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Mikis Theodorakis

File:Mikis_Theodorakis_Fabrik_070004.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons

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Mikis Theodorakis

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Also known as Michael "Mikis" Theodorakis, Michael Theodorakis, Mikis Michel Theodorakis

Greek composer (1925–2021)

OverviewAI-generated

Mikis Theodorakis (1925–2021) was a Greek composer, politician, film score composer, and songwriter. Born in Chios, he worked in Paris and Athens, beginning his career in 1943. His musical output encompassed opera, symphony, laïko, and vocal music, with notable works including *Zorba the Greek* and the *Mauthausen Trilogy*. He was influenced by Igor Stravinsky, Dmitri Shostakovich, and Sergei Rachmaninoff.

Theodorakis was educated at the Athens Conservatoire and the Conservatoire de Paris. He held citizenship in Greece and was a member of the Communist Party of Greece, United Left, and United Democratic Left. He also belonged to the National Liberation Front, the Academy of Arts of the GDR, and the Academy of Athens.

His awards included the Commander of the Legion of Honour, the Lenin Peace Prize, the Lenin Komsomol Prize, and a BAFTA Award for Best Original Music. His recordings were released on labels such as EMI, Philips Records, Folkways Records, and United Artists Records.

Synthesized by Vinony from 41 facts across 8 sources: Wikidata, Crossref, Open Library, MusicBrainz, Last.fm, TMDb, Europeana Sparql, Vinony graph. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.

Person · Open Library

Works
25

Top works

  • Mousikē gia tis mazes
  • Zēteitai aristera
  • Gia tēn Hellēnikē mousikē
  • Anatomia tēs mousikēs
  • Hē monē diexodos

via Open Library + Wikidata

Film & TV

Sound · Chios, Greece

Michail "Mikis" Theodorakis (Greek: Μιχαήλ "Μίκης" Θεοδωράκης,29 July 1925 – 2 September 2021) was a Greek composer and lyricist credited with over 1,000 works. He scored for the films Zorba the Greek (1964), Z (1969), and Serpico (1973). He was a three time BAFTA nominee, winning for Z. For the score in the movie Serpico (1973), he earned Grammy nominations. Furthermore, for the unforgettable…

Known for

  • Milva, diva per sempre — Himself2024
  • An Buachaill Geal Gáireach/The Laughing Boy — (Archive footage)2023
  • Dance Fight Love Die: With Mikis On the Road — Mikis Theodorakis2017
  • Mikis Theodorakis. Composer — Self2010
  • Ein Lied für Argyris — Himself2006
  • An All-Weather Man — Self2004
  • Evidence — Self1975
  • Songs of Fire — Self1975
  • The Rehearsal1974
  • Le Grand Échiquier — Self1972

via TMDB

Music · MusicBrainz

Type
Person
Gender
Male
Origin
Greece
Active from
1925
Active to
2021
classicalclassical composercomposergreekgreek artistic musicgreek composer

via MusicBrainz · CC0

Listeners · Last.fm

Listeners
100,987
Total plays
825,785

Tags

GreekfolkinstrumentalworldWorld Music

Michael "Mikis" Theodorakis (Greek: Μιχαήλ (Μίκης) Θεοδωράκης, pronounced [ˈmikis θeoðoˈrakis]; born 29 July 1925) is a Greek songwriter of over 1000 songs and composer. He scored for the films Zorba the Greek (1964), Z (1969), and Serpico (1973). He is viewed as Greece's best-known living composer. Politically, he identified with the left until the late 1980s; in 1989 he ran as an independent candidate within the centre-right <a href="https://www.last.fm/music/Mikis+Theodorakis">Read more on L

via Last.fm · Mikis Theodorakis

Wikidata facts

Instance of
human
Gender
male
Citizenship
Greece
Place of birth
Chios
Place of death
Athens
Occupation
singer
Languages spoken
Modern Greek
Native language
Greek
Notable work
Zorba the Greek
Field of work
singing
Genre
Sirtaki
Instrument
piano
Official website
www.mikistheodorakis.gr
Image
Mikis Theodorakis Fabrik 070004.jpg
Work location
Athens
Show 17 more facts
Commons category
Mikis Theodorakis
date of birth
1925-07-29
ethnic group
Greeks
name in native language
Μίκης Θεοδωράκης
start of work period
1943-00-00
influenced by
Sergei Rachmaninoff
date of death
2021-09-02
manner of death
natural causes
cause of death
cardiac arrest
end of work period
2009-00-00
date of burial or cremation
2021-09-09
significant person
Maria Farantouri
social media followers
18400
birth name
Μιχαήλ Θεοδωράκης
Sources (15)

via Wikidata · CC0

Works in European collections

36 objects attributed to Mikis Theodorakis, held across European museums, libraries & archives · via Europeana

~34 min read

Encyclopedic overview

Michail "Mikis" Theodorakis (Greek: Μιχαήλ "Μίκης" Θεοδωράκης [mixaˈil ˈmicis θeoðoˈracis]; 29 July 1925 – 2 September 2021) was a Greek composer and lyricist credited with over 1,000 works.

He scored for the films Zorba the Greek (1964), Z (1969), and Serpico (1973). He was a three-time BAFTA nominee, winning for Z. For the score in Serpico, he earned Grammy nominations. Furthermore, for the score to Zorba the Greek, with its song "Zorba's Dance", he was nominated for a Golden Globe.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Mikis Theodorakis” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

Gallery (9)