Happy birthday, Michel Legrand, #botd in 1932!

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Michel Legrand (short biography)

Michel Jean Legrand (24 February 1932 – 26 January 2019) was a French musical composer, arranger, conductor, jazz pianist, and singer. Legrand was a prolific composer, having written over 200 film and television scores, in addition to many songs.

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), and additional Oscars for Summer of ’42 (1971) and Barbra Streisand’s Yentl (1983).

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Legrand was born in Paris to his father, Raymond Legrand, who was himself a conductor and composer, and his mother, Marcelle Der-Mikaëlian, who was the sister of conductor Jacques Hélian. Raymond and Marcelle were married in 1929. His maternal grandfather was Armenian.

Michel Legrand composed more than two hundred film and television scores. He won three Oscars and five Grammys. He studied music at the Conservatoire de Paris from age 11, working with, among others, Nadia Boulanger and graduated with top honors as both a composer and a pianist.

Michel Legrand 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. 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.

Legrand composed music for Jacques Demy’s films The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964) (from which Recit de Cassard came and in turn, in English became the standard Watch What Happens) 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.

Michel Legrand died of sepsis, 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. He was interred at the Père Lachaise Cemetery. He remained active until his death and had concerts scheduled to take place in the spring.

Michel Legrand and the Musicals

In 1997, Michel 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. This musical was his Broadway debut, and he was nominated for a Tony Award in 2003 for Best Score. Later he recorded Legrand Affair with Melissa Errico, a 100-piece symphony orchestra that included songs with lyrics by Alan and Marilyn Bergman.

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.

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Michel Legrand discography (on Wikipedia)

Filmography

Michel Legrand – Les moulins de mon coeur (1976)

Musique du film “L’affaire Thomas Crown”, “The windmills of your mind” a rapporté au compositeur français l’Oscar de la meilleure chanson originale en 1969. Au piano, Michel Legrand interprète l’adaptation française signée Eddy Marnay, accompagné par François Zanotti à la batterie et Jean-Yves Petiot à la contrebasse, sur le plateau de Spécial Cinéma, le 19 avril 1976.

Michel Legrand – L’été 42 (1976)

Au piano, Michel Legrand chante les paroles françaises de Jean Dréjac, adaptées du texte anglais de Marilyn et Alan Bergman, sur une mélodie qui a valu au compositeur français l’Oscar de la meilleure musique de film en 1972. Michel Legrand est accompagné par François Zanotti à la batterie et Jean-Yves Petiot à la contrebasse, pour Spécial Cinéma le 19 avril 1976.

Michel Legrand – La valse des lilas (1976)

Composée avec Eddie Barclay sur des paroles d’Eddy Marnay, c’est l’une des plus célèbres chansons de Michel Legrand. Créée par Catherine Sauvage en 1955 et connue en anglais sous le titre “Once upon a summertime”, il finira par l’enregistrer en 1964. Michel Legrand est au piano, accompagné par François Zanotti à la batterie et Jean-Yves Petiot à la contrebasse, sur le plateau de Spécial Cinéma le 19 avril 1976.

Contents List of songs:

• A Place In Paris
• Ask Yourself Why
• Brians Song
• His Eyes Her Eyes
• I Still See You
• I Will Say Goodbye
• I Will Wait For You
• One At A Time
• One Day
• Paris Was Made For Lovers
• Pieces Of Dreams
• Sea And Sky
• The Summer Knows
• Sweet Gingerbread Man
• Touch The Sun
• Watch What Happens
• What Are You Doing The Rest Of Your Life
• The Windmills Of Your Mind
• The Years Of My Youth

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