Oscar-winning score composer Jarre dies, aged 84

OSCAR-WINNING composer Maurice Jarre, who captured the majesty of the desert in his music for Lawrence of Arabia and wrote the haunting Lara’s Theme in his score for Doctor Zhivago, has died.

He was 84.

Jarre died in his villa in California, where he had lived for decades, Bernard Miyet, a friend of the composer and leader of the French musicians’ guild SACEM, said. No cause of death was given.

“The world of film music is mourning one of its last great figures,” Miyet said.

Born in 1924 in Lyon, France, Jarre studied music at the Conservatoire de Paris, training initially as a kettledrum player. He started his career composing scores for theatrical productions and worked 12 years as composer at the Theatre National Populaire.

He soon branched into composing soundtracks for movies, and in 1961 worked on director David Lean’s Lawrence of Arabia, for which he won his first Oscar. He won a second in 1966 for his work on another Lean film Doctor Zhivago, based on the novel by Boris Pasternak.

Jarre collaborated with Lean again in 1984 on A Passage to India, winning his third Academy Award.

Jarre’s musical style was noted for his use of ethnic instruments, and later synthetic sounds.

After moving to California in the early 1960s, Jarre returned to Europe regularly. He received a lifetime achievement award at the Berlin Film Festival in February, after a career including more than 150 soundtracks. He worked with some of Hollywood’s most well-known directors including William Wyler and Alfred Hitchcock.

He knew how “to translate in a very short time, [with] very few notes, absolutely essential feelings,” French film music expert Stephane Lerouge said.

Jarre was made an officer in the French Legion of Honor for his contribution to culture. French President Nicolas Sarkozy hailed Jarre as “a great composer who bequeaths us a generous and majestic body of work.”

“He showed everyone that music is just as important as images for the beauty and success of a film,” Sarkozy said in a statement.

He is survived by sons, screenwriter Kevin, electronic musician Jean Michel and daughter Stefanie.