French film score composer (1932–2019)
Michel Legrand
Born Michel Jean Legrand
(1932-02-24 ) 24 February 1932Died 26 January 2019(2019-01-26) (aged 86) Occupation(s) Film score composer Jazz pianist Years active 1946–2019
Michel Jean Legrand (French pronunciation:
[miʃɛl ləɡʁɑ̃] ; 24 February 1932 – 26 January 2019) was a French musical
composer ,
arranger ,
conductor ,
jazz pianist ,
[1] and
singer . Legrand was a prolific composer, having written over 200 film and television scores, in addition to many songs.
[2] His scores for two of the films of
French New Wave director
Jacques Demy ,
The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964) and
The Young Girls of Rochefort (1967), earned Legrand his first
Academy Award nominations. Legrand won his first Oscar for the song "
The Windmills of Your Mind " from
The Thomas Crown Affair (1968),
[3] and additional Oscars for
Summer of '42 (1971) and
Barbra Streisand 's
Yentl (1983).
Life and career
Legrand was born in
Paris
[4] to his father,
Raymond Legrand , who was himself a conductor and composer,
[5] and his mother, Marcelle Ter-Mikaëlian, who was the sister of conductor
Jacques Hélian .
[6] Raymond and Marcelle were married in 1929.
[6] His maternal grandfather was
Armenian .
[7]
Legrand composed more than two hundred film and television scores.
[8] He won three
Oscars
[9] and five
Grammys .
[10] He studied music at the
Conservatoire de Paris from age 11, working with, among others,
Nadia Boulanger
[10] and graduated with top honors as both a composer and a pianist.
[8] He burst upon the international music scene at 22 when his album
I Love Paris (album) became a surprise hit. He established his name in the United States by working with such jazz stars as
Miles Davis and
Stan Getz .
[1] His sister
Christiane Legrand was a member of
The Swingle Singers and his niece
Victoria Legrand is a member of the
dream pop band
Beach House .
[11]
Legrand composed music for
Jacques Demy 's films
The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964) and
The Young Girls of Rochefort (1967), from which the
relyricized "You Must Believe in Spring" is considered a
jazz standard . Legrand appeared and performed in
Agnès Varda 's
Cléo from 5 to 7 (1961). He also composed music for
Joseph Losey 's
Eva (1962),
The Thomas Crown Affair (1968) (which features "
The Windmills of Your Mind "),
Ice Station Zebra (1968),
The Picasso Summer (1969),
The Lady in the Car with Glasses and a Gun (1970),
The Go-Between (1971),
Summer of '42 (1971),
Clint Eastwood 's
Breezy (1973),
The Three Musketeers (1973),
Orson Welles 's last-completed film
F for Fake (1974),
TriStar Pictures 1998 family film
Madeline , and would later compose the score for Welles's posthumously released movie
The Other Side of the Wind (2018). He also composed the score for
Yentl (1983), as well as the film score for
Louis Malle 's film
Atlantic City (1980). His instrumental version of the theme from
Brian's Song charted 56th in 1972 on the
Billboard 's pop chart.
[12]
Legrand in 2008
Legrand died of
sepsis ,
[13]
[14] during the night of 25–26 January 2019, at the
American Hospital of Paris in
Neuilly-sur-Seine , where he had been hospitalized for two weeks for a
pulmonary infection . His funeral was held in Paris at the
Alexander Nevsky Cathedral on 1 February 2019.
[15] He was interred at the
Père Lachaise Cemetery .
[16] He remained active until his death and had concerts scheduled to take place in the spring.
[17]
Musical theatre
In 1997, Legrand composed the score for the musical
Le Passe-muraille , with a book by
Didier Van Cauwelaert . It premiered on
Broadway in 2002 as
Amour and was translated into English by
Jeremy Sams and was directed by
James Lapine .
[18] This musical was his Broadway debut
[19] and he was nominated for a
Tony Award in 2003 for Best Score.
[20] Later he recorded
Legrand Affair with
Melissa Errico ,
[20] a 100-piece symphony orchestra that included songs with lyrics by
Alan and Marilyn Bergman .
[21]
The world premiere of the new musical
Marguerite from
Alain Boublil and
Claude-Michel Schönberg , the creators of
Les Misérables and
Miss Saigon , included music by Michel Legrand and lyrics by
Herbert Kretzmer . Marguerite is set during World War II in occupied Paris, and was inspired by the romantic novel
La Dame aux Camélias by
Alexandre Dumas fils . It premiered in May 2008 at the
Haymarket Theatre , London and was directed by
Jonathan Kent .
[22]
Discography
Awards
Legrand won three
Oscars (from 13 nominations), five
Grammys , and was nominated for an
Emmy . His first Academy Award win was in 1969 for the song "The Windmills of Your Mind", followed with the Academy Award for his music for Summer of ’42 in 1972 and for Yentl in 1984.
[9]
Following are a selection of the awards and nominations with which Legrand's works have been honored:
Academy Award awards and nominations
Source:
AllMovie
[23]
Golden Globe awards and nominations
Source: All Movie
[23]
Original Score:
Original Song:
Grammy Award awards and nominations
Source: Grammy.com
[29]
Best Instrumental Composition: "
Theme from Summer of '42 (The Summer Knows) " (1971) - win
Best Instrumental Arrangement: "Theme From Summer Of '42" (1971) - nomination
Best Pop Instrumental Performance: "Theme From Summer Of '42" (1971) - nomination
Best arrangement accompanying vocalist:
What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life? (
Sarah Vaughan ) (1972) - win
[30]
Song of the year: "The Summer Knows" from Summer of '42 (1972) - nomination
Best Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s): "The Summer Knows" (1972) - nomination
Best instrumental composition: "Brian's Song" [TV] (1972) - win
Album of Best Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or Television Special: The Three Musketeers (1974) - nomination
Best Instrumental Composition: "Images" (1975) win
Best Jazz Performance by a Big Band: "Images" (1975) win
Best Album of Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or a Television Special: Yentl (1984) - nomination
Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocals: Yentl (
Barbra Streisand ) (1984) - nomination
Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocals: "Nature Boy" (track from "Unforgettable") (1991) - nomination
[31]
Best Instrumental Arrangement: "Where Or When" (Track from: "Happy Radio Days", Erato Records) (1998) - nomination
[32]
Theatre nominations
Emmy Award nominations
Outstanding Achievement in Music Composition for a Limited Series or a Special (Dramatic Underscore): A Woman Called Golda [TV] (1982)
[34]
Fennecus nominations
Song score, original or adaptation: Yentl (1983)
Original song: "The Way He Makes Me Feel" from Yentl (1983)
Apex nominations
Original score, comedy: Best Friends (1982)
Original song, drama: "The Way He Makes Me Feel" from Yentl (1983)
Original song score/adaptation/compilation, drama: Yentl (1983)
Best Original Music Score:
Dingo (1991) win
[35]
Prix Moliere Award
ASCAP
Henry Mancini Award, awarded by
ASCAP , for Le Passe-Muraille (1998)
[38]
[39]
Golden Eagle Award
Others
Documentary
"Michel Legrand, let the music play", directed by
Gregory Monro in 2018
References
^
a
b
"Oscar-crowned French composer Michel Legrand dies at 86" . The Hindu . Reuters. 26 January 2019.
ISSN
0971-751X .
Archived from the original on 9 May 2023. Retrieved 26 January 2019 .
^ Chinen, Nate (10 March 2007).
"Music in Review; Michel Legrand" .
The New York Times . Retrieved 9 December 2011 .
^
"Michel Legrand" . Songwriters Hall of Fame. Archived from
the original on 13 June 2012. Retrieved 9 December 2011 .
^
"Windmills of Your Mind writer Legrand dies" . Bbc.com . 26 January 2019.
^
"Oscar-crowned French composer Michel Legrand dies at 86" . Reuters.com . 26 January 2019.
^
a
b
"Tributes to Michel Legrand mark the composer's passing" . Rte.ie . 26 January 2019.
^
"Oscar-winning 'Umbrellas of Cherbourg' composer Legrand dies" . Ctvnews.ca . 26 January 2019.
^
a
b
"Oscar-winning composer Michel Legrand dies aged 86 | DW | 26.01.2019" . Deutsche Welle .
^
a
b
"Michel Legrand, Oscar-winning composer, dies aged 86" . The Guardian . Agence France-Presse. 26 January 2019.
^
a
b Burlingame, Jon (26 January 2019).
"Michel Legrand, Oscar-Winning Composer, Dies at 86" . Variety .
^
"Band of the Week: Beach House" . Archived from
the original on 7 June 2008.
^ Anderson, John (26 January 2019).
"Michel Legrand, Pianist and Film Composer, Dies at 86" . The New York Times .
^
"Mort de Michel Legrand: Le compositeur était hospitalisé, son état s'est « subitement dégradé" .
La Voix du Nord .fr (in French). 28 January 2019. Retrieved 8 February 2019 .
^
"Michel Legrand : Macha Méril raconte en larmes les derniers instants de son mari (VIDEO)" . programme-tv.net . 30 January 2019. Retrieved 8 February 2019 .
^ ICI.Radio-Canada.ca, Zone Arts-.
"Les funérailles de Michel Legrand seront célébrées vendredi à Paris" . Radio-Canada.ca .
^
"Stars flock to funeral of legendary film composer Legrand" .
The Jakarta Post .
^
"Michel Legrand, Oscar-winning composer, dies aged 86" . The Guardian . Agence France-Presse. 26 January 2019.
^
"THEATER REVIEW; A French Milquetoast's Talent Lights the Fuse of Mischief" .
The New York Times . 21 October 2002.
^
"Opening Night of Legrand's Amour" . Broadway.com .
^
a
b Peikert, Mark (26 January 2019).
"Amour and The Umbrellas of Cherbourg Composer Michel Legrand Dead at 86" . Playbill.com .
^ Gans, Andrew (18 October 2011).
"It's a 'Legrand Affair' for Melissa Errico: New CD Due in Stores Oct. 18; Plus EXCLUSIVE Video" . Tlaybill.com . Archived from
the original on 19 August 2013.
^
"New Musical From 'Les Miz' Team" .
The New York Times . 10 July 2007.
^
a
b
"Legrand Awards" , AllMovie.com, retrieved 30 January 2019
^
a
b
"1965 Academy Awards" , Infoplease.com, retrieved 29 January 2019
^
a
b
c
"1968 Academy Awards" , Infoplease.com, retrieved 29 January 2019
^
"'Pieces of Dreams' Awards" , Tcm.com, retrieved 30 January 2019
^
a
b
" 'The Thomas Crown Affair' Golden Globe Winners and Nominees" , Goldenglobes.com, retrieved 30 January 2019
^
a
b
" 'Yentl' Golden Globe Winners and Nominees" goldenglobes.com, retrieved 30 January 2019
^
"Michel Legrand Grammy wards" , Grammy.com, retrieved 29 January 2019
^
"With Michel Legrand - Sarah Vaughan - Awards" .
AllMusic . Retrieved 26 January 2019 .
^
"Other Grammy Nominees" Los Angeles Times , 10 January 1991
^ Staff.
"Grammy Nominations List, page 3" Variety , 5 January 1999
^
a
b
Amour Playbill (vault), retrieved 29 January 2019
^
"34th Emmy Awards-Outstanding Achievement in Music Composition for a Limited Series or Special (Dramatic Underscore) - 1982" , Emmys.com, retrieved 29 January 2019
^
" 'Dingo' Miscellaneous Notes" , Tcm.com, retrieved 30 January 2019
^
fr:Le Passe-muraille
^ Sommer, Elyse.
"Review, 'Amour'" , Curtainup.com, 24 October 2002
^
"Awards List" , Legrandofficial.com
^
"ASCAP Henry Mancini Award" , Ascap.com, retrieved 30 January 2019
^
MPC ·
JPL The International Astronomical Union Minor Planet Center (31201) Michellegrand = 1998 AT5 = 1999 KZ20 - Discovered at Caussols on 1998-01-08 by ODAS.
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