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Vangelis, 2001 in Athens
Photo: SIMELA PANTZARTZI / EPA
His film compositions made him famous: Vangelis, the Greek composer and musician, died at the age of 79.
This was reported by Greek news agencies on Thursday evening, citing his lawyer - Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis also tweeted the death of the "Chariots of Fire" composer.
Vangelis, real name Evangelos Odysseas Papathanassiou, was considered one of the pioneers of electronic music.
He became world famous with catchy compositions for films such as »The Hour of the Victor«, »Blade Runner« or »1492 – The Conquest of Paradise«.
From painter to musician
Vangelis actually wanted to be 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 together 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 progressive rock classic.
In 1973 Vangelis started his solo career and experimented with electronic music.
After the Oscar for "Chariots of Fire" came success after success.
At the beginning of the new millennium, Vangelis also began experimenting with orchestral music.
In 2002 he composed the music for the soccer World Cup in Korea and Japan.
In Athens he founded the institution Evangelos Papathanassiou, which wants to help young musicians and contribute to the promotion of music.
kfr/dpa