We learned this morning, January 26, 2019, of the death of composer Michel Legrand. A look back at the career of the French composer who won over Hollywood and who brought the most beautiful musicals to French heritage.
Childhood and Studies
Michel Legrand was born in 1932 in Paris and at the age of 10 joined the Conservatoire national supérieure de Paris to study piano and composition with Nadia Boulanger. Passionate about music, he attends all possible lessons and even learns the trumpet and the trombone. He will leave the Conservatory with a First Prize in music theory and a First Prize in harmony.
In 1948, he discovered jazz during a concert by the American trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie at La Salle Pleyel. This new passion will temporarily move him away from classical music.
Aged 20, Michel Legrand decides to orient his career towards the music hall in order to be able to earn a living as a musician. For his first job, he accompanies Henri Salvador then Catherine Sauvage and Zizi Jeanmaire before becoming the musical director of Maurice Chevalier.
jazzman
The American record company Columbia asked him to do jazz covers of French classics. The album titled I Love Paris sells 8 million copies.
Then in 1958, the Legrand Jazz album brought together three recording sessions in New York with musicians Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Bill Evans and Donald Byrd.
Cinema
Michel Legrand made his film debut by composing the music for Henri Verneuil's film, The Lovers of Lisbon.
At the beginning of the 60s, the emergence of the cinematographic movement "La Nouvelle Vague" will place Michel Legrand in the world of music. He composed the soundtrack of seven films by Jean-Luc Godard including A woman is a woman, Band of Outsiders et Chinese as well as Cleo from 5 to 7 by Agnès Varda (1962). It is especially his meeting and his friendship with Jacques Demy that will mark the world of cinema. Together they will work on Lola in 1961, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, (fully sung musical, which won him two Oscar nominations), Les Demoiselles de Rochefort and in 1967 Donkey Skin in 1970.
After being nominated for an Oscar for The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, Legrand moves to Los Angeles. The composer intends to try his luck in American cinema. He manages to make a place for himself in particular thanks to his friendships with Quincy Jones and Henry Mancini. There he meets the lyricist couple Alan and Marylin Bergman.
In 1968, Legrand composed the soundtrack of The Thomas Crown affair directed by Norman Jewison. He won the Oscar for best original song for "Les Moulins de Mon Coeur".
Then 4 years later, in 1971, he won the Oscar for best film music for the soundtrack ofA Summer 42 by Robert Mulligan. The song "The Summer Knows", performed by Barbra Streisand, immediately became a standard.
Between 1971 and 1975, he was nominated 27 times for the Grammy Awards and won five trophies. It is finally with Yentl, played by Barbra Streisand, that Michel Legrand won his third Oscar in 1983. That same year, he composed the original James Bond soundtrack, Never more never.
Then, for the theater, he composed Jarry on the hill by Jean-Louis Barrault in 1970 and Monte Cristo in 1975.
Back to Jazz
In the 80s, Michel Legrand returned to his passion for jazz. Thus, he sets up a trio and then directs the orchestra of Shirley Basseyet.
In the 90s, he resumed his large orchestra and accompanied great artists such as Ray Charles, Björk and Diana Ross.
On the scene
More recently, we were able to see the works of Michel Legrand on stage with The Umbrellas of Cherbourg at the Théâtre du Châtelet in 2014. This symphonic version was accompanied by the composer himself.
He does concerts all over the world, we have heard him in London, Ottawa and Paris.
When we learned of the death of Michel Legrand, SkinÂne was then played at the Théâtre Marigny. We found Marie Oppert in the title role, who had already performed Legrand's repertoire with The Umbrellas of Cherbourg in 2014.
He recorded with Natalie Dessay in 2013 the album Between her and him, where both take up its highest standards.
Here, let yourself be enchanted by "Les moulins de mon coeur" from the film The Thomas Crown affair.
Michel Legrand offered a rich and varied collection of compositions. It will have allowed Jacques Demy to make musicals worthy of American ones.
During his career, he will have composed more than two hundred pieces of music for cinema and television.
After a very moving funeral at the Marigny theater, Michel Legrand now rests in the Père Lachaise cemetery.
Thank you very much Michel Legrand.