A book about the life and work of the world-renowned Greek composer, full of previously unreleased photographs from the author's personal archive, that traces his development alongside major political events in modern Greek history. A luxurious edition about the life and work of the world-renowned Greek composer, tracing his development alongside major political events in modern Greek history. According to the author -an academic and personal friend of the composer- his aim is to reveal the hidden aspects of Mikis Theodorakis personality and work, as well as his philosophical views about life and humanity. The book includes also interviews and experiences the author shared with Mikis during tours in Greece and abroad.

This is the only comprehensive musical biography in English of Mikis Theodorakis (1925-2021), the revolutionary Greek composer. The first edition (1980) was written with the assistance and support of Theodorakis himself; this new edition was commissioned after Theodorakis’ death and extends the assessment of his work to the operas, symphonies and other works composed since 1980. As a political figure in modern Greece, Theodorakis embodied the spirit of resistance to the abuse of authority, from the Nazi occupation of his country and the ensuing civil war to the military dictatorship of 1967-74 and beyond. Based on the author’s personal friendship and collaboration with Theodorakis, this musical biography is both a passionate and an authoritative account of the life-work of a man who became a popular hero in an age of anxiety.

The Routledge Handbook of Popular Music and Politics of the Balkans is a comprehensive overview of major topics, established debates and new directions in the study of popular music and politics in this region. The vibrant growth of this subject area since the 1990s has been intertwined with the region’s political and socio-economic transformations, including the collapse of state socialism in much of the region, the break-up of Yugoslavia, the advent of neoliberal capitalism, the rise of Romani activism, the complex politics of ‘Europeanization’ before and after the global financial crisis, and the region’s relationship to the European Union border regime. The handbook illustrates the wide range of disciplines and methods that contribute to this field’s interdisciplinary dialogue and highlights emerging approaches such as the study of Black diasporas in the region, popular music’s links with LGBTQ+ communities, and the impact of digital technologies on musical cultures. This volume will benefit specialist researchers, tutors creating or refreshing courses on popular music in the region, and students interested in these topics, especially those who are at the point of developing their own independent research projects.

For more than a century, original music has been composed for the cinema. From the early days when live music accompanied silent films to the present in which a composer can draw upon a full orchestra or a lone synthesizer to embody a composition, music has been an integral element of most films. By the late 1930s, movie studios had established music departments, and some of the greatest names in film music emerged during Hollywood’s Golden Age, including Alfred Newman, Max Steiner, Dimitri Tiomkin, and Bernard Herrmann. Over the decades, other creators of screen music offered additional memorable scores, and some composers—such as Henry Mancini, Randy Newman, and John Williams—have become household names. The Encyclopedia of Film Composers features entries on more than 250 movie composers from around the world. It not only provides facts about these artists but also explains what makes each composer notable and discusses his or her music in detail. Each entry includes Biographical material Important dates Career highlights Analysis of the composer’s musical style Complete list of movie credits This book brings recognition to the many men and women who have written music for movies over the past one hundred years. In addition to composers from the United States and Great Britain, artists from dozens of other countries are also represented. A rich resource of movie music history, The Encyclopedia of Film Composers will be of interest to fans of cinema in general as well as those who want to learn more about the many talented individuals who have created memorable scores.

The book interrogates the construction of modern Greek identity in Theodorakis' music. After examining the composer's musical and political life, the author focuses on characteristic works of varying genres discussing Theodorakis' unique re-interpretation of modern Greek identity through them. In the words of Cornell University professor Gail Holst-Warfat, this book is an important contribution to the understanding of Theodorakis' music, a subject which has been largely neglected by musicologists in his own country, and which deserves to be better known in all its brilliance and abundance by music lovers all over th e world.