100 YEARS FROM THE BIRTH OF MIKIS THEODORAKIS

Mikis Theodorakis (1925-2021) was a leading Greek composer of the 20th century and one of the most prominent personalities of modern Greece, with international acclaim. His life was linked with the struggles and vision of the Left, as well as the resistance to the 1967-1974 junta, and was marked by persecution, imprisonment, torture and exile. He was actively involved in Greek politics, as president of the Lambrakis Youth Movement and later as Member of Parliament and government minister.

His vast oeuvre encompasses all music genres: symphony, chamber music, opera, ballet, film and theatre scores, as well as countless songs. Blending folk and Byzantine elements with his solid classical background, he pioneered the entechno (“artful”) popular song, as he named it. Importantly, he set to music poetry by Yiannis Ritsos (Epitaphios, Romiosini), Odysseus Elytis (The Axion Esti), Giorgos Seferis (Epiphany), Lorca, Neruda and others. Epical and lyrical, Greek and universal, Theodorakis was adored by the Greek people and his work is a national treasure.