The Greek-born electronic musician wrote the Academy Award-winning score for “Chaith of Fire” and the music for dozens of other films, documentaries and TV series.
The Greek-born electronic musician wrote the Academy Award-winning score for “Chaith of Fire” and the music for dozens of other films, documentaries and TV series.
The Greek-born electronic musician Vangelis, who wrote the Academy Award-winning score for the film “Chaiths of Fire” and the music for dozens of other films, documentaries and TV series, has died. He was 79 years old.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and other government officials offered their condolences on Thursday. “Vangelis Papathanasiou is no longer with us,” Mr Mitsotakis tweeted.
Greek media reported that Vangelis died in a hospital in France on Wednesday.
Born on March 29, 1943, near the city of Volos in central Greece, Evangelos Odysseus Papathanasiu began playing the piano at the age of 4, although he received no formal training and claimed he never learned to read notes.
He starred in several bands and solos, but his major breakthrough came with the score for the 1981 film “Chaith of Fire”, which told the story of two British runners in the 1920s. Vangelis’ score received one of four Academy Awards won by the film.
The signature piece is one of the hardest-to-forget movie melodies around the world—and has also served as the musical backdrop for endless slow-motion parodies.