Mikis Theodorakis – born on July 29, 1925, in Chios, Greece – was a classical
music and film composer and political activist best known for scoring films such
as Zorba the Greek (1969) and Serpico (1973) and for composing over 1,000
original works. Inspired at a young age by Greek folk music, he took his first
music lessons and, at the age of 17, gave his first concert. After serving in
the reserve unit of ELAS (the Greek People’s Liberation Army) and being
captured, tortured, and exiled, he continued his music studies at the Athens
Conservatoire from 1943 to 1950. After studying...