysis with Olivier Messiaen and conducting with Eugene Vigo. While living in France, he composed a lot. This period includes chamber preludes and sonatinas, symphonic works and three ballets.

In 1959, the composer returned to Greece. Organized an orchestra in Athens and a musical society in Piraeus. He was also engaged in political activities, in particular, he was a member of parliament from the United Left Democratic Party (1964-1967). In April 1967, shortly after the Black Colonels putsch, Theodorakis went underground. The colonels banned his music, and soon the composer went to prison, where he spent five months. In 1968 he was released under pressure from world public opinion and sent into exile, but already in 1969 he was placed in the Oropos concentration camp (near Athens). World famous cultural figures again stood up for him, in particular, D. Shostakovich, L. Bernstein, A. Miller, G. Belafonte. This had an effect, and in April 1970 the composer was released. Since 1970 he has lived and worked in France. In exile, he continued to fight, arranging concerts in favor of the fighters against the junta. After her fall in July 1974, Theodorakis returned to Greece again.

In the 1980s and 1990s, he was elected to parliament several times, was a minister in the government of Konstantinos Mitsotakis. His niece Maro Theodoraki is a famous Greek composer. All his life Mikis fought for universal human values, for democracy in Greece. Founder of the Iskra Movement of Independent Citizens.

Died on September 2, 2021 after a long illness.

Works of Mikis Theodorakis

“If I had not experienced everything that I have experienced, I would not have written this music,” said Theodorakis.

He composed pieces of music of all types and kinds. And he is the author of perhaps the most recognizable “Greek rhythm” in the world – Sirtaki, created for the film “Zorbas” (1964). The composer also loved classical music, composed symphonies, oratorios, music for ballet, opera and chamber works.

“Music has never been an end in itself for me, it’s something empirical,” he said.

Theodorakis’ compositions have been performed by internationally renowned singers and bands such as The Beatles, Shirley Basey, Joan Baez and Edith Piaf.

He wrote music for such important films as Phaedra (1962), Alexis Zorbas (1964), Z (1969) and Serpiko (1973). In 1970, he was awarded the BAFTA for Originality for the soundtrack for the film Z, while he was nominated in the same category in 1974 for the film “Siege” and in 1975 for the film “Serpico”. He was also nominated for a Grammy in 1966 and 1975 for the soundtrack for the films Zorbas and Serpico.

The most important are his works, written in the style of “melodic poetry”, which uses as lyrics the poetry of the award-winning poets of Greek and foreign origin: Yannis Ritsos (Lenin Peace Prize 1976), Georgios Seferis (Nobel 1963), Pablo Neruda (Nobel 1971), Odiseas Elitis (1979). In 2000 Mikis Theodorakis was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.

From his apartment on the top floor of a building with huge panoramic windows and a view of the Acropolis, he commented in his own way on everything that worried him: culture, politics, social life.

“How can we live the measured years? You have to taste them, exhausting them (…) ”- said Mikis Theodorakis in an interview, and this was his daily life.

Theodorakis’ works touch the hearts of all peoples, all the oppressed, persecuted on earth. Mikis Theodorakis is a musical genius who made a decisive contribution to the cultural revival of post-war Greece. This cultural contribution has always been intertwined with the struggles and pains of the Greek people (…). The melodies and songs have been nurtured by the great works of leading national poets. In difficult times, in the days of the hard struggle of the country’s people against fascism, against capitalism, imperialist wars and interventions, military coups, he was among the first.

Mikis comes from Chios, who conquered the world
Mikis Theodorakis was born in Chios on July 29, 1925. His father, George Theodorakis Bizanachos, came from the village of Galatas (Chania), and his mother, Aspasia Pulakis, was from Chesme (Asia Minor). The parents met in Asia Minor shortly before the Asia Minor Catastrophe. Mikis Theodorakis spent his childhood in various cities of the Greek province, such as Mytilene, Ioannina, Argostoli, Pyrgos, Ilia, Patras, and especially Tripoli, Arcadia, due to the frequent travels of his father, a civil servant.

From childhood, the boy showed interest and love for music, he began to compose his first songs, not yet knowing how to play musical instruments. At the age of 17, he organized a choir in the Peloponnesian city of Tripolis.

During World War II, Theodorakis participated in the Resistance Movement. He was captured by the Nazis and tortured.

During the civil war in Greece (1946-1949), the composer was sent into exile on the island of Ikaria, and then placed in a concentration camp on the island of Makronisos, where he was also tortured and beaten.

In 1950 he graduated from the Athens Conservatory, class of composition under Philoktitis Ikonomides. Then from 1954 to 1959, at the Paris Conservatory, he studied musical analysis with Olivier Messiaen and conducting with Eugene Vigo. While living in France, he composed a lot. This period includes chamber preludes and sonatinas, symphonic works and three ballets.

In 1959, the composer returned to Greece. Organized an orchestra in Athens and a musical society in Piraeus. He was also engaged in political activities, in particular, he was a member of parliament from the United Left Democratic Party (1964-1967). In April 1967, shortly after the Black Colonels putsch, Theodorakis went underground. The colonels banned his music, and soon the composer went to prison, where he spent five months. In 1968 he was released under pressure from world public opinion and sent into exile, but already in 1969 he was placed in the Oropos concentration camp (near Athens). World famous cultural figures again stood up for him, in particular, D. Shostakovich, L. Bernstein, A. Miller, G. Belafonte. This had an effect, and in April 1970 the composer was released. Since 1970 he has lived and worked in France. In exile, he continued to fight, arranging concerts in favor of the fighters against the junta. After her fall in July 1974, Theodorakis returned to Greece again.

In the 1980s and 1990s, he was several times elected to parliament, was a minister in the government of Konstantinos Mitsotakis. His niece Maro Theodoraki is a famous Greek composer. All his life Mikis fought for universal human values, for democracy in Greece. Founder of the Iskra Movement of Independent Citizens.

Died on September 2, 2021 after a long illness.

Works of Mikis Theodorakis

“If I had not experienced everything that I have experienced, I would not have written this music,” said Theodorakis.

He composed pieces of music of all types and kinds. And he is the author of perhaps the most recognizable “Greek rhythm” in the world – Sirtaki, created for the film “Zorbas” (1964). The composer also loved classical music, composed symphonies, oratorios, music for ballet, opera and chamber works.

“Music has never been an end in itself for me, it’s something empirical,” he said.

Theodorakis’ compositions have been performed by internationally renowned singers and bands such as The Beatles, Shirley Basey, Joan Baez and Edith Piaf.

He wrote music for such important films as Phaedra (1962), Alexis Zorbas (1964), Z (1969) and Serpiko (1973). In 1970, he was awarded the BAFTA for Originality for the soundtrack for the film Z, while he was nominated in the same category in 1974 for the film “Siege” and in 1975 for the film “Serpico”. He was also nominated for a Grammy in 1966 and 1975 for the soundtrack for the films Zorbas and Serpico.

The most important are his works, written in the style of “melodic poetry”, which uses poems of the award-winning poets of Greek and foreign origin: Yannis Ritsos (Lenin Peace Prize 1976), Georgios Seferis (Nobel 1963), Pablo Neruda (Nobel 1971), Odiseas Elitis (1979). In 2000 Mikis Theodorakis was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.

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