Mikis Theodorakis Greek composer Date of Birth: 29.07.1925 Country: Greece

Biography of Mikis Theodorakis

Mikis Theodorakis, a Greek composer and politician, was born on July 29, 1925, on the Greek island of Chios. His father was from the island of Crete, while his mother was born in Asia Minor. From a young age, Theodorakis showed an interest and love for music, composing his first songs before even learning to play musical instruments.

At the age of 17, he organized a choir in the city of Tripoli in the Peloponnese region. During World War II, Theodorakis participated in the Resistance Movement and was captured and tortured by the fascists. He was sent into exile on the island of Ikaria during the Greek Civil War (1946-1949) and was later placed in a concentration camp on the island of Makronisos, where he endured further torture and beatings.

From 1954 to 1959, Theodorakis studied musical analysis under Olivier Messiaen and conducting under Eugene Bigot at the Paris Conservatory. While living in France, he composed prolifically, creating chamber preludes, sonatinas, symphonic works, and three ballets. In 1959, the composer returned to Greece and established an orchestra in Athens and a Music Society in Piraeus.

In addition to his musical endeavors, Theodorakis also engaged in political activism and served as a Member of Parliament for the United Democratic Party from 1964 to 1967. In April 1967, shortly after a coup d'état carried out by the "Black Colonels," Theodorakis went underground. His music was banned by the military regime, and he was eventually imprisoned for five months.

In 1968, international pressure led to his release and subsequent exile, but he was later placed in the Oropos concentration camp near Athens in 1969. Prominent figures in the cultural world, including Dmitri Shostakovich, Leonard Bernstein, Arthur Miller, and Harry Belafonte, advocated for his release. In April 1970, Theodorakis was finally freed.

From 1970 onwards, he lived and worked in France. During his exile, he continued his fight against the junta by organizing concerts in support of the resistance. After the fall of the junta in July 1974, Theodorakis returned to Greece. In the 1980s and 1990s, he was elected to parliament several times and served as a minister in the government of Konstantinos Mitsotakis. He currently lives in retirement.