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Vangelis won an Oscar for the soundtrack to “Chariots of Fire.”
The Greek composer Vangelis, known for his famous compositions for films such as Chariots of Fire (“Chariots of Fire”) and Blade Runnerdied at the age of 79, his law firm reported Thursday.
The musician, who passed away Tuesday night, first tasted fame as a keyboard player in a band with singer Demis Roussos in the late 1960s.
Vangelis became an innovative electronic soloist, giving his works a mysterious and haunting aura, and in the popular movie soundtrack composer.
He won an Oscar for the moving soundtrack to “Chariots of Fire” (also known as “Chariots of Fire”), a 1981 film, and another a year later for Blade Runner.
His other film credits include The Bounty (“The Mutiny on the Bounty” or “Mutiny on Board”), “Francesco”, Bitter Moon (translated as “Wicked gall moon”, “Moons of gall” or “Bitter moon”), “1492: Conquest of paradise” and Alexandre (“Alexander the Great”).
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis tweeted: “Vangelis Papathanassiou is no longer with us. The world of music has lost the international (artist) Vangelis.”
The theme “Carrozas de fuego” by Vangelis accompanied the remembered shots of athletes running down the beach in St Andrews, Scotland, at the beginning of the film, which is set before the 1924 Olympics.
It went to number 1 in the US and in 2012 topped the UK Classical Singles Chart following Mr. Bean performed it at the opening ceremony of the London Olympics.
Jealous of your privacy
Vangelis was very jealous of his private life, he hardly gave interviews and it is not known exactly where he lived.
That secrecy contrasts with the great impact of his music and the influence he exerted on other authors in the last third of the 20th century.
image source, EPA
Born Evangelos Odysséas Papathanassíou on March 29, 1943 in Greece, he was a rebellious and self-taught boy who ended up studying at the School of Arts in Athens.
Under the influence of traditional Greek music, the young Vangelis was drawn to two powerful styles of the last century, the rock and jazz, which would be decisive in his artistic development. The first instrument he played was the piano.
He began his career as a music producer in Greece and collaborated on some films until the Colonels’ coup in his country in 1967 pushed him into exile in Western Europe.
He settled in London and later in Paris.
Love for music and cinema
His first official band was Aphrodite’s Child, the germ of progressive rock that he launched with Demis Roussos, another legend of Greek music.
In the 1970s, his experiences in the world of television and film intensified, and the 1980s is when his career accelerated.
image source, Getty Images
Vangelis surrounded by his sound equipment in 1976.
Close collaborator of the British director Ridley Scott, Blade Runner symbolizes Vangelis’ talent for building disturbing atmospheres.
Outside of the Seventh Art, Vangelis composed the anthem for the 2002 World Cup, played in South Korea and Japan.
He published an album honoring the European Space Agency’s Rosetta space mission and liner notes to documentaries by explorer Jacques-Yves Cousteau and Carl Sagan’s “Cosmos” series.
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