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Michel Legrand


1932 - 2019

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The film composer Michel Legrand grew up in a musical family, therefore it is no surprise that he has also chosen this way. He attended the conservatory in Paris and went to every offered instrument class. Finally he mastered over a dozen instruments.

Like many other famous composers his study led him to the famous music teacher Nadia Boulanger where he learned in the early 50's.

After the study he first worked as an accompanist for French pop singer. One of the highlights of his career was in 1955 when he was engaged as the musical leader by Maurice Chevalier. He accompanied him on a tour through the USA.

Michel Legrand made his first steps as a filmcomposer in the 50's for movies like „Le Triporteur“ (57) and „L‘amérique insolite“ (58), it followed „Chien de pique“ (60), „Lola“ (61), „Une femme est une femme“ (61), „Le cave se rebiffe“ (61), „La baie des anges“ (63), „Eva“ (63) and „L‘empire de la nuit“ (63). 

The public first became aware of this filmcomposer with the movie „Les parapluies de Cherbourg - The Umbrellas of Cherbourg“ (64). For this movie score alone he was nominated for three Oscars - in the fields best music, best arranged music and best song.

Michel Legrand composed other scores for French productions in the next years like „Corrida pour un espion - Der Spion, der in die Hölle ging“ (65), „Qui êtes-vous, Polly Magoo?“ (66) and „Les demoiselles de Rochefort“ (67) before his constant success led him to the USA. There he became acquainted with the song writers Alan & Marilyn Bergman via his old friend Quincy Jones. He was immediately successful and his compositions between 1969 and 1972 were always nominated for an Oscar. He was awarded the first of a total of three Oscars for his dreamlike song „The Windmills of Your Mind“ for the movie „The Thomas Crown Affair“ (69).

In the 70's followed countless filmcompositions for movies like "Wuthering Heights" (71), "La vieille fille" (72), "Lady Sings the Blues" (72), "The Three Musketeers - Die drei Musketiere" (73), "Le sauvage" (75), "Gulliver's Travels" (77) and "Les fabuleuses aventures du legendaire Baron de Munchhausen" (79), 

Michel Legrand's compositions also influenced the world of cinema and TV in the 80's. His popular movies of that decade include "Eine Liebe in Deutschland" (80), "Atlantic City" (80), "Les uns et les autres" (81), "Never Say Never Again" (83), "Yentl" (83), "Micki + Maude" (84), "Casanova" (87) and "Eternity" (89).

To his latest cinematical works belong "Ransom" (90), "Les demoiselles ont eu 25 ans" (93), "Prêt-à-Porter" (94), "Les Misérables" (95), "The Ring" (96), "La bûche" (99) and "And Now...Ladies and Gentlemen" (02).

With his scores he conquered an important place in the brigade of film composers, in the course of his career was nominated for twelve Oscars in all. His career is also decorated with three nominations for the César and twelve nominations for the Golden Globe (which he got once) as well as countless other awards.
 

Other movies from Michel Legrand: 
Rafles sur la ville (58) L'américain se détend (58) Terrain vague (60) Les portes claquent (60) Me faire ça à moi (60) Le coeur battant (60) Cause toujours, mon lapin (61) Cléo de 5 à 7 (61) Une grosse tête (61) Serie "Les sept péchés capitaux" (62) Vivre sa vie: Film en douze tableaux (62) Un coeur gros comme ça (62) Le gentleman d'Epsom (62) Loves Is a Ball (63) Maigret voit rouge (63) Le joli mai (63) Une ravissante idiote (64) Bande à part (64) Les plus belles escroqueries du monde: Le grand escroc (64) Les amoureux du France (64) Quand passent les faisans (65) The Plastic Dome of Norma Jean (65) La vie de château (66) Monnaie de singe (66) Tendre voyou (66) L'homme à la Buick (66) Et la femme créa l'amour (66) Le plus vieux métier du monde - Das älteste Gewerbe der Welt (67) La chinoise (67) Pretty Polly (67) How to Save a Marriage (And Ruin Your Life) (68) Sweet November (68) Ice Station Zebra (68) Play Dirty (68) La piscine (69) Castle Keep (69) A World in Music (69) The Happy Ending (69) The Picasso Summer (69) Appelez-moi Mathilde (69) The Magic Garden of Stanley Sweetheart (70) Pieces of Dreams (70) The Lady in the Car with Glasses and a Gun (70) To Catch a Pebble (70) Peau d'âne (70) The Go-Between (70) Summer of '42 (71) Le Mans (71) La poudre d'escampette (71) Serie "Rupan sansei" (71) Un peu de soleil dans l'eau froide (71) Brian's Song (71) La vie sentimentale de Georges Le Tueur (71) A Time for Loving (71) Les mariés de l'an II (71) Portnoy's Complaint (72) One Is a Lonely Number (72) Un homme est mort (72) Les feux de la chandeleur (72) The Adventures of Don Quixote (73) La ville-bidon (73) Le gang des otages (73) Serie "Le temps de vivre, le temps d'aimer" (73) Story of a Love Story (73) 40 Carats (73) Cops and Robbers (73) A Doll's House (73) A Bequest to the Nation (73) Breezy (73) L'événement le plus important depuis que l'homme a marché sur la lune (73) It's Good to Be Alive (74) Our Time (74) Section spéciale (75) Sheila Levine Is Dead and Living in New York (75) Vérités et mensonges (76) Ode to Billy Joe (76) Gable and Lombard (76) The Other Side of Midnight (77) La belle emmerdeuse (78) Ca fait tilt (78) Les routes du sud (78) Hi no tori (78) Mon premier amour (78) Je vous ferai aimer la vie (79) Lady Oscar (80) The Mountain Men (80) The Hunter (80) Falling in Love Again (80) Your Ticket Is No Longer Valid (81) Serie "Il était une fois...l'espace" (82) Le cadeau (82) A Woman Called Golda (82) Qu'est-ce qui fait courir David? (82) Best Friends (82) Slapstick (Of Another Kind) (82) Friends of the Family (82) La revanche des humanoides (83) Serie "Le suns et les autres" (83) The Smurfs and the Magic Flute (83) Secret Places (84) The Jesse Owens Story (84) Paroles et musique (84) Train d'enfer (84) Partir, revenir (85) Parking (85) Promises to Keep (85) Palace - Die Dame vom Palast Hotel (85) Serie "Crossings" (86) As Summers Die (86) Serie "Il était une fois...la vie" (86) Spirale (87) La baleine blanche (87) Club de rencontres (87) Switching Channels (88) Un coupable (88) Trois places pour le 26 (88) La bottega dell'orefice (88) Cinq jours en juin (89) Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less (90) Gaspard et Robinson (90) Tropical Gamble (90) Sunday Pursuit (90) Le retour (90) Puerto Verde (90) Pas de deux (90) Mirage (90) Inspiration (90) A Ilha (90) Fate (90) Encontro em Lisboa (90) Carnaval (90) Arrivederci Roma (90) Mountain of Diamonds (91) Dingo (91) The Pickle (93) Serie "Il était une fois...les découvreurs" (94) Les enfants du Lumière (95) Die Schleme von Schelm (95) L'âge des possbiles (95) Serie "Il était une fois...les explorateurs" (97) Madeline (98) Doggy Bag (99) Serie "La bicyclette bleue" (00) Confession d'un dragueur (01) The In-Laws (03) Yantarnye krylya (03) Léeaud de Hurle-dents (03)


 
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