“The only thing I need to do is just to make music," Vangelis said, explaining his reputation as a press-shy recluse.
The occasion for the conversation was the release of his album “Nocturne,” a departure from the bank of synthesizers that normally surrounds the composer. It’s a collection of new works for mostly solo piano, with a little synthy accompaniment here and there. “Nocturne” was released by Decca, and Vangelis said it was the label that pushed him to include several of his classic themes on the album. In between ethereal meditations with titles like “Moonlight Reflections” and “Through the Night Mist” are new arrangements of the “Chariots of Fire” theme, the love theme from “Blade Runner” and others.
“He’d always ask about food first, because he liked food,” Scott said in a 2017 interview, recalling late nights in Vangelis’ studio. “You want a cigar? ‘Yeah, yeah.’ You want some wine? ‘Yeah.’ And then I wouldn’t go home till 1 o’clock in the morning. It was always fun — never pretentious. And he’s inordinately approachable. Really nice man.”Born Evangelos Odysseas Papathanassiou, Vangelis grew up in the Greek town of Agria. He started playing the piano at 4 and never took a formal lesson.