The names of Manos Hadjidakis and
Mikis Theodorakis have been written
with golden letters in the music history of Greece since 1960. He was
born in Xanthi on 23 October 1925, in a mid-class family. When he came
of age he came in the capital city of Greece of Athens. He succeeded
from the beginning when he made the high class of Greece to accept the
Rebetiko, a popular kind of music. His love for this great music
resulted in two great LP's - 'Lilacs On The Dead Earth', and 'Cruel
April Of 45'.
He worked with director Karolos Koun and he wrote excellent music for
such plays as 'A Streetcar Named Desire', starring
Melina Mercouri and
Vasilis Diamantopoulos. From
this collaboration a great classic song resulted, named 'Paper
Moon-Xartino To Feggaraki'. He also wrote music for the Greek National
Theatre.
In the following years Hadjidakis created a personal style which no one
can forget. He wrote music for films like
Stella (1955),
Madalena (1960),
To xylo vgike apo ton Paradeiso (1959),
I Aliki sto Naftiko (1961),
creating massive successes. The first golden disc was given to Manos
and Aliki Vougiouklaki for the song
"The Grey Cat (To grizo gati)" from the film "To xylo vgike apo ton
Paradeiso".
He gained worldwide popularity with his collaboration with Melina
Mercouri and Jules Dassin in 1960 for the
film Sonntags... nie! (1960),
and he even won an Oscar. He wrote music for other international films
like Elia Kazan's
Die Unbezwingbaren (1963),
Andrew Marton's
Es geschah in Athen (1962),
Dassin's Topkapi (1964),
Peter Ustinov's
Memed, mein Falke (1984).
In 1963 he staged "A Street Of Dreams (Odos Oneiron)", with
Minos Argyrakis, which was considered a
milestone in Greek Theatre. In the later years, he humorously denied
"Never On Sunday's" popularity and tried to produce more sophisticated
works with the help of the poet and lyricist
Nikos Gatsos. He became one of best Greek
composers, and together with
Mikis Theodorakis they are the
founders of the temporary Greek Music.
During 1966-1972 he lived in the United States where he wrote the
"Magnus Eroticus" LP, which was poems of ancients and temporary poets
like Sapfo, Odysseas Elytis, Myrtiotissa etc. He also produced
instrumental LP's, like the excellent "The smile of Jokonda". Manos was
great friend of persons like Seferis, Elytis (2 Nobel winners poets),
Sikelianos, Gatsos (poets), Vougiouklaki (actress), Koun (director),
Melina Mercouri (actress, politician), with which they did have a
love-hate relationship.
He wrote 4 books and he created the Orchestra Of Colours (I Orhistra
ton Hromaton), for some years he was the director of the 3rd program of
the Greek Radio channel.
Manos Hadjidakis died on June 15 1994, a lovely summer afternoon. He
was one of the greatest composers of Greece, and he is surely missed.
