Michel Legrand has just left us.
Pianist and composer of melodies engraved in our memories, Michel Legrand has had multiple lives between France and the United States, between cinema and television, between the stage and recordings. He has collaborated and inspired the greatest, from Orson Welles to Jean Cocteau, and has enhanced the voices of Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Barbra Streisand and Claude Nougaro.
Michel Legrand was also a great creator of soundtracks for the cinema. Jean-Luc Godard, Claude Lelouch, Clint Eastwood and of course Jacques Demy owe him a lot. The umbrellas of Cherbourg, The ladies of Rochefort and Donkey skin opened the doors of Hollywood. A magnificent career crowned with three Oscars and five Grammy Awards.
Michel Legrand accompanied our greatest cinema emotions. Almost 60 years of career, and time had no hold on his inexhaustible talent. The mills of our hearts will turn forever to the sound of its unforgettable airs.
I offer my heartfelt condolences to Macha Méril, his wife, his family and all his loved ones.