Mikis by his daughter Margarita

Stations of his Life

I.

Mikis Theodorakis was born on July 29th 1925 on the Greek island of Chios. Fascinated by music already as a child, he taught himself to write his first songs without access to musical instruments. In Pyrgos and Patras he took his first music lessons, and in Tripolis, he formed a choir and gave his first concert at 17.

Mikis Theodorakis was born on the island of Chios in 1925. He spent his childhood in various towns in the Greek countryside, where he became familiar with folk music and the music of the Greek Orthodox Church. In the Peloponnesian) town of Tripolis, where he spent his teenage years, he heard his first piece of symphonic music, Beethoven’s ninth symphony, and decided to become a composer.

Mikis by his daughter Margarita

Mikis Theodorakis, the Greek composer who has mixed music with politics for most of his career, turned 70 last year (i.e.1995).

But he is still producing top-selling albums that appeal as much to young Greeks as to their parents.