Greece on Thursday mourns the passing of composer and political activist Mikis Theodorakis at the age of 96. A towering and prolific figure of the Greek and international music scene, in his lifetime he composed some of the world’s most recognizable pieces of music, including the iconic ‘syrtaki’ dance from the film ‘Zorba the Greek’, which came to define Greece and Greek culture in the eyes of the world, ANA reports.
A figure linked to the most important moments of Greece’s contemporary history, Theodorakis left his stamp on an entire era of Greek culture and politics and his legacy and impact spread far beyond Greece’s borders.
Over almost a century of life, he had written almost every kind of music, from popular songs and film scores to classical symphonies and opera.
In addition to the signature Zorba ‘syrtaki’, Theodorakis also wrote the film scores to well-known films, such as ‘Z’ in 1969 that won the BAFTA award for original film score, ‘Phaedra’ in 1962 with lyrics by Nikos Gatsos and ‘Serpico’ in 1973, for which he had a Grammy nomination in 1975.
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