Theodorakis, Mikis (EN)

Theodorakis Mikis, *29 July 1925 Chios Island, †2 September 2021 Athens, Greek composer. During World War II, he joined the Communist Party and was active in the resistance movement, was arrested and tortured several times and, during the civil war of 1946–48, imprisoned and deported to the islands of Ikaria and Makronisos. In 1943–50, he studied at the Athens Conservatory under F. Oikonomidis. From 1954 to 1959, he continued his studies as a scholarship holder at the Paris Conservatory under O. Messiaen (musical analysis) and E. Bigot (conducting). After returning to Greece in 1962, he founded the Little Athens Symphony Orchestra. He was politically active – from 1963, he led the Lambrakis Democratic Youth. In 1964, he became a member of the Greek Parliament on behalf of the left. In 1967, after the military junta took power, he headed the underground Patriotic Front. He was imprisoned and sent to a concentration camp. Released in 1970, after international protests (including those by D. Shostakovich, I. Stravinsky, L. Bernstein and P. Boulez), he left for France; he worked for the restoration of democracy in Greece and gave concerts in many countries with his own ensemble. After the fall of the regime in 1974, he returned to his homeland. In 1981–86 and 1989–93, he was a member of parliament, from 1990 to 1992, a minister without portfolio, and in 1993–94, the general music director of the orchestra and choir of the Greek Radio and Television. In the 1990s, he toured Europe, North and South America, South Africa, and in 2003 Australia.

Throughout his life, he was involved in political and human rights activities and published numerous texts on culture and politics. He received the Lenin Peace Prize (1983), the Onassis Prize (2000), the UNESCO IMC Award (2005), the Order of Merit of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg (2005), the title of Officer (1996) and Commander (2007) of the Order of the Legion of Honour. In 2000, he was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Theodorakis is the author of over 1,000 works – songs, orchestral and chamber pieces, operas, oratorios, theatre and film music. During his years of study in Paris, he became acquainted with the musical avant-garde but did not follow this path; his artistic attitude was determined by the desire to create a national school and music for the masses. The breakthrough was marked by the Epitaphios cycle, in which elements of Greek folk, popular (rebetiko – a song of the poor suburbs) and liturgical music coexist. By combining elements of urban and rural folklore (often from Crete, e.g. rizitiko), Byzantine music, Greek instrumentation, modalities, and chromaticism with contemporary techniques, Theodorakis created a recognisable, strongly emotional style, with a noticeable influence of Shostakovich and Stravinsky. His works are melodious and distinguished by rhythm based on Greek dance formulas, as in the sirtaki dance (Zorba’s dance) created for the film Zorba the Greek. One of the particularly complex compositions in this respect is Canto General, in which Greek rhythms are juxtaposed with Latin ones. Religious works are part of the Byzantine Church music movement.

In the 1960s and 1970s, Theodorakis mainly composed songs for voice with piano or Greek folk ensemble, referring to the Greek musical and poetic tradition, often in several arrangements; he also created so-called metasymphonic works (including Aksion Esti) for vocal-instrumental symphonic-popular ensembles. In the 1980s, he turned to symphony and later to stage music. In the operas Medea, Electra, Antigone (“lyrical trilogy”), large in terms of cast and duration, the medium of expression is a continuous melody of song provenance; the choir plays a role similar to that in Greek tragedy. Lysistrata is lighter in nature, featuring, among others, a popular music singer; songs and dances occupy an important place.

Theodorakis attached particular importance to the word; he reached for the poems of outstanding poets, mainly Greek. He also dabbled in poetry himself. Fascinated by Greek drama, he returned to the subject of Antigone and Electra many times; for the needs of the libretto to Medea, he translated Euripides’s tragedy into modern Greek. He treated his work integrally, hence, the numerous self-borrowings and arrangements – e.g., Rhapsody for cello and orchestra is based on Ta Lyrikotera and Ta Lyrikotata, and the ballet Zorba the Greek refers to the soundtrack from the film, which in turn used material from Greek Carnival.

Literature: M. Theodorakis Oi dromoi tou archangelou, 4 volumes, Athens 1987–88, German ed. Die Wege des Erzengels, 3 volumes, Echternach 1987, 1988, 1992 (autobiography); G. Giannaris Mikis Theodorakis, New York 1972; G. Holst Theodorakis. Myth and Politics in Modern Greek Music, Amsterdam 1980, Greek ed. Athens 1980; G. Wagner Mikis Theodorakis. Eine Leben für Griechenland, Echternach 1983, 2^nd ed. 1995, French ed. Herborn 2000, Greek ed. Athens 2002; A. Koutoulas O mousikos Theodorakis, Athens 1998; M. Theodorakis Bis er wieder tanzt. Erinnerungen, transl. from Greek by A. and I. Koutoulas, Frankfurt am Main 2001; G. Logothetis Mikis Theodorakis. El alma griega, English ed., transl. by Ph. Chatzopoulos, Athens 2004; H. Hermann Der Rhythmus der Freiheit. Die autorisierte Theodorakis Biografie, Berlin 2008; A. Koutoulas Ein Leben in Bildern, Mainz 2010; A. Mouyis Mikis Theodorakis. Finding Greece in His Music, Corfu 2010; Y. Archimandritis Mikis Theodorakis: i zoi mou, Athens 2011, French ed. Mikis Théodorakis par lui-même, transl. A.-L. Brisac and F. Lozet, Arles 2011; G. Folkerts Mikis Theodorakis. Seine musikalische Poetik, Neumünster 2015; W. Aswestopoulos Mikis Theodorakis. Komponist, Friedensstifter, Volksheld, Frankfurt am Main 2018; Der Kosmos des Mikis Theodorakis. Artikel, Reden, Interviews, ed. S. Canali, Frankfurt am Main 2019.