Oscar-winning composer Vangelis has died at the age of 79. In Germany he became a star with his hit “Conquest of Paradise”.
He is considered a great pioneer of electronic music and was also a gifted film composer. Musician Vangelis has now passed away at the age of 79. According to initial media reports, the Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis (54) has now confirmed the death, who sent condolences to the bereaved via Twitter. Nothing is known about the exact cause of death, but Vangelis recently struggled with the consequences of a corona infection.
Evangelos Odysseas Papathanassiou, Vangelis’ real name, was born in the Greek port of Agria in 1943 and studied painting in Athens before becoming a musician. In the 1970s he made a name for himself with film compositions and created the music for blockbusters such as “Blade Runner” and “1492”. He was awarded an Oscar in 1982 for his involvement in the cult film “The Hour of the Victor”.
Vangelis was a pioneer of electronic music
In Germany, Vangelis was best known for his hit “Conquest of Paradise”, which former boxer Henry Maske (58) chose as the opening music. The song even made it to number one in the German single charts. Vangelis was considered a pioneer of modern, electronic music and he experimented with different synthesizers – long before they were a regular part of popular music productions.
Vangelis has lived in France since the 1960s but is said to have returned to his homeland for some time. Due to a Covid 19 disease, he was treated in a French hospital for several weeks before his death, it is said.
