Mikis Theodorakis
Mikis Theodorakis has played many public roles since his emergence in the mid-twentieth century, as Greece's most successful composer of serious music, a leader in the field of film music, and a symbol of resistance to oppression. Born Michalis Theodorakis on the Aegean island of Chios, he was a shy child who enjoyed poetry and music. His interest in music was shaped by his gypsy-like childhood, as his father, a government official, was continually transferred throughout the Greek islands; in the process, Theodorakis was exposed to a huge variety of traditional Greek music, all of which shaped his sensibilities as a composer. He also displayed a strong interest in liturgical music and took up the violin, which he studied at the Patras Conservatory of Music. Theodorakis began composing music as a boy. He did his best to continue studying music during the Axis occupation, but after he was refused admission to the Athens State Conservatory, Theodorakis turned to his other great passion, politics. He was converted to Marxism by his patriotism and the sacrifices he saw made by the communists fighting the occupying forces. He linked his musical and political passions, composing pieces such as his oratorio Third of December, a memorial to partisans killed by the British. Theodorakis' Communist affiliations led to his imprisonment twice by the postwar government, and he was held under brutal conditions for more than two years, until he was released with a case of advanced tuberculosis in 1949.
During the 1950s, Theodorakis began emerging as a composer and critic. He wrote and arranged scores for ancient dramas, composed a pair of ballets, Orpheus and Euridice and Greek Carnival, and began writing for movies. In 1954, he received a grant to study at the Paris Conservatory, where his teachers included Olivier Messiaen, and he composed twenty-one works during his four years in Paris. He continued his work in films as well, most notably in Ill Met By Moonlight (1956) directed by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, and in Powell's Honeymoon (1959), which featured Theodorakis' ballet The Lovers of Teruel (which was later the basis for a separate film). He also became a critic of the musical establishment in Greece, insisting that composition could be invigorated by a return to their music's roots and the traditional sources he'd known as a boy. He continued composing for the theater and also in popular music, and in 1964 wrote the score for the movie Zorba The Greek, which was a huge hit and exposed a vast new audience to Theodorakis' music. Theodorakis' reputation was made among popular listeners as well as serious music circles, but his music career was soon overshadowed by politics.
As a member of the Greek parliament in the 1960s, he had built a reputation as a political activist and had a potent political organization behind him. When a group of Greek army colonels seized power in 1967, Theodorakis went underground and began organizing resistance to the junta, and was arrested twice; held for two years, he was released on humanitarian grounds following a massive international outcry. He'd continued composing, even smuggling compositions out of prison, and wrote a song cycle devoted to the cause of the resistance. Theodorakis returned to the Greek parliament after democracy was restored, but has been increasingly known for his music in the decades since. In 1988, the expanded version of his first symphony received its American premiere, and his works have comprised entire programs at such venues as Avery Fisher Hall in New York.
© TiVo
Ähnliche Künstler
-
Taxidi Mesa Sti Nychta
World Music - Erschienen bei Melody Maker am 01.01.1978
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bande Originale du film "Le Jour où les poissons sont sortis de l'eau" (The Day The Fish Came Out, film de Michael Cacoyannis, 1967)
Original Soundtrack - Erschienen bei FM Records am 01.01.1967
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Romancero Gitano
Michaelangelo Niarchos, Mikis Theodorakis
World Music - Erschienen bei FM Records am 03.05.2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Omorfi Poli - Magiki Poli (Remastered)
Pop - Erschienen bei Minos - EMI SA am 01.01.1962
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sites and Sounds of Greece: The Very Best Of Mikis Theodorakis (Re-Mastered)
Mikis Theodorakis, Bouzouki Kings
World Music - Erschienen bei FM Records am 17.05.2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
-
Die schönsten Sirtakis aus Griechenland
Pop - Erschienen bei RCA Records Label am 29.04.1991
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Romiosini (Digitally Remastered)
Mikis Theodorakis, Grigoris Bithikotsis
Pop - Erschienen bei HMV am 01.01.1966
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Theodorakis: East of the Aegean
Klassik - Erschienen bei intuition am 29.09.2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mikres Kiklades / Hrisoprasino Fillo (Remastered)
Pop - Erschienen bei EMI Greece am 01.01.2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
-
Kratisa Ti Zoi Mou
Mikis Theodorakis, Anastasia Avra
World Music - Erschienen bei FM Records am 24.06.2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Galazio
Mikis Theodorakis, Thanasis Vasilas
World Music - Erschienen bei FM Records am 20.07.2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Dionisos
Mikis Theodorakis, Thanasis Moraitis
Pop - Erschienen bei Sirius am 01.01.2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mikis O Efxinios (Live)
Konstantinos Tsahouridis, Matthaios Tsahouridis, Mikis Theodorakis
World Music - Erschienen bei FM Records am 20.05.2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Kalliopi Vetta sings Mikis Theodorakis
Mikis Theodorakis, Kalliopi Vetta, Yannis K. Ioannou
World Music - Erschienen bei FM Records am 11.04.2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Theodorakis: Medea
Klassik - Erschienen bei intuition am 01.01.2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
I Gitonia Ton Aggelon (Remastered)
World Music - Erschienen bei Minos - EMI SA am 01.01.1963
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Romiosini (Remastered)
Mikis Theodorakis, Grigoris Bithikotsis
Pop - Erschienen bei EMI Greece am 01.01.1966
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Very Best Of Mikis Theodorakis, Vol. 2
Mikis Theodorakis, Bouzouki Kings
World Music - Erschienen bei FM Records am 01.01.1999
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Ladies Sing Mikis Theodorakis
World Music - Erschienen bei FM Records am 28.02.2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo