Greek composer and musician Vangelis has died at the age of 79. This was reported Thursday evening by Greek news agencies, citing his lawyer – Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis also tweeted the death of the “Chariots of Fire” composer and Oscar winner.
Vangelis became world famous with catchy compositions for films like “The Hour of the Victor” (original title: Chariots of Fire), “Blade Runner” or “1492 – The Conquest of Paradise”.
Pioneer of electronic music
Vangelis, real name Evangelos Odysseas Papathanassiou, was considered one of the pioneers of electronic music. He actually wanted to become a painter and studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Athens. He taught himself music.
In 1968 he moved to Paris and had his first international success there with the Greek musicians Demis Roussos and Loukas Sideras – together they formed the group Aphrodite’s Child. Vangelis composed the music for the LP “666”, which is considered a classic of progressive rock.
In 1973 Vangelis started his solo career and experimented with electronic music. After the Oscar for “Chariots of Fire”, success came after success.
At the beginning of the new millennium, Vangelis also began to experiment with orchestral music. In 2002 he composed the music for the World Cup in Korea and Japan. In Athens, he founded the institution Evangelos Papathanassiou, which aims to help young musicians and contribute to the promotion of music.
Source: Krone
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