On Wednesday, October 9, at 3:00 p.m., the funeral of the great composer Mimi Plessas, who passed away on Saturday, October 5, a few days before his 100th birthday, will be held at the First Cemetery.
The relevant announcement was made through a post on social media by his beloved wife Lucila Carrer.
Who was Mimis Plessas?
Mimis Plessas was born in Athens. He studied at the Leonteio Lyceum and then studied Chemistry at the School of Physics and Mathematics of the University of Athens. He went to the USA to continue his studies. At an early age he became the first piano soloist at the National Radio Foundation. In 1952, at the age of 28, he was awarded the University of Minnesota’s first music prize, and the following year he was ranked fifth in the United States. In 1952 he began his occupation with composition and from 1956 as conductor and composer.
His artistic and compositional activity covered all areas of music, in theater, cinema, radio and television. He collaborated with many top singers, many of whom he highlighted with his songs.
He also composed music for films and plays, with 104 films and 70 plays to his credit. He also wrote the music and songs for the television series “The Children of Niobe”.
During his vast career he conducted many of the world’s greatest orchestras, in his works and was distinguished on the one hand for his theatrical offering in Paris in 1958 and for his film work in Edinburgh and the USA in 1964 and 1965 respectively. They were followed by numerous Greek and foreign distinctions.
Mimis Plessas was the producer of the historical radio show “In 30 Seconds” which was a knowledge award show with various gifts (radios and books), in the 1960s – 1970s. He participated in most international and Greek judging committees of artistic events.
He was a member of the Greek Society of Playwrights, the Society of Composers Lyricists of Greece, ERGIM (contemporary music) and many other artistic associations. He also speaks English and French and is a permanent resident of Athens. From January 4, 1986 to July 20, 1988, he was a co-presenter, together with Kostas Ferris and Vassilis Tsivilikas, of the ERT show Kallitechniko kafeneio, where various personalities from the artistic and social spheres were invited and shared stories of how they started and their lives in general. Mimis Plessas with his excellent piano playing usually accompanied the singers who entertained the cafe. This show was particularly successful.
In 2010, he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the Department of Chemistry of the University of Patras, while he was a doctorate in Chemistry by Cornell University, USA.
In 2016, Mimis Plessas, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of his appearance in the discography with the album Rendezvous in the Air for the film of the same name by Yiannis Dalianidis, presented the last complete work Diaphanos staurus with the performer Thanos Olympios. Their album went platinum.
He was married to Lucila Carrer, with whom he had a daughter in 1998. He also had a son from a previous marriage, the music composer Antonis Plessas.
Great distinctions
Mimis Plessas has been honored both in Greece and abroad. In total he has received six distinctions in Greece (Athens and Thessaloniki 1959, 1963, 1964 and 1967) and seven international distinctions (Barcelona in 1960, Warsaw in 1962, Belgium in 1963, Italy (Alto Monte) 1964, USA in 1965, Paris in 1968 and Tokyo in 1970). It has also received both gold and platinum records.
Examples include:
- 1951: Receives the University of Minnesota’s first music award.
- 1952: Named fifth pianist in the US.
- 2000: He is honored for his fifty years of contribution to Greek music and culture by the Municipality of Athens with the award of the “Gold Medal of the city” in a major symphonic concert at the Athens Concert Hall.
- 2001: Award of the Golden Cross of the Order of the Phoenix for his contribution to culture, by the President of the Republic.
- 2002: Honored for his 50 years in the Greek music scene at the Herodes of Atticus Conservatory by the Ministry of Culture.
- 2004: Honored as the “Man of the Year” by the minister of culture at the personalities ceremony for his contribution to world culture.
- 2006: Awarded by the Academy of Personalities for his overall contribution to culture.
- 2024: Award of the Senior Brigadier General of the Order of Honor for his contribution to culture, by the President of the Republic.
Mimis Plessas in his long career discovered or established with his songs many well-known singers and actors, such as Zoe Kourouklis, Nana Mouschouri, Tzeni Vanou, Giovanna, Marinella, Rena Koumiotis, Yiannis Vogiatzis, Fotis Dimas , Yannis Poulopoulos, Tolis Voskopoulos, Stratos Dionysiou et al.
#Tomorrow #Wednesday #goodbye
