Sylvester Levay
Sylvester Levay (originally Lévay Szilveszter, Serbian: Силвестер Леваи, Silvester Levai)[1] is a Hungarian composer. He was born on 16 May 1945 in Subotica[2] in the North Bačka District of Vojvodina, Yugoslavia (now Serbia).
Life and career
Sylvester Levay began his musical studies at the age of eight. Levay developed a taste for American music while growing up in Yugoslavia, eventually becoming a music arranger and lyricist.[3] Upon his arrival in Munich in 1972, he met his writing partner, Michael Kunze, with whom he has created many successful theatrical works.[4][5] From 1980 to 2000 he lived in Hollywood and concentrated on composing film music.[2] He composed songs for notable artists like Elton John and Penny McLean.[6] He was awarded with a Grammy for his 1975 song "Fly Robin Fly".[2]
In October 2010, Levay worked with Xiah Junsu of JYJ to prepare for a musical concert - "Kim Junsu Musical Concert, Levay with Friends" in South Korea to be held at Seoul's Olympic Gymnastics Arena.[7]
He currently divides his time between homes in Munich, Vienna and Los Angeles. Married for twenty-five years, he and his wife Monika have a daughter, Alice, and a son, Sylvester Jr.
Compositions (selection)
- "Fly, Robin, Fly" (reached no. 1 in the US Charts) (1975)
- Scarface OST (as arranger) (1983)
- Flashdance soundtrack collaboration with Giorgio Moroder
- Where the Boys Are '84 (1984)
- Creator (1985)
- My Man Adam (1986)
- Airwolf (1984–1986)
- Bambi
- Cobra (1986 film). His song "Skyline", unused in the movie but appearing on the soundtrack album, was adapted for the C64 game by Ben Daglish.
- Mannequin (1987 film)
- Werewolf (TV series) (1987–88)
- Navy SEALs (1990)
- Stone Cold (1991)
- Hot Shots! (1991)
- Medicopter 117 (1998–2006)
- Hexen, Hexen (musical) (1990)
- Elisabeth (Musical) (1992, premiered at Theater an der Wien)
- Mozart! (Musical) (1999, premiered at Theater an der Wien)
- Rebecca (musical) (2006, premiered at Raimundtheater)
- Marie Antoinette (musical) (2006, premiered at Imperial Garden Theater))
Awards
- Grammy Award for Fly, Robin, Fly, words by Michael Kunze (1975)
- Goldene Stimmgabel (2002)
- Goldene Europa (2002)
References
- ↑ his name in English is pronounced similarly to "Lave-ah-ee (like slave)."
- 1 2 3 "Sylvester Lévay elégedett az Összefogás dalával" (in Hungarian). Duna TV. Retrieved 2013-04-01.
- ↑ Vickers, Tom. "Singles: Surprising Takeoff of 'Fly, Robin, Fly.'" Rolling Stone 203 (January 1, 1976), p. 18.
- ↑ "Interview mit Sylvester Levay: Wir suchen neue Wege" (in German). thatsmusical.de. 2012-08-13. Retrieved 2013-04-01.
- ↑ "Poetin Ruth Weiss und Komponist Sylvester Levay ausgezeichnet" (in German). Magistrat der Stadt Wien. 2006-10-04. Retrieved 2013-04-01.
- ↑ "Sylvester Levay". Allmusic. Retrieved 2013-04-01.
- ↑ "Xiah Junsu Musical Concert To Be Held", 2010
- Filmography (English)
- Rebeccamusical.de - Biography (German)
External links
- Sylvester Levay at the Internet Movie Database
- "Airwolf Themes 2CD" - more info on his world record-breaking soundtrack
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