ATHENS – Composer, musician, and pianist Mimis Plessas died on October 5, a week before his 100th birthday. The funeral of the revered Greek artist, who leaves a rich and multifaceted body of work, was held in an atmosphere of deep sorrow at the First Cemetery of Athens the morning of October 9.
Prior to the service, his body lay in state to receive final farewells from family, relatives, friends, colleagues, and ordinary citizens who loved the iconic artist who was also revered as a kind and cultured person. Those who knew him shared stories revealing the man behind the music.
According to Athens News Agency, among those who offered tributes to Plessas were Giorgos Hatzinasios, Kostas Makedonas, and Antonis Remos. His wife Loukila Carrer Plessa offered as final farewell a moving post on X: “And thus you will not be by my side, star of my Life … you will always remain with me and protect me until we meet again, my Soul. The common journey of Life has come to an end until we meet again. Grateful for everything…Thank you for everything…I love you forever…”
(YANNIS PANAGOPOULOS/EUROKINISSI)
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, according to To Vima, posted on X: “A leading composer, remarkable [artist], and kind soul has left us. His journey was rich – filled with melodies that start with jazz and transcend Greek music and cinema. Mimis Plessas was one of a kind. Just as unique are the moments he has forever gifted us with his music.”
Plessas was known for combining the Greek musical traditions of ‘entekhno’ and ‘laïkó’, creating his own style. His 1969 album ‘O Dromos’ (The Street) generated the most sales in the history of the Greek recordings.
Calling him a talented pianist as a soloist as well as an orchestra conductor, To Vima noted that “Plessas created music in many genres and for every medium, but his most memorable creations were soundtracks for numerous movie hits during Greek cinema’s Golden Age’ in the 1960s and early 1970s, as well as the musical score for some of the most iconic albums during the same period. His work for cinema, theater, and television earned him national and international recognition, with over 100 film scores, 70 plays and countless songs that became staples in Greek culture.”
“A chemist by training, something he was increasingly proud of,” To Vima noted, Plessas was musically educated in both Greece and the United States.”
He was born on October 12, 1924, in Athens. He attended the Leonteios Lyceum in the suburb of Nea Smyrni and then studied chemistry at the University of Athens. He continued his studies to the United States thanks to a scholarship to attend Cornell University in New York, where he obtained a PhD in chemistry on the protein myelin.
At an early age he became the first piano soloist at Greece’s national radio station. In 1952, he was awarded the University of Minnesota’s top music prize.
In 1952 he began working as a composer and he has been a conductor and composer since 1956. He was honored seven times internationally (Barcelona in 1960, Warsaw in 1962, Belgium in 1963, Italy (Alto Monte) in 1964, USA in 1965, Paris in 1968 and Tokyo in 1970) and six times in Greece (Athens and Thessaloniki in 1959, 1963, 1964 and 1967).
In 2001 Greece honored him with the Gold Cross of the Order of the Phoenix.
(Material from the Athens News Agency was used in this report)
