Marvin Hamlisch passed away yesterday.
Nearly everyone on the planet has probably heard his music.
From the New York Times:
Marvin Hamlisch, the singularly productive and sensationally decorated composer of musicals like “A Chorus Line” and songs like “The Way We Were,” has died, his family said Tuesday through a representative. He was 68.
A statement said that Mr. Hamlisch collapsed after a brief illness and died on Monday in Los Angeles but did not provide additional details.
In a career that spanned film, television, theater and recorded music, Mr. Hamlisch won seemingly every award available in each medium. He was a 12-time Academy Award nominee, for his score and song contributions to films as varied as “The Spy Who Loved Me” and “Sophie’s Choice” and a three-time Oscar winner for the score of “The Sting” as well as the score from “The Way We Were” and its title song (with lyrics by Alan and Marilyn Bergman). He won four Emmy Awards, four Grammy Awards and a Tony Award for his score to the musical “A Chorus Line.” That musical, which blended bouncy, brassy songs like “One” and “Dance: Ten; Looks: Three” with melancholy numbers like “At the Ballet,” also won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1976.
...According to his biography at his official Web site, Mr. Hamlisch held the title of principal pops conductor for the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, the Pasadena Symphony and Pops, the Seattle Symphony and the San Diego Symphony.
From the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra website:
Marvin Hamlisch’s life in music is notable for its great versatility as well as substance. As a composer, Hamlisch has won virtually every major award that exists: three Oscars, four Grammys, four Emmys, a Tony and three Golden Globe awards. For Broadway, he has written the music for his groundbreaking show, A Chorus Line, which received the Pulitzer Prize, as well as They’re Playing Our Song, The Goodbye Girl and Sweet Smell of Success.
He is the composer of many motion picture scores, including his Oscar-winning score and song for The Way We Were and his adaptation of Scott Joplin’s music for The Sting, for which he received a third Oscar. His prolific output of scores for films include original compositions and/or musical adaptations for Sophie’s Choice, Ordinary People, The Swimmer, Three Men and a Baby, Ice Castles, Take the Money and Run, Bananas, Save the Tiger and his latest effort The Informant!, starring Matt Damon and directed by Steven Soderbergh.
Mr. Hamlisch holds the position of principal pops conductor for the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Pasadena Symphony and Pops, Seattle Symphony and San Diego Symphony.
Mr. Hamlisch was musical director and arranger of Barbra Streisand’s 1994 concert tour of the U.S. and England as well as of the television special, “Barbra Streisand: The Concert” (for which he received two of his Emmys).
Mr. Hamlisch is a graduate of The Juilliard School of Music and Queens College (where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree). He believes in the power of music to bring people together. “Music can make a difference. There is a global nature to music, which has the potential to bring all people together. Music is truly an international language, and I hope to contribute by widening communication as much as I can.”
Marvin Hamlisch brought a lot of joy to Milwaukee, and to the world.
He will be greatly missed.
It's so cliché to say although he's gone his music lives on, but it's true.
Rest in peace.
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Press release from the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra:
MILWAUKEE, WIS. 08/07/12 – The Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra is shocked and saddened to announce that Stein Family Foundation Principal Pops Conductor Marvin Hamlisch passed away Monday evening at the age of 68. Mr. Hamlisch, one of the most sought-after pops conductors of our time, had been with the orchestra since his appointment in November 2007.
“It is with great sadness that we share the news of our MSO family member Marvin Hamlisch’s passing,” said Maryellen Gleason, MSO president and executive director. “Marvin was a talented composer, terrific showman and genuinely committed to performing a memorable and delightful concert for Milwaukee audiences. It has been a privilege to have him on our stage.”
Some of Mr. Hamlisch’s most critically-acclaimed concerts with the MSO included Tribute to Richard Rodgers, the Music of Gershwin, Stars and Stripes Forever, Fabulous ‘50s, and Marvin Plays Marvin, featuring his own greatest hits from The Sting, The Way We Were, A Chorus Line and more. Elaine Schmidt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel wrote, “Hamlisch…brought a genuine passion for this music to the podium and to the piano.”
Marvin Hamlisch’s life in music was notable for its great versatility as well as substance. As a composer, Hamlisch won virtually every major award that exists: three Oscars, four Grammys, four Emmys, a Tony and three Golden Globe awards. For Broadway, he wrote the music for his groundbreaking show, A Chorus Line, which received the Pulitzer Prize, as well as They’re Playing Our Song, The Goodbye Girl and Sweet Smell of Success.
Mr. Hamlisch was the composer of many motion picture scores, including his Oscar-winning score and song for The Way We Were and his adaptation of Scott Joplin’s music for The Sting, for which he received a third Oscar. His prolific output of scores for films include original compositions and/or musical adaptations for Sophie’s Choice, Ordinary People, The Swimmer, Three Men and a Baby, Ice Castles, Take the Money and Run, Bananas, Save the Tiger and The Informant!, starring Matt Damon and directed by Steven Soderbergh. Mr. Hamlisch was musical director and arranger of Barbra Streisand’s 1994 concert tour of the U.S. and England as well as of the television special, “Barbra Streisand: The Concert” (for which he received two of his Emmys).
The 2012.13 MSO Pops series will continue as scheduled. The opening concert weekend in October will be dedicated to Marvin Hamlisch and his great music.
About the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra
Ranked among the top orchestras in the country, the MSO is the largest cultural institution in Wisconsin. Since its inception in 1959, the orchestra has received critical acclaim for artistic excellence. The orchestra’s 83 full-time professional musicians perform more than 140 concerts each season. A cornerstone organization in Milwaukee’s arts community, the MSO provides enrichment and education activities for audiences of every age, economic status and background.
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Remembering Marvin Hamlisch
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