Vangelis Speaks

John Diliberto & Vangelis, Greece, 2001

In early December, 2011 the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations Forum took place in Doha, Qatar and as part of the festivities, Vangelis was invited to perform.   He gave a rare interview for Al-Jazerra English, although not as rare as the interviewer claims when he says it’s the composers first televsion interview in 20 years.  He did many TV appearances in 2001 in support of his work, Mythodea.

The interviewer for Al Jazerra English, former CNN anchor Tony Harris.  He’s on the touchy-feelie deferential side of things which allows Vangelis, who is given to pontificating, run free.  So you won’t find much anecdotal information about working on Blade Runner or Chariots of Fire, following the rise of synthesizers from the beginning or much of anything else you might want to know.  But it is an interesting interview that reveals Vangelis’ concepts of art and culture in the modern world.  “I don’t think music is beautiful today.  It’s a way to advertise other things,” he claims in the interview.

This was a massive event to inaugurate Doha’s cultural village, so I’m not sure if Vangelis was being ironic when he said ,  “You can see Blade Runner in Doha.”  I suspect that’s not the image that Qatar authorities were looking for.

You can hear a feature I did with Vangelis drawn from interviews I did in 1982 and 2001, including a segment of him performing live for me.

Here’s a list compiled a compiled a couple of years ago of Ten Essential Vangelis CDs

~© 2012 John Diliberto ((( echoes )))