Giorgos Mitsakis ( el, Γιώργος Μητσάκης;

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...

, 1921 -

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

, 17 November 1993) was a

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

composer and lyricist of numerous ''

rebetika Rebetiko ( el, ρεμπέτικο, ), plural rebetika ( ), occasionally transliterated as rembetiko or rebetico, is a term used today to designate originally disparate kinds of urban Greek music which have come to be grouped together since the s ...

'' and folk songs, as well as a skillful

bouzouki The bouzouki (, also ; el, μπουζούκι ; alt. pl. ''bouzoukia'', from Greek ), also spelled buzuki or buzuci, is a musical instrument popular in Greece. It is a member of the long-necked lute family, with a round body with a flat top and ...

player. He was also known by the nickname ''the teacher'' (ο Δάσκαλος).

Biography

Mitsakis was born in

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

, where he spent his early years. Despite that the Greeks of Constantinople were exempted from the

population exchange Population transfer or resettlement is a type of mass migration, often imposed by state policy or international authority and most frequently on the basis of ethnicity or religion but also due to economic development. Banishment or exile is a ...

of 1923, the hostile attitude by Turkish people towards them forced his family to immigrate to Greece. Thus, in 1935 they moved to

Kavala Kavala ( el, Καβάλα, ''Kavála'' ) is a city in northern Greece, the principal seaport of eastern Macedonia (Greece), Macedonia and the capital of Kavala (regional unit), Kavala regional unit. It is situated on the Bay of Kavala, across ...

and later to Αfissos, a fishing village near

Volos Volos ( el, Βόλος ) is a coastal port city in Thessaly situated midway on the Greek mainland, about north of Athens and south of Thessaloniki. It is the sixth most populous city of Greece, and the capital of the Magnesia regional unit ...

. In Greece, Mitsakis was introduced to popular music and started to take music lessons. Against the will of his father who wanted him to become a fisherman, Mitsakis in 1937 fled to

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...

where he met

Vassilis Tsitsanis Vassilis Tsitsanis ( el, Βασίλης Τσιτσάνης 18 January 1915 – 18 January 1984) was a Greek songwriter and bouzouki player. He became one of the leading Greek composers of his time and is widely regarded as one of the founders of ...

, Apostolos Hatzichristos and attended performances by

Markos Vamvakaris Márkos Vamvakáris ( el, Μάρκος Βαμβακάρης; 10 May 1905 – 8 February 1972), was a ''rebetiko'' musician. He is universally referred to by ''rebetiko'' writers and fans simply by his first name, Márkos. The great significance ...

. Mitsakis moved once again in 1939, ending up in the port city of

Piraeus Piraeus ( ; el, Πειραιάς ; grc, Πειραιεύς ) is a port city within the Athens urban area ("Greater Athens"), in the Attica region of Greece. It is located southwest of Athens' city centre, along the east coast of the Saron ...

. There, he started to perform professionally and met many of the prominent rebetiko singers and musicians of the time. Mitsakis composed his first songs in early 1941, however the soon to come

German occupation German-occupied Europe refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly occupied and civil-occupied (including puppet governments) by the military forces and the government of Nazi Germany at various times between 1939 an ...

prevented him from producing any recordings until 1946. After the war, Mitsakis cooperated with artists such as

Giannis Papaioannou Giannis Papaioannou ( el, Γιάννης Παπαϊωάννου; January 18, 1913 – August 3, 1972) was a famous Greek musician and composer born in Kios, Ottoman Empire (now Gemlik, Turkey). In English his name is sometimes romanticized as ''Y ...

Manolis Chiotis Manolis Chiotis (Greek: Μανώλης Χιώτης; March 21, 1921 – March 20, 1970) was a Greek rebetiko and laiko composer, singer, and bouzouki player.English translation He is considered one of the greatest bouzouki soloists of all ti ...

and

Apostolos Kaldaras Apostolos may refer to: * The Apostolos (Eastern Orthodox liturgy), a book containing texts traditionally believed to be authored by one of the twelve apostles (disciples) – various epistles and the ''Acts of the Apostles'' – from which one is ...

and quickly rose to fame. During the 1950s, he worked with important singers such as Stelios Perpiniadis, Stratos Pagioumtzis, Anna Hrisafi,

Sotiria Bellou Sotiria Bellou ( el, Σωτηρία Μπέλλου) (August 22, 1921 – August 27, 1997) was a Greek singer and performer of the ''rebetiko'' style of music. She was one of the most famous ''rebetisa'' of all, mentioned in many music guides, a ...

Marika Ninou Marika Ninou ( el, Μαρίκα Νίνου) (1922 – 23 February 1957), was an Armenian-Greek rebetiko singer, born Evangelia Atamian ( el, Ευαγγελία Αταμιάν). Biography She was born in 1922 on the ship "Evangelistria" that b ...

Stella Haskil Stella or STELLA may refer to: Art, entertainment, and media Comedy *Stella (comedy group), a comedy troupe consisting of Michael Showalter, Michael Ian Black and David Wain Characters *Stella (given name), including a list of characters with th ...

and Keti Grey. His successful career continued in the 1960s, during which he worked with Grigoris Bithikotsis, Spyros Zagoraios, Manolis Angelopoulos, Stratos Dionysiou,

Stelios Kazantzidis Stelios Kazantzidis (Greek: Στέλιος Καζαντζίδης; 29 August 1931 – 14 September 2001) was one of the most prominent Greek singers. A leading singer of Greek popular music, or Laïkó, he collaborated with many of Greece's fore ...

Marinella Marinella ( el, Μαρινέλλα) (born 20 May 1938, Thessaloniki) is one of the most popular Greek singers whose career has spanned several decades. She has sung professionally since 1957. Since the beginning of her career, she has release ...

, Poly Panou, Yiota Lydia, as well as younger singers such as

Giannis Kalatzis Giannis Kalatzis ( el, Γιάννης Καλατζής, 29 April 1943 – 13 July 2017) was a Greek singer who was especially popular in Greece in the late 1960s and the first half of the 1970s. Giannis Kalatzis was born in Thessaloniki in 1943. ...

and

Giorgos Dalaras George Dalaras ( Γιώργος Νταλάρας, 29 September 1949) is a Greek musician and singer. He is one of the most prominent figures of Greek musical culture. In October 2006, he was selected as a Goodwill Ambassador for the UN Refugee Ag ...

. Mitsakis wrote over 700 songs that are officially registered under his name and numerous more that he gave away to others. Many of these songs continue to be highly popular today, holding him a special place in rebetiko and Laïkó genres.

Notes

# Officially renamed to

Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

only later, in 1930.

External links

Γιώργος Μητσάκης – «Μεγάλος Δάσκαλος»
1921 births 1993 deaths Constantinopolitan Greeks Greek male songwriters Rebetiko musicians Greek bouzouki players Turkish emigrants to Greece Musicians from Istanbul People from Kavala {{Greece-composer-stub