A quarrel over the scope of intellectual property for one of Greece’s most popular 20th century composers, the late Manos Hatzidakis, made headlines in the country over the recent period on the occasion of an international musical tour featuring his music and that of the other “giant” of modern Greek music, Mikis Theodorakis.
Manos Hatzidakis, left, Mikis Theodorakis.The latest chapter in a “feud” between Hatzidakis’ heir, adopted son Giorgos Hatzidakis, and the organizers of the tour witnessed Germany-based Schott Music GmbH & Co, which owns the intellectual rights to Theodorakis’ music, calling on the latter to find a solution that “respects the views” of the younger Hatzidakis.
The musical tour-cum tribute to the “twin peaks” of Greek composers, film score composers and lyricists, is headlined by two well-known performers in the local market, Natassa Bofiliou and Giannis Haroulis.
Hatzidakis died in June 1994 at the age of 68, while Theodorakis passed away in 2021 at the age of 96.
A week after Hadjidakis’ son and heir announced that he would take legal action because he disagrees with the tour’s use of his father’s material, the rights-holder of Theodorakis’ music announced that, on the one hand, it does not intend to block the tour, while at the same time calling on disagreements between the tour organizers and Hatzidakis’ heir to be resolved.
The quarrel and threats of legal action and counter-suits have been readily covered in the local media.
“We would like to address the organizing company and call on it to do everything possible to end this dispute as soon as possible, which puts the ‘Theodorakis side’ in a very difficult position, and to find an immediate solution that respects the views of Mr. Giorgos Hatzidakis, who, in accordance with the wishes and instructions of Manos Hatzidakis himself, represents and manages his work,” the announcement by Schott Music GmbH & Co states.
The latter manages the late Theodorakis’ works in Greece and abroad.
At the same time, the company stated that “…We learned about the tour from the internet and did not want to take any action or make any statement until now, firstly because the law does not require permission when a work that has been released is performed is performed unchanged and not as an adaptation… and secondly because Mikis Theodorakis’ view, as is well known, was that the word “forbidden is forbidden” … from the moment a work is created and released, it becomes autonomous, it leaves its creator and therefore can be performed freely…the final judge of what remains immortally and what goes into the dust bin is time and the public.”
At the same time, the announcement added that Mikis Theodorakis, if alive would not have agreed with a rendering that didn’t absolute respect the wishes of Manos Hatzidakis, as expressed through the latter’s heir.
