One of the most important composers of contemporary Greek music, Nikos Mamagakis, passed away this morning, after a long battle with cancer at the «Erikkos Dynan» hospital. Mamagakis was known for his work in theater, cinema and television, as well as operas, orchestral music and more.
Mamagakis, born in 1929, grew up in Rethymno in Crete and began his musical studies at the Athens Conservatory. In 1957 he studied at the Music Academy in Munich, with Karl Orff and Harald Genzmer. Throughout his career he focused on traditional Cretan instruments, such as the lyre and santouri.
Amongst his better known works are the soundtracks for a number of films by Dinos Dimopoulos, Nikos Perakis and Nikos Foskolos. He also composed music for plays, including an adaptation of Nikos Kazantzakis’ “Odyssey”.
