Mikis Theodorakis (Μίκης Θεοδωράκης) |
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![]() Mikis Theodorakis in 2004
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Background information | |
Born | July 29, 1925 |
Origin | ![]() |
Genre(s) | 20th century classical music (Greek) |
Occupation(s) | Composer Politician |
Website | http://www.mikis-theodorakis.net |
Mikis Theodorakis (Greek: Μίκης Θεοδωράκης) (b. July 29 1925, Greek island of Chios) is one of the most popular Greek composers. He is known internationally for his scores in the films, Zorba the Greek (1964), Z (1969), and Serpico (1973).
Politically, until the late 1970s he identified with the left; in 1990 he became a member of parliament with the centre-right New Democracy party, a move which he has since said he regretted but asserts that was needed in order for the country to come out of the political crisis that had been created due to the numerous scandals. He continues identifying himself with the left and speaking out against any aggressor and oppressor. See his statements on Palestine Official Web Site or the War in Iraq Official Web Site, or Greece - Turkey - Cyprus Official Web Site. He has consistently opposed oppressive regimes and was a key voice against the Greek Junta 1967-1974. He has been mentioned as a candidate for election as President of Greece, but he has refused to be considered.
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He was born on the island of Chios and spent his childhood years in different provincial Greek cities such as Mytilene, Cephallonia, Pyrgos, Patras, and Tripolis. His father was from Crete and his mother from Asia Minor.
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 one person choir (himself) and gave his first concert at the age of seventeen before a mirror.
Later he studied at the Athens Conservatoire under Philoktitis Economidis, and at the Conservatory of Paris where he briefly[1] 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.
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. Because of his radical political ideas, Theodorakis was black-listed by the cultural establishment; at the time of his biggest artistic glory, a large number of his songs were censored-before-studio or were not allowed on the radio stations.
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.
On 21 April, 1967 a right wing 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 Shostakovich, 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. He arrived to Paris by a aeroplane rented by a French Reforming Movement politician Jean-Jacques Servan-Schreiber. Theodorakis's flight left very secretly from a Onassis owned private airport outside Athens. Theodorakis arrieved to Le Bourget Airport where he met Costa Gavras, Melina Mercouri and Jules Dassin. Theodorakis was immediately hospitalized because he suffered from lung tuberculosis. Myrto Theodorakis, Mikis's wife and two sons joined him a week later in France. They arrived from Greece to France via Italy by a boat.
In exile in Paris, He fought for four years for the overthrow of the colonels and for his own interest 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.
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 Constantine Mitsotakis. He was then appointed General Musical Director of the Symphony Orchestra and Chorus of Hellenic Radio and Television for another two years.
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".
Theodorakis has written more than 1,000 songs and song-cycles, whose melodies have become part of the heritage of Greek music. "Sto Perigiali", "Kaimos", "Aprilis", "Doxa to Theo", "Sotiris Petroulas", "Lipotaktes", "Stis Nichtas to Balkoni", "Agapi mou", "Pou petaxe t'agori mou", "Anixe ligo to parathiro", "O Ipnos se tilixe", "To gelasto pedi", "Dendro to dendro", "O Andonis", "Protos o Hlios", and many other songs.
His song cycles are based on poems by famous Greek authors, as well as by Lorca and Neruda: "Epitaphios", "Archipelagos", "Politia", "Epiphania", "The Hostage", "Mykres Kyklades", "Mauthausen", "Romiossini", "Sun and Time", "Songs for Andreas", "Mythology", "Night of Death", "Ta Lyrika", "The Quarters of the World", "Dionysos", "Phaedra", "Mia Thalassa", "Ta Lyrikotera", "Ta Lyrikotata", "Erimia", "Odysseia".
Reference: Guy Wagner. Chairman of the International Theodorakis Foundation FILIKI. List of works based on the research of Asteris Koutoulas.
The following parts of the Theodorakis-Page are not from the author of the article above. So the lack of citations for the following comments doesn't depend on him.
Theodorakis was well known for his left-wing views, which he has expressed openly (including, notably, during the junta dictatorship). He has campaigned for numerous human rights and peace causes, such as in the Cyprus dispute, the tensions between Turkey and Greece due to the Aegean dispute, NATO attacks against Yugoslavia, the kidnapping and treatment of Abdullah Öcalan, or the Israeli-Palestinian conflict He has, however turned into more right-wing ethnicist and conservative ideologies during the last decade.
No one ever said that Thedorakis has ever spoken in politically correct terms about anything and of course we all know that Theodorakis will always come to the rescue of those that need help. The Palestinians now need help the same way the Jews needed help during the second world war. HE ANSWERED THE CALL WHEN THE JEWS NEEDED IT HE COULD NOT HAVE FAILED BUT ANSWER THE CALL OF THE PALESTINIANS NOW.
The points Theodorakis was making are very simple. 1) The policies of Israel against the palestinians are Barbaric and should be condemned by all freedom loving people. Indeed many jews are opposing those policies. 2) There is an organized effort to silence opposition and the tactics Theodorakis describes are on target.
Many examples are available, in academia, in political world and in business.
The activities of "Campus Watch", or, "Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America" or, of the well-known Harvard law professor (Alan Dershowitz), etc.
The charge of anti-semitism is used to silence views expressing criticism of Israeli policy with respect to the Palestinian's or invasions of Lebanon, etc. IN THE NAME OF JUSTICE Wikipedia should not become an instrument of these groups
This entry bellow needs to be balanced with hyperlinks to the names of Ariel Sharon, Noam Chomsky, Norman Finkelstein and others.
On November 11th 2003, Mikis Theodorakis held a press conference to present his new book "Pou Na Vro Tin Psychi Mou" (Where can I find my soul?). After the conference, Theodorakis, in a private exchange of views, said that Greeks and Jews "are two peoples without kin, but they (the Jews) had fanaticism and self-knowledge and managed to prevail. "We, the Greeks, are very calm and did not turn aggressive like them is because we have more history. They (the Jews) only have Abraham and Jacob, who were shadows, while we have Pericles. Imagine what would happen in Greece if we were as aggressive as the Jews." Theodorakis added "Today it is possible to say that this small nation is at the root of evil. It is full of self-importance and evil stubbornness."[2].
His comments caused uproar in Israel and among Jews in Greece, prompting complaints from the Israeli embassy in Athens to the Greek Government. Israel's Foreign Ministry issued a public protest: "The Israeli public is utterly repulsed by Theodorakis's anti-Semitic comments." The statement expressed regret that the comments were spoken by someone of Theodorakis's stature. "We do not believe that the comments reflect the position of the Greek government, and therefore expect Greek leadership and cultural figures to denounce them".
Following a public outcry, Theodorakis published the following official statement:
For all details: Official Web Site
During an interview for Ha'aretz, August 2004 (see external link), Ari Shavit asked about this and Theodorakis answered thus:
Ari Shavit asked: So today's globalized capitalism is controlled very much by the Jews? and Theodorakis answered:
"Since we speak frankly, I will tell you something else. The Jewish people control most of the big symphonic orchestras in the world. When I wrote the Palestinian national anthem, the Boston Symphony was planning a production of my work. It is controlled by Jewish people. They didn't allow the concert to go on. Since then I cannot work with any great orchestra. They refuse me." "Wherever there are Jews. Wherever there are orchestras controlled by Jewish people, they boycott my work." "Campus Watch", or, "Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America" or Norman Finkelstein and others
In an article in Eleftherotypia (14 April 2002):
On 29 March 2007 (www.in.gr), he stated: "We have two great institutions in Greece. The President of the Democracy and the Head of the Greek Orthodox Church. I rebel when I see that there are people who do not respect these institutions. When you talk about the President or the Archbishop you should wash your mouth first." And, later on: "We must have roots. We must be proud of our generation, of our nation. Of the exquisite marriage of hellenism with the essence of Christianity. All these people don't know what Greek Orthodox means. They say that the Secret School (Kryfo Scholeio) never existed. But in the churches the priests read the Gospels, which were written in Greek."
"Germany never had great composers, ...except these 20-30 composers of classical music": Interview on Greek TV (NET) with Nassos Athanassiou.
On November 2006, the decision of the Greek Ministry of Culture to cut the funding for most of Theodorakis' 17 upcoming concerts at the Benaki Museum provoked the composer's angry reaction. In a public statement, Theodorakis criticized the government for its decision, announced his decision to withdraw his concerts from Ministry's funding. Moreover, the composer declared that "during the last years, in our country, there is a dominant negative environment in all sectors of our national life, which day by day becomes worse" and he added that his aim was always to "show the essence of Greekness (of being Greek)" as a tool of resistance against globalization. Theodorakis' statement provoked both support[3] and criticism towards his expressed opinion, within the Greek media.