IANOS Publications is publishing a book by George V. Monemvasitis entitled: “Mikis Theodorakis. Chronology”. Through a barrage of information, the author, critic and music historian weaves in an impressively original way the web of the life and work of this great leader of modern Greek culture. The barrage of information is enriched with some unpublished photographs in which the author captured special moments in the life of Mikis Theodorakis. His “insignificant presence” – as he himself confesses – in them, also granted him this privilege…
It is being released on the threshold of the year, during which the 100th anniversary of the birth of the one and only Mikis Theodorakis will be celebrated.
More information can be found here. here.
Excerpt from the book (Back cover – author's text):
A fictional life, a huge work; from every point of view. An ocean of information-particles in his life and work; as many as "even the pebbles of the shore do not reach." The beginning, in the farthest depths of time; there is no end... I wonder how many could be recorded in a book of limited, relatively, extent, when the interpretations of the Canto General alone exceed 1,000? People, popular works, verbal works, actions and partnerships, synergies, sustainability of life, sustainability of work; events, anniversaries, statements, publications, reviews, newspapers, magazines, etc. etc. Thousands of each... How to put all this in a calendar order? Probably, impossible; and yet... possible. A “noted anniversaries expert” had to be found, a persistent explorer – who, among other things, is fascinated by measurements and mathematics, since he is also a civil engineer – to methodically and stubbornly record the most important events connected to the legend called Mikis Theodorakis. Driven by the need to read his work, by the curiosity to observe his life, he reached the limits of professional… perversion and recorded, recorded, recorded… But apart from the events, the anniversaries and all the rest, he also recorded information that Mikis himself had confided in him; those that, scattered throughout, give a special color to the publication and that, probably, are not written anywhere else. Just leafing through the Chronology holds surprises; and, why not, revelations…
Biography George V. Monemvasitis loved music as a child, as he grew up in the wake of the era of Giocondo Moretti (1867-1941); in Gytheio, where he was born in 1947.
He studied at the School of Civil Engineering of the National Technical University of Athens (1965-70). He was a key member of the NTUA Mixed Choir and a classical guitar soloist at its events,
although self-taught. Since his graduation, he has been involved in the preparation of static studies of building and transportation projects, collaborating with distinguished architects. Since 1978, he has been continuously active as a critic and commentator of musical events, as a text writer for music event programs and producer-presenter of music radio programs - mainly from the Third Program of the Hellenic Radio Broadcasting Company (1983-2000). He taught at journalism schools (1989-2013) History of Music, Art and Technique of Radio, as well as Music Communication. He was a music critic for the newspaper Eleftherotypia (1984-1996 & 2013-14). He has served and continues to serve culture from various positions of responsibility. He has been a regular collaborator of the MMA since its inception (1991), while he was a regular collaborator of the Orchestra of Colors until 2010, its last year of operation. In 2013, his original work My Musical Diary was published by IANOS. It became one of the bestsellers of its kind. Likewise, A Diary for Mikis (IANOS Publications, 2015).
His acquaintance with Mikis Theodorakis developed into a cordial friendship in 2000, when he was assigned by the MMA to write texts for the programs of a large concert series for his 75th birthday. He was a member of the three-member scientific/organizational committee that designed, in 2009, the major exhibition of the Parliament Foundation Mikis Theodorakis: composer - politician - thinker. At the same time, he edited and presented 15 tribute shows, which were broadcast on the Hellenic Parliament television channel. He edited the Legend company's publication Mikis Theodorakis - Symphonic Music (2007, six CDs) as well as the Universal company's reissue of a series of previous recordings of his works (2008, five CDs). He belongs to the category of the few who have studied his entire work: both scholarly and popular.
