Experimental Lyceum of Patras University

Famous Greek composer

Vangelis Papathanassiou

Evangelos Odysseas Papathanassiou (Greek: Ευάγγελος Οδυσσέας Παπαθανασίου born 29 March 1943) is a Greek composer of electronic, progressive, ambient, jazz, pop rock, and orchestral music under the artist name Vangelis. He is best known for his Academy Award-winning score for the film Chariots of Fire, composing scores for the films Antarctica, Blade Runner, 1492: Conquest of Paradise and Alexander, and the use of his music in the PBS documentary Cosmos: A Personal Voyage by Carl Sagan.

Vangelis formed a musical partnership with Jon Anderson, the lead singer of progressive rock band Yes, and the duo went on to release several albums together as Jon & Vangelis. In 1981, he composed the score for the Oscar-winning film Chariots of Fire, which won him the Academy Award for Best Original Music Score. The soundtrack's single, "Titles", also reached the top of the American Billboard Hot 100 chart and was used as the background music at the London 2012 Olympics winners' medal presentation ceremonies.

In a career spanning over 50 years, writing and composing more than 52 albums, Vangelis is regarded as one of the greatest composers of electronic music of all time.

Film work:Chariots of Fire

In 1981, Vangelis wrote the score for the film Chariots of Fire, set at the 1924 Summer Olympics. The choice of music was unorthodox as most period films featured traditional orchestral scores, whereas Vangelis' music was modern and synthesizer-heavy. The movie won the Academy Award for Best Picture and Vangelis won the Academy Award for Best Original Music Score. The opening theme of the film was released as a single in 1982, topping the American Billboard chart for one week after climbing steadily for five months.

Olympic Games

In May 2000, Vangelis composed the music as well as designed and directed the artistic Olympic flag relay portion of the closing ceremonies of the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. While no official recording of Vangelis' composition for the 2000 Sydney Games exists, the music can be heard accompanying the presentation of the emblem of the 2004 Athens Games. His work from Chariots of Fire was heard during the 2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony.

AFI

The American Film Institute nominated Vangelis' scores for Blade Runner and Chariots of Fire for their list of the 250 greatest film scores.

Comenius Project

By Giannacopoulou Marilina