The great composer and pianist Mimis Plessas (12 October 1924-05 October 2024) passed away a few days before his 100th birthday. Recognized in America as a jazz orchestrator (in 1953 he was ranked as the fifth best pianist in the United States) and a successful student of chemistry, Mimis Plessas gained recognition in the world’s consciousness through his later film compositions and the immortal songs he gifted to performers such as Yannis Poulopoulos, Zoe Kourouklis, Rena Koumioti, Marinella and Jenny Vanou.

He is the first composer in the history of Greek cinema who managed to write a purely “cinematic” music, in a way that it fits perfectly with the needs and characters of each genre, whether it was the musicals of Yannis Dalianides or historical dramas, such as Vassilis Georgiadis‘ “Blood on the Land” (1966).

One of his countless successes in the history of the Greek pedagram remains the album “O Dromos”, with lyrics by Lefteris Papadopoulos. Surpassing 1,000,000 sales in 1969, it became the most commercially successful vinyl album in Greece, while songs such as “Yelaye i Maria”, “To agalma” and “Ximeroni Kyriaki” remain monuments of popular expression, romance and hope.

In her message of condolence, the Minister of Culture describes “Dromos” as “a striking example of how mass appeal can, if not be imposed, go hand in hand with quality“. In turn, the mayor of Chania Panagiotis Simandirakis said, among other things, “Mimis Plessas, honorary citizen of the Municipality of Chania since 2013, has passed away full of days, but having sealed in a catalytic way the culture of our country, with a course of many years of significant contribution to the field of music and art. He made sure that we have musical “images” that will accompany us forever.”