At the age of 100, the great Greek pianist, composer, and musician Mimis Plessas passed away, leaving behind a vast legacy of songs and compositions.
Mimis Plessas took his last breath at his home in Kallitechnoupoli. The great composer was set to celebrate his 100th birthday at the Pallas with a significant musical performance featuring a multitude of well-known artists, which we were all eagerly anticipating.
Authentic, creative, and multifaceted, Mimis Plessas was among the most important Greek composers with countless accolades and dozens of gold and platinum records. His rich body of work in Greek music, theater, Greek cinema, as well as classical and jazz music, was loved by the public and stands as an important cultural inheritance.
Just this past June, in a special ceremony held at the Presidential Mansion, the President of the Republic, Katerina Sakellaropoulou, awarded Mimis Plessas the Order of Honour as an Officer Commander, alongside Yannis Markopoulos (posthumously) and Lefteris Papadopoulos, for their multifaceted contributions to Greek music. Present at the event were Mimis Plessas and Lefteris Papadopoulos.
Earlier, in November 2023, we saw our great composer with Nana Mouskouri on ERT for the presentation of her collectible CD with 24 unreleased songs. He was one of the last “greats” of his generation, who, besides their music, also left us with the echo of their ethos.
Mimis Plessas – His Beginnings in America
Mimis Plessas was born in Athens on October 12, 1924, and distinguished himself as a musician, composer, orchestra conductor, and pianist, earning international accolades. He attended Leonteios Lyceum and then studied Chemistry at the School of Physics and Mathematics at the University of Athens. He went to the USA to continue his studies.
At a young age, he became the first piano soloist at the National Radio Foundation. In 1952, at the age of 28, he was awarded the first music prize from the University of Minnesota, and the following year, he ranked fifth among pianists in the USA. In 1952, he began his involvement with composition, and from 1956, he worked as a conductor and composer.
It was through a competition at the University of Minnesota, as he recounted in interviews, where he won first prize, which came with a scholarship for free music studies. However, he chose to utilize the scholarship for chemistry studies and eventually earned a doctorate from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. In the following years, before returning to Greece, he met notable musicians, had his own radio show broadcasted nationwide, and ranked fifth on the list of the most popular pianists in the USA.
A Career Many Would Envy
His artistic and compositional activity spans all areas of music, including theater, cinema, radio, and television. He collaborated with numerous top singers, many of whom he highlighted with his songs. He also composed music for films and theatrical productions, with 104 films and 70 performances to his credit. He also wrote music and songs for the TV series “The Children of Niobe.”
He conducted many of the world’s largest orchestras in his works and was distinguished for his theatrical contributions in Paris in 1958 and his cinematic work in Edinburgh and the USA in 1964 and 1965, respectively. This was followed by numerous accolades both in Greece and abroad.
Mimis Plessas was the producer of the historic radio show “In 30 Seconds,” an award-winning knowledge program with various gifts (radios and books) during the 1960s – 1970s. He participated in numerous international and Greek committees evaluating artistic events. He was a member of the Greek Society of Theater Writers, the Society of Greek Music Composers and Lyricists, ERGH (contemporary music), and many other artistic associations.
From January 4, 1986, to July 20, 1988, he co-hosted the legendary ERT show “Artistic Café” along with Kostas Ferris and Vasilis Tsivilikas, where various personalities from the artistic and social fields were invited to share stories from their beginnings and their lives in general.
Plessas in Cinema – The “Golden” Era of Musicals
Mimis Plessas composed music for over 100 Greek films and 11 foreign films, starting in 1959 with the movie “What a Father-in-Law” by Marios Nousias. It was the period when Mimis Plessas co-founded Studio Alpha in Marousi with three other partners, following up on the recording studios he had created a few years earlier. However, he soon left and devoted himself to music.
His collaboration with Finos Film began in 1960 with the film “Makrykostaioi and Kontogiorgides.” Simultaneously, he worked with other production companies, composing music for films like “Crime in the Backstage” (1960, Art AE & Damaskinos-Michailidis) by Dinos Katsouridis, “Nights at Miramare” (1960, El Toure Film-Vion Papamichalis) by Orestis Laskos, “Good Morning Athens” (1960, Damaskinos-Michailidis) by Grigoris Grigoriou, “Christina” (1960, Roussopoulos Brothers, Giorgos Lazaridis, Dimitris Sarris, Kostas Psarras) by Giannis Dalianidis, and “Nightmare” (1961) by Errikos Andreou. As stated on the official Finos Film website, Mimis Plessas had the ability to dress each film with original music, creatively utilizing genres such as jazz and its sub-genres, cha-cha, blues, bossa nova, and Latin rhythms.
In 1962, he returned to Finos Film for his second collaboration in the film “Law 4000” by Giannis Dalianidis, opening a fruitful artistic path.
Until Finos’ death in 1977, Mimis Plessas wrote music and songs for a total of 64 Finos Film movies across the entire spectrum of cinematic genres. In the mid-1960s, he received an offer from United Artists in the USA for a seven-year contract, but after careful consideration, he declined and returned to Greece, entering an even more creative phase with Finos Film, leaving his musical mark on Greek cinema.
His music adorned major hits like “The Heirs” (1964), “The Card Player” (1964), “There Is Also Honor” (1965), “A Mad, Mad Family” (1965), “The Soil Painted Red” (1966), and “Some Tired Lads” (1967).
It was the golden era of musicals, and he played a crucial role in realizing Giannis Dalianidis’ vision. It first required overcoming the objections of Filopoimen Finos, who considered Plessas “too modern” for composing songs.
Ultimately, with Dalianidis’ persistence and hard work, Mimis Plessas wrote not only music but also songs that became timeless hits: “The Boy Across the Street” (Mary Chronopoulou, A Lady at the Bouzouki), “A Little Room” (Giannis Poulopoulos, Mermaids and Guys), “The Man I’ll Marry” (Martha Karagianni), “Open Sesame” (Marinella, Mermaids and Guys), “I’ll Drink the Moon Tonight” (Giannis Poulopoulos, Mermaids and Guys), “How Many Summers” (Dakis, Mermaids and Guys), “Crazy Girl” (Aleka Kanellidou, Blue Beads), “A Sky Full of Stars” (Giannis Voyatzis, Appointment in Air), “We Always Stay Kids” (Martha Karagianni, Appointment in Air).
We must also remember his more “playful” creations, like the charming surf-rock “Oula Oula” from “Ladies of the Courtyard” (1966) and the timeless “Fst Boing” performed by Kostas Voutsas in “Something Hot” (1963).
Mimis Plessas’ Music in Theater
He wrote music for theater for the first time in the play “Romancero,” staged by Dimitris Horn during the 1959-60 season at the Central Theater. Mimis Plessas’ music would dress over 40 performances until the 1980s. The list includes well-known theatrical successes like “Heartbeats at the Desk” (1962-63, Aliki Vougiouklaki troupe), “Marihuana Stop” (1973, Giannis Dalianidis troupe), “Campiria” (1975-76, Aliki Vougiouklaki troupe), “The Seagull” (1976-77, Nikos Kourkoulos troupe), “Jesus Christ Superstar” (1978-79, Kalouta Theater).
In 2010, he was named an honorary doctor of the Department of Chemistry at the University of Patras, while he held a Chemistry doctorate from Cornell University in the USA.
In 2016, Mimis Plessas, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of his debut in the recording industry with the album “Appointment in the Air” for the eponymous film by Giannis Dalianidis, presented his last complete work “Translucent Cross” with performer Thanos Olympios. The album went platinum.
Mimis Plessas was married three times. The first was to Kleio Mouzina while he was still in the army, the second to Jella Plessas with whom he had a son, composer Antonis Plessas, and the third to journalist Loukila Karrer with whom he had a daughter, Eleana.
