Sylvester Levay (originally Lévay Szilveszter, Serbian: Силвестер Леваи, Silvester Levai) is a Hungarian recording artist and composer, born in Yugoslavia (now Serbia).
Sylvester Levay | |
|---|---|
 Levay at 2012 Elisabeth Premiere | |
| Background information | |
| Born | 16 May 1945 Subotica, FS Serbia, DF Yugoslavia |
| Genres | Film score |
| Occupation(s) | Composer, musician |
| Instrument | Keyboards |
Life and career
editLevay was born on 16 May 1945 in Subotica[1] in the North Bačka District of Vojvodina, Yugoslavia (now Serbia). 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.[2] Upon his arrival in Munich in 1972, he met his writing partner, Michael Kunze, with whom he has created many successful theatrical works.[3][4] From 1980 to 2000 he lived in Hollywood and concentrated on composing film music.[1] He composed songs for notable artists like Elton John and Penny McLean.[5] He was awarded with a Grammy for his 1975 song "Fly Robin Fly".[1]
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.[6]
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.[citation needed]
Compositions (selection)
edit- "Fly, Robin, Fly" (1975)
- Get Up and Boogie (1976)
- Scarface OST (as arranger) (1983)
- Flashdance soundtrack collaboration with Giorgio Moroder
- Where the Boys Are '84 (1984)
- Invitation to Hell (1984)
- Creator (1985)
- My Man Adam (1986)
- Airwolf (1984–1986)
- Cobra (1986)
- Mannequin (1987)
- Werewolf (TV series) (1987–88)
- Probe (TV series) (1988)
- Navy SEALs (1990)
- Stone Cold (1991)
- Hot Shots! (1991)
- Medicopter 117 (1998–2006)
- Hexen, Hexen (musical) (1990)
- Elisabeth (Musical) (1992)
- Mozart! (musical) (1999)
- Rebecca (musical) (2006)
- Marie Antoinette (musical) (2006)
- Beethoven Secret (musical) (2023)
Awards
edit- Grammy Award for Fly, Robin, Fly, words by Michael Kunze (1975)
- Goldene Stimmgabel (2002)
- Goldene Europa (2002)
References
edit- ^ a b c "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. Archived from the original on 2013-05-23. 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
External links
edit- Sylvester Levay at IMDb
- "Airwolf Themes 2CD"
- Filmography (in English)
- Rebeccamusical.de - Biography (in German)
- "Airwolf Music Documentary" (in English)
