Michel Legrand

Biography

Michel Legrand (* February 24, 1932 in Paris; † January 26, 2019 in Neuilly-sur-Seine) worked as a composer, conductor, pianist, singer, writer, and producer across genres: jazz, classical, and easy listening. After completing his studies in composition and piano at the Paris Conservatory (including with Nadia Boulanger), he began working, among other roles, as a piano accompanist for chanson singers. He created his first film score in 1955 for the film ›Les Amants du Tage‹ (Henri Verneuil). Soon after, he became one of the leading figures of young French cinema with his compositions for films by Jean-Luc Godard, Agnès Varda, François Reichenbach, and Jacques Demy.

In 1964, he composed the music for Demy’s ›The Umbrellas of Cherbourg‹ – now regarded as a revolutionary sung-through film musical. The film’s success laid the foundation for his international career. He subsequently composed music for films including ›The Thomas Crown Affair‹ (1968, Norman Jewison) and Richard Lester’s ›Musketeers‹ films (1973 and 1974). In the 1980s came ›Yentl‹ (1983, Barbra Streisand) and the James Bond film ›Never Say Never Again‹ (1983, Irvin Kershner), later ›Prêt-à-Porter‹ (1994, Robert Altman) and ›And Now… Ladies and Gentlemen‹ (2002, Claude Lelouch).

Legrand was nominated thirteen times for the Oscar and several times for the Golden Globe, winning three Oscars: for the film scores of ›Summer of ’42‹ (1971, Robert Mulligan) and ›Yentl‹, and in the category of Best Song for ›The Windmills of Your Mind‹. He also composed for television productions and musicals, and produced jazz albums. He collaborated with musicians such as Neil Diamond, Barbra Streisand, Jessye Norman, Miles Davis, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, Kiri Te Kanawa, Perry Como, and Ray Charles. As a conductor, he led renowned orchestras, and as a pianist he recorded works including those of Erik Satie. His last film score was created in 2018 for the film ›J’ai Perdu Albert‹.