Mikis Theodorakis
Born: July 29, 1925, Chios, Greece
Died: September 2, 2021

Greece enters 3 days of mourning.

Videos below…
Theodorakis was a towering figure in Greek life. A world renowned composer, activist and politician. Born of a family of Cretans in the island of Chios, he joined the resistance against the German and Italian occupation of Greece when he was 17, during World War II. He was imprisoned and tortured by the nazis, exiled multiple times as a resistance fighter during the Greek civil war after WWII,  and then again in the 1960s by the military junta which also had banned his music.

His impeccable music is interwoven in the Greek life. In the world stage, he’s best-known around the world for his film title scores in several movies including the 1964 classic Zorba the Greek, Z in 1969, Serpico in 1973 and others.

“We had all forgotten that he was a mere mortal. But his legacy of music, his political activism and his service to the nation in times of crisis lives on… An iconic composer. A fighter for democracy and social justice. We are deeply saddened by his passing, and are only comforted by the knowledge that his legacy will live on, enriching lives the world over, for generations to come.”
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis

“Today we lost a part of Greece’s soul. Mikis Theodorakis, Mikis the teacher, the intellectual, the radical, our Mikis has gone”
Culture Minister Lina Mendoni.

“A towering man with a brooding presence and a shock of wavy hair, Theodorakis’s work evoked a progressive, democratic vision of the world, though his political struggles reflected a darker side of Greece rarely seen by visitors.” Reuters

He will be missed but his music and inspiration will live for ever.

External links: NPR | AP | NYT | REUTERS | Kathimerini |

videos

The last goodbye

On Monday, September 6, the three-day popular pilgrimage of Mikis Theodorakis began in the chapel of Agios Eleftherios in the Diocese of Athens with a crowd of people flocking to pay tribute to the great creator.

Zorba the Greek

Mikis Theodorakis & Anthony Quinn – Munich, 1995

Giannis Parios – Mikis Theodorakis (Stròse to stròma sou)

A Dance Tribute


CONTENTS:
00:00 • Εισαγωγικό – Intro
00:29 • Χαρταετοί (Hartaeti) – Μίκης Θεοδωράκης (Mikis Theodorakis) | – ορχηστρικό – instrumental
00:51 • Βρέχει στη φτωχογειτονιά (Vrehi sti ftohoyitonia) – εκτέλεση: Γιώργος Νταλάρας (performed by: Giorgos Dalaras) | ‘Αφιέρωμα στο Μ.Θεοδωράκη’, Ηρώδειο 1988
02:34 • Το τραγούδι του νεκρού αδερφού (To tragoudi tou nekrou aderfou) – Μίκης Θεοδωράκης (Mikis Theodorakis) | ορχηστρικό – instrumental | Εκτέλεση από τη Λαϊκή Ορχήστρα “Μίκης Θεοδωράκης”
03:11 • Της Δικαιοσύνης Ήλιε Νοητέ (Tis Dikaiosinis Ilie Noite) – εκτέλεση: Γρηγόρης Μπιθικώτσης (performed by: Grigoris Bithikotsis)
04:02 • Ζορμπάς (Zorbas) – Μίκης Θεοδωράκης (Mikis Theodorakis) | – ορχηστρικό – instrumental
05:49 • Το Σαββατόβραδο (To Savvatovrado) – Στέλιος Καζαντζίδης (Stelios Kazantzidis) & Μίκης Θεοδωράκης (Mikis Theodorakis)