Míkis Theodorakis

Personal Info

Known For Sound

Gender Male

Birthday 1925-07-29

Deathday 2021-09-02 (96 years old)

Place of Birth Chios, Greece

Also Known As Μιχαήλ "Μίκης" Θεοδωράκης, Μίκης Θεοδωράκης

Míkis Theodorakis

Biography

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 score to Zorba the Greek (1964), with its ‘Zorba’s Dance’, he was Golden Globe nominated. He composed the "Mauthausen Trilogy", also known as "The Ballad of Mauthausen", which has been described as the "most beautiful musical work ever written about the Holocaust" and possibly his best work.Up until his death, he was viewed as Greece's best-known living composer. He was awarded the Lenin Peace Prize. Politically, he was associated with the left because of his long-standing ties to the Communist Party of Greece (KKE). He was an MP for the KKE from 1981 to 1990. Despite this however, he ran as an independent candidate within the centre-right New Democracy party in 1989, in order for the country to emerge from the political crisis that had been created due to the numerous scandals of the government of Andreas Papandreou. He helped establish a large coalition between conservatives, socialists and leftists. In 1990 he was elected to the parliament (as in 1964 and 1981), became a government minister under Konstantinos Mitsotakis, and fought against drugs and terrorism and for culture, education and better relations between Greece and Turkey. He continued to speak out in favour of leftist causes, Greek–Turkish–Cypriot relations, and against the War in Iraq. He was a key voice against the 1967–1974 Greek junta, which imprisoned him and banned his songs.

Known For

Sound

2008
2000
Beware of Greeks Bearing Guns

as Original Music Composer

1983
Athens, Return to the Acropolis

as Original Music Composer

1977
Iphigenia

as Original Music Composer

1975
Letters from Marusia

as Original Music Composer

1975
Evidence

as Music

1975
Evidence

as Songs

1975
The Secret Carrier

as Original Music Composer

1974
The Rehearsal

as Music

1973
Serpico

as Music

1973
The Hunchback

as Sound

1972
State of Siege

as Original Music Composer

1971
Nausicaa

as Music

1971
Biribi

as Music

1971
The Trojan Women

as Original Music Composer

1969
Z

as Original Music Composer

1968
Punisher

as Original Music Composer

1968
The Lost Generation

as Original Music Composer

1967
The Day the Fish Came Out

as Original Music Composer

1966
From Greece

as Music

1964
Zorba the Greek

as Original Music Composer

1962
Phaedra

as Original Music Composer

1962
Five Miles to Midnight

as Original Music Composer

1962
Electra

as Original Music Composer

1961
1961
1961
The Shadow of the Cat

as Original Music Composer

1959
Honeymoon

as Music

1957
Ill Met by Moonlight

as Original Music Composer

Crew

2008