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Mikis Theodorakis is a well-loved Greek composer whose vibrant music and politically defiant life have won international acclaim and inspired millions of people at home. He is 96 years old.
He died at his home in central Athens on Thursday. National TV announced his death and has been hospitalized several times in recent years, mainly for heart disease treatment.
Theodorakis’ prolific career from the age of 17 produced a wide variety of works, from gloomy symphonies and the Palestine Liberation Organization’s national anthem to popular TV and film soundtracks, Serpico and the Greeks. bar.
But this tall man with his signature work clothes, hoarse voice and wavy hair was also remembered by the Greeks for his stubborn opposition to the regime that persecuted him and banned his music after the war.
Relatives and friends escorted the coffin of Theodorakis out of his home in Athens [Michalis Karagiannis/ Eurokinissi/AFP]The Acropolis announced three days of national mourning, and the Greek flag was reduced to half.
Greek President Katerina Sacraropoulou said in a statement: “He is passionate and devoted all his life to music, art, our country and people, and to the ideas of freedom, justice, equality, and social solidarity.”
“The music he composed is intertwined with the history and social development of post-war Greece. Music has provided encouragement, comfort, protest and support during the dark period of our modern history.”
Music and politics
Theodorakis was born on July 29, 1925 on the island of Chios in the eastern Aegean Sea. He has been exposed to music and politics since he was a child. As Greece entered World War II, he began to compose music and poetry as a teenager. During the war, he was arrested by the Italian and German occupiers of the country for participating in the left-wing resistance organization.
Some of these groups strongly opposed the leadership of the Greek government and monarchy immediately after the war, which led to the civil war in 1946-49, and the communist-backed rebels ended in failure.
Theodorakis was sentenced to prison and sent to remote Greek islands, including the notorious “re-education” camp on the small island of Macronisos near Athens. Due to severe beatings and torture, Theodorakis fractured his limbs, respiratory diseases and other injuries, which affected the rest of his life. He contracted tuberculosis, was sent to a mental hospital, and was subjected to a mock execution.
After the death of Theodorakis, the international mourning [File: Reuters]Despite the difficulties, he successfully established himself as a respected musician. He graduated from the Athens Conservatory of Music in 1950 and received a scholarship to continue his studies in Paris in 1954.
He started his career as a prolific composer, because his works cover a wide range, from film scores, ballet music to opera, as well as chamber music, ancient Greek tragedies and Greek folk music, setting the works of major poets as music , Including Spain’s Federico GarcÃa Lorca and Greece’s Nobel Prize winner Odysseus Elitis. The music series “Song of Mauthausen” based on poems written by Nazi concentration camp survivor Iakovos Kambanellis describes the horrors of camp life and the Holocaust.
But it was Nikos Kazantzakis’ adaptation of the Oscar-winning film “Zorba the Greek” in 1964 and Theodorakis’ slow to fanatical title soundtrack that made him a household name.
This movie starring Anthony Quinn, Alan Bates and Irene Pappas won three Oscars.
In 1969, he wrote a film for “Z” about the assassination of the Greek peace activist Grigoris Lambrakis (Grigoris Lambrakis), which won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film that year.
‘Initiated a revolution’
As Theodorakis’s reputation grew, the political turmoil in Greece continued, and his work was banned by the military dictatorship that ruled the country from 1967 to 1974—turning his music into democracy Celebrations at the time of recovery and rallies of decades of resistance played at the time of protests.
His fans are as colorful as his works: The Beatles sang his songs, and he was awarded the Lenin Peace Prize by the Soviet Union.
Alexandros Zachariades, a PhD student in International Relations at the London School of Economics, told Al Jazeera: “Talking to people from different lives, different ages, and different political backgrounds, we seem to have lost a father. Image.” “You know, like a father, we don’t really like every aspect of this character, but we appreciate him as a guiding light,” he said.
“What Theodorakis did was to revolutionize Greek music, and at the same time…to revolutionize politics in a very cultural way,” Zachariades explained.
“In fact, he chose to put very folk music-the sound of bouzoukis-not only in the words of poets from the Greek left, such as Giannis Ritsos and Manolis Anagnostakis, but he also put his music in Georgios. The lyrics and poems of Seferis or Odysseas Elytis, they are not from the left, and actually give ordinary Greek citizens access to world-class poetry.
“He sparked a musical revolution, but I would also say it politically in this way.”
‘A giant’
After the announcement of his death, the international memorial event reminded people of the many causes he supported.
Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu thanked him on Twitter for his efforts to establish friendship between his old rivals Greece and Turkey. The Chilean ambassador to Athens visited his home in the Greek capital and thanked his family for publicly opposing the former dictator Augusto Pinochet.
“Greece has lost a part of its soul today,” wrote Lina Mendoni, the Greek Minister of Culture, praising Theodorakis for his ability to turn the poet’s work into the national anthem passed down by the Greeks from generation to generation. .
Theodorakis participated in multiple anti-austerity protests during the Greek financial crisis [File: Nikolas Giakoumidis/AP Photo]Tireless in his later years, Theodorakis continued to collaborate with emerging artists to create works including the music for the opening ceremony of the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games, and maintained an active interest in politics.
For most of the 1980s, he was a member of the Communist Party of Greece, but later served in the cabinet of the conservative government. He spoke at a rally that supported the establishment of a Palestinian state, opposed the Iraq war, and recently opposed an agreement to end the name dispute between Greece and North Macedonia.
His defenders see him as a unity, willing to make bold decisions to try to heal the country’s long-standing painful political differences, many of which are rooted in the Cold War. Fans who disagreed with him ignored his politics. Those who paid tribute to Theodorakis on Thursday came from all political parties in Greece, as well as his fellow artists.
“He is a giant and we are all proud of him. His music, his life, he is unique,” said Manolis Mitsias, a singer who has worked extensively with Theodorakis. “Greece is an orphan today.”
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced three days of national condolences and posted a photo with Theodorakis at his home after his recent hospitalization.
Mizotakis wrote: “I have been fortunate enough to know him for many years… His advice has always been of value to me, especially regarding the unity of our people and overcoming differences.”
“The best way to remember him as a global Greek is to live according to this message. Mikis is our history.”
Alexis Tsipras, the former prime minister and leader of the main opposition radical left coalition, said: “Mickis illuminates our souls. He uses his works to mark the lives of those who choose the path of democracy and social justice. And history.”
Tsipras added: “The outstanding composer, warrior, communist, and activist, through his music, life, struggle and his contradictions, gave freedom, culture, art, and participation a new meaning. We are convinced that what he left behind is indelible. In the hearts of our people, the identity of the country and the cultural heritage of the world.”
Theodorakis’ widow Margarita Theodorakis and son George Theodorakis died at the age of 68. The funeral arrangement could not be carried out immediately. His body will rest in the Athens Cathedral for three days next week.
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