The Greek musician was 79 years old. A pioneer of electronic music during the 1970s, he made an impression with his soundtracks of 1980s classics.
The Greek composer Vangelis, known for having signed the music for the films The Chariots of Fire et Blade Runnerdied on Tuesday at the age of 79, Greek Prime Minister Kyriákos Mitsotakis announced.
“Vangelis Papathanassiou is no longer with us,” the politician tweeted. “The music world has lost (artist) international Vangelis,” his tweet added.
Real name Evángelos Odysséas Papathanassíou, this pioneer of electronic music during the 1970s made an impression with his soundtracks of 1980s cinema classics.
An Oscar in 1981
Vangelis won the Oscar for Best Music in 1981. He then formed a lasting relationship with Ridley Scott, collaborating with him on two films: Blade Runner then 1492: Christopher Columbus.
We also owe him the soundtracks of Missing of Costa-Gavras and Blight Moon by Roman Polansky. He signed his last film music in 2014, for Twilight of Shadows de Mohamed Lakhdar-Hamina.
Vangelis, who also founded the progressive rock band Aphrodite’s Child in 1966 with Demis Roussos and Loukas Sideras, more recently composed the anthem for the 2002 FIFA World Cup.