Vangelis

Evángelos Odysséas Papathanassíou (Greek: Ευάγγελος Οδυσσέας Παπαθανασίου [eˈvaɲɟelos oðiˈseas papaθanaˈsi.u]; 29 March 1943 – 17 May 2022), known professionally as Vangelis (/væŋˈɡɛlɪs/ vang-GHEL-iss; Greek: Βαγγέλης [vaɲˈɟelis]), was a Greek musician and composer. His music was electronic, progressive, ambient, jazz, and orchestral. He was best known for his Academy Award-winning score to Chariots of Fire (1981), as well as for composing scores to the movies Blade Runner (1982), Missing (1982), Antarctica (1983), The Bounty (1984), 1492: Conquest of Paradise (1992), and Alexander (2004).

Vangelis Βαγγέλης
Vangelis in 2007
Background information
Birth name	Evangelos Odysseas Papathanassiou
Born	(1943-03-29)29 March 1943 Agria, Greece
Died	17 May 2022(2022-05-17) (aged 79) Paris, France
Genres	Electronic ambient classical progressive rock
Occupation(s)	Composer arranger producer
Instruments	Keyboards synthesizers
Years active	1963–2022
Labels	Universal RCA Atlantic Sony Warner Bros. Polydor Deutsche Grammophon Decca

He also composed music for documentaries such as Cosmos: A Personal Voyage by Carl Sagan. He was born in Agria, a coastal town in Magnesia, Thessaly of the Hellenic State (present-day Greece) and raised in Athens. His career began in 1963.

Vangelis died on 17 May 2022 at a hospital in Paris, France from heart failure while receiving treatment for COVID-19, aged 79.

Influences

Vangelis stated composers like Hans Stockhausen, Delia Derbyshire, Michel Legrand, Klaus Schulze, Soft Machine, Brian Eno, Jerry Goldsmith, Morton Subotnick, Max Corbacho and Neu! as influences.