The funeral of the renowned Greek composer, conductor and pianist Mimis Plessas, who passed away days before his 100th birthday, was on Wednesday at the Athens First Cemetery. Earlier, his body lay in state at the cemetery’s chapel.
Since early in the morning municipal police had been present in order to coordinate arriving vehicles and intervene if necessary.
The Life of Mimis Plessas
Mimis (Dimitrios) Plessas was born in Athens on Oct. 12, 1924. Just one week before he would have celebrated a century of life, he passed away on Oct. 5.
He studied chemistry at the University of Athens and continued his graduate-level studies in the United States.
At the age of 15, he became the first piano soloist at Greece’s then National Radio Foundation.
During his postgraduate studies in the United States in 1952, he was awarded the first music prize at the University of Minnesota as a young pianist. The following year, he ranked fifth among pianists in the United States.
In 1952, he also began composing, and by 1956, he was working as both a conductor and a composer.
He earned international recognition seven times, in Barcelona in 1960, Warsaw in 1962, Belgium in 1963, Italy (Alto Monte) in 1964, the U.S. in 1965, Paris in 1968, and Tokyo in 1970), and six times in Greece, in Athens and Thessaloniki in 1959, 1963, 1964, and 1967.
He conducted large orchestras around the world, performing his works and revealing his musical brilliance.
His artistic and compositional activity spanned all areas of music, including theater, cinema, radio, and television.
